After clinching top spot in the Central Division, Carolina Hurricanes are set to take on the Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
When the Hurricanes clinched a playoff spot a couple weeks ago, I asked readers who they wanted to see Carolina up against in the first round of the playoffs, between the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators or Tampa Bay Lightning. Responses were very lopsided, with 77 per cent of readers saying they wanted the Hurricanes to face the Predators.
The responses made sense, given that the Hurricanes had quite a bit of success against the Predators this season, winning the first six meetings of the year. That said, after that question was asked, Nashville did defeat Carolina in back-to-back games to close out the regular season. While I wouldn’t read too much into the losses, it certainly shows a series against the Predators won’t just make for an easy first round for the Hurricanes.
The Predators have been on a roll since mid-March, going 20-7-1 in their last 28 games and sporting a better win percentage than the Hurricanes during that stretch. A huge part of this has been the performance of Juuse Saros, who started 23 of the team’s final 28 games, posting a ridiculous .941 save percentage in that time.
That said, Carolina has been one of the top teams in the league for the entire season and look to be a legitimate contender this year. Their power play has been a huge part of their success and the team looks deeper than ever.
I do think this is a good matchup for the Hurricanes in the first round, given that Carolina won’t be facing either the Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning. However, the Predators have proven to be a very capable team in the back half of the year and I think this could end up being an exciting series to watch.
Over the coming days while we wait for the series to begin, I’ll be releasing a few more preview articles, comparing how the teams' lineups stack up against one another.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Hurricanes Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Canes for updates on articles, Hurricanes news, etc.***
Do you think the Hurricanes will beat the Predators in the first round of the playoffs?
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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