3 Keys: Predators at Hurricanes, Game 2 of first round

No. 4 Predators at No. 1 Hurricanes
8 p.m. ET; CNBC, FX-CA, TVAS2, BSSO, BSSO
Carolina leads best-of-7 series, 1-0

Alex Nedeljkovic will get his second straight start for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup First Round at PNC Arena on Wednesday.
The goalie made 22 saves in a 5-2 win in Game 1 on Monday.
Carolina had 38 shots against Nashville goalie Juuse Saros in Game 1 and they're looking to keep him busy again.
"He made some good saves, he's a real good lateral goalie," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We have to get traffic and pucks to the net, but that's no different than any other team in the League. We had good jump and were able to create some shots that hadn't been there the last couple of games we played them."
The Predators were happy to go into the second intermission of Game 1 with the score 2-2 but did not like their third period.
"Obviously, we know we need to be better than we were in the third," defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "There's another level to [our game] but so far, I think the first period was the closest to where we want to be. For sure, there's more to it and there's another level we can get to and we're preparing for us to show that."
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 series are 330-51 (86.6 percent), including 4-0 in the first round last season.
Here are three keys for Game 2:

1. Slavin status

Brind'Amour said defenseman Jaccob Slavin will be a game-time decision not just for Game 2, but probably for upcoming games as well. Slavin, who missed the final regular-season game with a lower-body injury, had four hits and led Hurricanes skaters with 21:25 of ice time in Game 1.
"Slavin is going to be dealing with something, probably until we get finished," Brind'Amour said. "That's how it is. Hopefully he's good to go, but he may be a game-time decision for a while here yet."

2. Tolvanen time?

The Predators are expected to make lineup changes that could include Eeli Tolvanen after the forward was a healthy scratch in Game 1. General manager David Poile told ESPN 102.5 The Game on Tuesday that Tolvanen could help the power play, which went 0-for-3 with two shots in Game 1.
Tolvanen led the Predators with six power-play goals in 40 games this season.

3. Staal's impact

Jordan Staal scored two goals in Game 1 but it's the captain's overall game that drives the Hurricanes. He also had four hits and won 54 percent of his face-offs (14 of 26).
"We've been saying this since I've been here: he does it all and it's great to see him score some big goals," forward Warren Foegele said. "He has such a big frame (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) and has good wheels for someone that size. He's going to keep going because he shows up for big moments."

Predators projected lineup

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

Hurricanes projected lineup

Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen
Warren Foegele -- Vincent Trocheck -- Martin Necas
Nino Niederreiter -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook -- Steven Lorentz -- Brock McGinn
Jaccob Slavin -- Dougie Hamilton
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Jake Bean -- Jani Hakanpää
Alex Nedeljkovic
Petr Mrazek
Scratched:Morgan Geekie, Jake Gardiner, Max McCormick, Drew Shore, Roland McKeown, Max Lajoie, James Reimer
Injured:Cedric Paquette (lower body)
Status report
Predators coach John Hynes said some lineup decisions will be made later today based on whether players are healthy enough to play. ... The Hurricanes will use the same lineup from Game 1.