Vegas Golden Knights: Sizing up potential opponents in 24-team Playoff format

1. The Nashville Predators

Despite adding another potent weapon to their already loaded top-six in the off-season by signing center Matt Duchene to a seven-year, $56,000,000 contract, the Nashville Predators didn’t really live up to expectations in 2019-20.

Inconsistency ravaged their progress and it ultimately led to the demise of Head Coach Peter Laviolette, with former New Jersey Devils HC John Hynes replacing him behind the bench.

Despite going 6-3-1 in their last 10 games prior to the NHL going on hiatus and showing signs of life under Hynes, the Predators were a big disappointment.

However, they will be given a second chance thanks to the 24-team Playoff format, and they certainly boast a loaded roster.

From veteran goaltender Pekka Rinne to stud defenseman Roman Josi and a stacked top-six forward unit, Nashville have the weapons to make a deep postseason run.

2019-20 record (prior to hiatus) – 35-26-8

Home Record – 17-14-4

Road Record – 18-12-4

2019-20 record Vs. VGK – 1-1-1

Goals For – 215

Goals Against – 217

Power Play – 17.3 (25th)

Penalty Kill – 76.1 (29th)

Strengths – Despite falling way short of expectations and toiling in medirocity for much of 2019-20, the Nashville Predators do still boast an abundance of riches on their roster.

Pekka Rinne is still one of the most dependable goalies in the NHL when he’s at the peak of his powers, while the defense is one of the best units in the league and is spearheaded by a Norris Trophy-caliber blueliner in Roman Josi.

Then there’s the forwards.

From Viktor Arvidsson to Matt Duchene to Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen, the Predators certainly pack some firepower.

While a lot of their big-hitters failed to deliver consistently throughout the regular season, the Playoffs are a different kettle of fish and it can bring out the best in players.

If certain stars can get hot at the right time, then there is no doubt that the Nashville Predators could make a deep run.

Weaknesses – Special Teams. While the Predators really struggled in a number of areas in 2019-20, they stunk the place out when it came to their Special Teams.

Despite boasting the likes of Duchene, Forsberg, Johansen and Josi on the roster, the Preds ranked a lowly 25th on the power play, converting on just 17.3 of their man advantages.

Not good.

Even worse was the penalty kill which was 29th in the league (76.1) – only the Buffalo Sabres and the Detroit Red Wings were worse on the PK.

That says it all.

So you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out that if the Predators are going to give the Golden Knights trouble in a best-of-seven series, they will have to put a lot of work into their Special Teams units.

Where the series will be won or lost – If the Golden Knights can exploit a defense that allowed an average of 3.10 goals against per game, then they have the firepower to make short work of the Predators.

Vegas ranked 9th on the power play (22.0) in 2019-20 but 27th on the penalty kill (76.6), so Special Teams will play a huge factor in a series between the Knights and the Preds.

Whoever can solve their Special Teams woes first will have the upper hand in this Western Conference First Round matchup.

2. Arizona Coyotes

With Phil Kessel and, later Taylor Hall, on the roster, the Arizona Coyotes were primed for big things in 2019-20.

It started well too with the Coyotes going 7-4-1 in October but they couldn’t sustain it and they began to regress after Christmas.

And they really fell off a cliff in the wake of the Trade Deadline, despite acquiring star forward Taylor Hall from the New Jersey Devils.

They went 5-5-0 in their last 10 games prior to the NHL going on lockdown, sitting fifth in a poor Pacific Division.

Arizona really failed to pack an offensive punch despite having both Kessel and Hall on the roster, although they boasted one of the meanest bluelines in the entire NHL, which could translate to postseason success.

2019-20 record (prior to hiatus) – 33-29-8

Home Record – 17-12-4

Road Record – 16-17-4

2019-20 record Vs. VGK – 1-1-1

Goals For – 195

Goals Against – 187

Power Play – 19.2 (14th)

Penalty Kill – 82.7 (5th)

Strengths – Defense. Defense. Defense. The Coyotes may struggle to light the lamp, but they also do a pretty damn good job of stopping their opponents from doing the same.

Ranked 3rd in the National Hockey League, behind the Boston Bruins and the Dallas Stars, the Coyotes allowed an average of just 2.61 goals against per game.

They also ranked 5th on the PK (82.7) in 2019-20 while Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper make a very reliable goaltending tandem.

In a best-of-seven series where games are typically more of a slugfest, the Coyotes could have the edge given their defensive prowess.

Weaknesses – Lighting the lamp. We mentioned it above but, as good as the Coyotes are in their own zone, they struggle to punish opponents in the offensive zone.

Despite having two potent weapons on the roster in Taylor Hall and Phil Kessel, Arizona ranked 23rd in Goals For Per Game (2.71).

Kessel was a huge disappointment in his first year with the Coyotes, putting up 14 goals and 24 assists for 38 points in 70 games, while Hall recorded 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 35 games for the Yotes.

Also, Arizona’s leading points scorer in the 2019-20 regular season was Nick Schmaltz with 45 points (11 goals, 34 assists), and the Coyotes will need certain players to step up and be a lot more productive if they are to get through a Play-In and punch their Playoff ticket.

Where the series will be won or lost – If the Vegas Golden Knights can crack the code that is the Arizona defense while putting the shackles on Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall, then there’s only one way a First Round series between these two franchises would go.

It could get real ugly real quick for the Coyotes so they would need Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta to be at the top of their game in order to keep them alive.

But, if the likes of Hall and Kessel can’t get hot then it won’t count for much given the abundance of firepower the Golden Knights have at their disposal.

All in all, the Vegas Golden Knights would probably prefer a First Round series against the Arizona Coyotes rather than the Nashville Predators, but both teams have the ability to cause problems in a best-of-seven series.