The Nashville Predators already had an incredibly daunting task ahead of them when they drew the Colorado Avalanche in the first round, but now it might seem an impossible task. Head coach John Hynes told reporters including Adam Vingan of The Athletic that Juuse Saros, injured in the last week of the season, will miss at least the first two games of the series. Saros is on the trip but it is not yet clear when he will be back for the Predators.
In his absence, Hynes explained that they are still discussing whether to start David Rittich or Connor Ingram in game one. A decision that might be easy for most teams that have a regular backup, the Predators are in a sort of a unique situation. No other team relied on their starter more heavily than Nashville, who had Saros start 67 games this season. Rittich posted an .886 save percentage in 17 appearances, while Ingram had a .879 in three. The series starts tomorrow night.
- Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports that Carolina Hurricanes starter Frederik Andersen has a sprained knee, though there is no structural damage. She believes it is highly unlikely that the primary Jennings winner will be ready for game two. Antti Raanta will get the start tonight, though with his own history of injuries the team has brought along an extra goaltender. Jack LaFontaine has been recalled from the minor leagues, and will likely serve as the emergency backup tonight. Unlike the regular season, where each venue hosts an EBUG that can end up dressing for either team, in the playoffs teams can carry their own.
- It appears as though the Edmonton Oilers will have Darnell Nurse in the lineup tonight, despite him not actually confirming it at his press availability. Pierre LeBrun and Ryan Rishaug of TSN discuss the situation, noting that while the top defenseman is technically a game-time decision, they both believe he’ll be available this evening. Nurse hasn’t played since April 22, when he left early against the Colorado Avalanche. As they have many times in the second half, the Oilers could dress seven defensemen, especially if Nurse is still not at 100 percent.
Now David Poile has his built in excuse for why his team got ousted in the 1st round again. Wash, rinse and repeat.
@Gbear – They might need to speed-rinse-and-dry Saros now. I was listening to that game, and the broadcasters had a hard time trying to find the cause of the injury. Within a day, or so, though, there was a lot of chatter about goalies’ skates and how they might be contributing to this sudden uptick of injuries. One thing’s for sure, NSH might have to hunker down in the D-zone a bit more and try to maybe gut out the old 2-1 snooze fest. You watch, though, our takes will get back to their dressing room, and they’ll play like their hair’s on fire.
As far as excuses go, this is a very good one.
Watching the play Saros got hurt on, the only thing I could think of was that his skate go stuck and he hurt himself when he moved because there was nothing else there at all
Maybe he got hurt because he played too many games?
Reason why a lot of teams have a 50/50 split or a 1a 1b system. See Carolina for example…they are in much better shape despite losing their starter
@ericl – The SN960 guys at the time described this much like you saw it, too —
link to twitter.com
@Mac – I don’t think the Avs will let this thing be a snooze fest, especially if Landeskog is ready to go (update on his status anyone?).
The thing is though that even with a healthy Saros, the Avs are the clear favorite in this series. Poile puts a team together that can squeeze into the playoffs, but that seems to be the end game for him. And I don’t think Lauzon puts them over the top (lol).
@Gbear – I commented on the question mark about how the Avs would come out of the gate in Game 1 the other day. They picked a bad time to suck for most of the last 10 games, so there was concern that they might get trap-gamed to death. If, however, they’ve found that mythical “switch” to turn on the afterburners, NSH will have their hands full. Regarding Landeskog, there are links to other news-related links on HockeyReference, and #92’s page pointed to a 4/28 update from the coach stating that “…the plan is for him to be ready for Game 1.” (courtesy of Kyle Fredrickson here – link to twitter.com) Maybe Lauzon won’t be much of a difference maker, but how about that Tanner Jeannot guy? He’s been a pretty decent 6’2″ 208-lb beast this year. And, of course, good ol’ #95 probably thinks he still has something to prove to his old team. Hopefully, it’ll be a little competitive, but we shall see, eh?
“…there are links to other news-related links…” – that could have been done better. Crapdammit.
@Mac – Looks like the Avs are in no mood for a snooze fest after game #1. ;)
@Gbear – You read my mind and they heard me cussing them out for an uninspiring last 10 of the season! I was so into the PIT-NYR and WSH-FLA games that when I switched to the CGY game, they immediately announced the early 5-0 score, which perked my ears up. Wasn’t it nice of them to throw a couple of bones to Mr. Uncoachable? Tanner Jeannot as a dash 3 for the night was not expected, that’s for sure, though. I hope he doesn’t think that jinxed him. I might have to move to a quiet part of PA and live under an assumed name!
Wait, I’m already doing that in PA, lol!
IMHO, Landeskog is the most important player in the Avs lineup. You see how good they are when he’s back on the ice. The Preds, however, are like a tricked out 4 cylinder car going up against a big block engine.
@Gbear – Does that mean you’re my *other* brother Darryl? :)
Landy’s presence can’t be understated now, and I feel he’s a noisier, but effective leader, similar to Sid. The Nashville Cats really depended on and seemed to feed off of Saros’ performances. That injury is still just too stupid to be believed, but we’ve seen the video and there it is. If they get rolled again tomorrow night, it could mean the old “3.5 game sweep” in a couple of days.
Title of the post references Bunting. Nothing in the post at all about him though. .???
@Dr Leaf – Good catch! In technical terms, he may have landed on the cutting room floor. ;)