The Nashville Predators squeaked into the playoffs, getting locked into the second wildcard spot after an inglorious loss to the basement-dwelling Arizona Coyotes. Finishing the regular season by blowing a 4-0 lead to lose in regulation might be a bad omen or a sign of the team’s true talent—or it might be the motivation they need to go on another miracle run like they did in 2017.
The Colorado Avalanche are a heavy favorite. They have no salient weaknesses as a team, and a lot of very obvious strengths.