3 Keys: Predators at Hurricanes, Game 1 of first round

No. 4 Predators at No. 1 Hurricanes
8 p.m. ET; CNBC, TVAS, SNE, BSSO, BSSO

Alex Nedeljkovic could start for the Carolina Hurricanes and make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut against the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup First Round at PNC Arena on Monday.
The rookie goalie went 15-5-3 with a 1.90 goals-against average, a .932 save percentage and three shutouts in 23 regular-season games.
"I mean, if he starts, it's because he's earned it for sure and he's been good. That's been pretty clear," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "So he might be out there tonight."
The Predators play the Hurricanes for the first time in the postseason. Carolina won the first six regular-season games against Nashville by a combined score of 23-9 before losing the final two.
"We know they like to play with a ton of speed," Predators defenseman Ben Harpur said. "They have a lot of skill on forward and as well defensively. So if we can really establish our game early and play physical and make it difficult for them to advance the puck cleanly and use their speed off the rush, I think that's going to benefit us."
Teams that win Game 1 are 490-222 (68.8 percent) winning a best-of-7 NHL playoff series, including 7-1 in the first round last season.
Here are three keys for Game 1:

1. Saros' opportunity

Juuse Saros will start for the Predators after going 21-11-1 with a 2.28 GAA, a .927 save percentage and three shutouts in 36 games (35 starts).
"The next step for him is to lead our team in some playoff victories, winning some series," Nashville general manager David Poile said. "This was the plan all along, that eventually the torch would get passed to Juuse Saros. He's one of the prime reasons we're playing Carolina, why we got into the playoffs. I really think this is going to be the next step for 'Juice' with our team and our organization and to really solidify himself as a No. 1 goaltender, to help lead us in the playoffs here against Carolina."
Saros is 1-3 with a 2.49 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 11 playoff games (four starts).

2. Health of Hurricanes

Jaccob Slavin will be a game-time decision after the defenseman missed the final regular-season game May 10 with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Brett Pesce said he's "excited, ready to go," for Game 1 after also not playing the regular-season finale. Forward Brock McGinn, who sustained an upper-body injury against the Dallas Stars on April 4, has skated for several days and is expected to play.
"It's definitely not fun watching but they did a great job sealing first, which gets us home ice," McGinn said. "We just have to continue on with the same mindset we had at the start of the year. We wanted to make the playoffs. We did that. Now we want to win a championship. If we want to do that, we have to play our game."

3. Embracing underdog status

The Predators don't mind that the Hurricanes are favored in the series. They've been in this role before and advanced to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. They are welcoming it again.
"It's nice when you can surprise some teams, play better and play a harder style of hockey than maybe they're expecting," forward Colton Sissons said. "I think this team has a little bit of that in us. They'll say what they want to say in the media. I know they're heavy favorites, so it's all good with us."

Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Calle Jarnkrok -- Mikael Granlund -- Luke Kunin
Eeli Tolvanen -- Erik Haula -- Matt Duchene
Yakov Trenin -- Colton Sissons -- Tanner Jeannot
Roman Josi -- Matt Benning
Ryan Ellis -- Mattias Ekholm
Erik Gudbranson -- Ben Harpur
Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne
Scratched: Nick Cousins, Brad Richardson, Rocco Grimaldi, Tyler Lewington, David Farrance, Michael McCarron, Jeremy Davies, Alexandre Carrier, Rem Pitlick, Dante Fabbro
Injured:Luca Sbisa (lower body), Mark Borowiecki (upper body), Mathieu Olivier (lower body)

Hurricanes projected lineup

Nino Niederreiter -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen
Warren Foegele -- Vincent Trocheck -- Martin Necas
Andrei Svechnikov -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook -- Steven Lorentz -- Brock McGinn
Jaccob Slavin -- Dougie Hamilton
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Jake Gardiner -- Jani Hakanpaa
Alex Nedeljkovic
Petr Mrazek
Scratched: Morgan Geekie, Jake Bean, Max McCormick, Drew Shore, Roland McKeown, Max Lajoie](https://www.nhl.com/player/maxime-lajoie-8479320), James Reimer
Injured:Cedric Paquette (lower body)

Status report

The Predators held an optional morning skate. … Arvidsson will play after missing the final five regular-season games with an undisclosed injury. Coach John Hynes said they have yet to figure out who comes out of the lineup. … If Slavin plays, he'll replace Bean, a defenseman. … Geekie, a forward, will be scratched with McGinn returning after missing 19 games.