(Shamelessly stolen from another thread on a similar topic
)
Every year in the playoffs there are upsets. There is no question that the Predators face an uphill battle to get past the Wild and into the second round this year. The Wild picked up a full 13 points more than the Predators this year, won the conference and the season series.
Minnesota 5 Nashville 2
Minnesota 4 Nashville 3
Nashville 3 Minnesota 1
Minnesota 3 Nashville 2 (SO)
Minnesota wins the season series 3-1.
So how could the Predators pull this off? Well first you have a Predators team that lost the games to the Wild before the second half of the season. The shoot-out loss was waaaay back on Day 78 when the Predators were just into the new year. So the season series might not accurately reflect things as they stand today.
Second, Minnesota has been in this position before. I'm not talking about winning the whole thing. I mean they've come through the regular season and looked like they were unbeatable...only to be beaten.
Sure its a longshot, and clearly there is no reason that the Wild should lose this series. But the Predators are looking to surprise and might just have a team that can pull that off.
Minnesota Wild (1) vs. Nashville Predators (8)
