Are the Nashville Predators a dark horse threat to win a playoff series?

With the Nashville Predators recently coming off an eight-game heater, Daily Faceoff Live hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Colby Cohen discuss the Predators’ run, what they did at the trade deadline and how the Preds could be a dark horse threat to win knockout a contending team in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I want to start by talking about another win for the Nashville Predators and this one felt a bit of a statement game for Andrew Brunette and company as they look to keep pace and stay ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference. You look at this team Colby, they are 38-25-4 and there’s one number that really has me believing I need to change my tone on the Predators and that’s goals-for-per-game, it’s only league average but it’s better than what the Predators have seen in the past. Are you starting to believe that this 8-0-2 team in their last 10 games could maybe win a playoff round?

Colby Cohen: I don’t think so. I really don’t, and that’s not to take away from how they have played over this last stretch. But you can’t forget that they are rolling a first defensive pairing of Roman Josi and Ryan McDonagh and pound for pound it’s one of the most elite and dynamic offensive defensemen in the NHL and maybe the most underrated two-way defensive defenseman in McDonagh. But I just think that they can get it together and win in the playoffs and part of that reasoning is I think they are peaking too early and I think playoff hockey started for them weeks ago so I wonder what kind of gas they will have in the tank once playoffs start.

Colby Cohen: I watched their game last night against Winnipeg and I have gone back and forth on this one but I didn’t think Winnipeg had a good night, they were careless with the puck, they didn’t have the energy and I thought they played right into the transition of how the Preds like to play. Look, you still have to give Nashville credit, they smother you defensively and Jon Goyens showed the clip on our show of how they defend the house. I just wonder if it was a dominant performance by Nashville or a complete egg by the Jets. But no I don’t think the Predators will win a playoff round but I will say that it does look like they will get in and be a playoff team.