Preds Continue Playoff Preparations as Series with Hurricanes Draws Near

As far as the Predators are concerned, they've already been skating with a playoff-level mentality for quite a while.
That mindset served them well, as they fought to clinch a spot in the postseason for the seventh consecutive season, and although it took them until game No. 55 of 56 in the regular season to do so, they found a way.
This week, the memories from each one of those contests have been pushed aside to focus on the present and a first-round meeting with Carolina, the winners of the temporarily realigned Central Division, and Nashville's first-ever postseason series against the Hurricanes.

When the puck drops for Game 1 on Monday night in Raleigh - the ninth time the Preds and Canes have gotten together in 2021 - there won't be much time needed for the two clubs to become reacquainted, but the playoff intensity is sure to be present, especially in a Nashville group that can't wait to get going.
"We've been, more or less, playing playoff hockey for the last two months because our playoff lives were on the line, but there's got to be another level," Preds Associate Captain Ryan Ellis said Friday following Nashville's final practice at Bridgestone Arena before heading to North Carolina. "Playoffs always bring out the best in everybody and the intensity and the passion in the game, and I think everyone's level, both teams, will be raised even more."

"This week has been] about preparing for the Carolina series, and part of it is understanding how we play, the mentality we play with, the consistency level that we play with, not get too high, not get too low, but the readiness we need to be able to play with," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "That's the focus. It's not so much what happened in the regular season. That's in the past. Both teams have reset, the regular season is over, we both have the same amount of time to get ready for the series, so our focus has to be on not what happened. I think we've taken the lessons from that, but now it's an opportunity for us to get even better."
In dealing with a compacted schedule during the regular season, practice time was almost non-existent for the Predators on a consistent basis, but extra opportunity for preparation has come at an ideal juncture.
After concluding the campaign with a pair of wins - a 3-1 victory last Saturday followed by a 5-0 shutout on Monday - against Carolina, no less, the Predators have taken advantage of a longer-than-usual break between the conclusion of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. Add that additional prep to a pair of wins over the Hurricanes to finish things out after dropping six-straight to Carolina earlier in the season, and the Preds have been pleased with their body of work in recent days.
"I just thought all areas of the game are pretty consistent, [and to play] some of our most consistent hockey of the year and finishing up the season that way was nice," Preds centerman Ryan Johansen said. "Knowing the type of team Carolina is, we have to play like that. We have to bring that consistent play throughout the game to beat those guys. It was good to finish on a good note and gain a little confidence against those guys."
Each player on the active Nashville roster - all 32 of them - has that belief individually and as a team, but with only 20 players dressing for each game, simple math says not everyone will dress for Game 1 on Monday night.
Nashville's coaching staff doesn't mind having to make those tough decisions either,
[but as Predators General Manager David Poile said Friday
, and Hynes reaffirmed soon after, there will be chances to come in this series - everyone simply has to be ready.

"I don't anticipate that the lineup stays the same every game," Hynes said. "Whether you win or lose, or how the team plays or how individuals play, the team may play really well and there's a couple individuals that may not play at the level that they need to. Just because you win doesn't mean we'll stick with that same lineup. We've got to have everybody clicking on all cylinders, playing to their identity, what their specific identity is as a player, and that's how you have to go about making your decisions. The positive thing is you feel very comfortable whatever lineup you put together. If it plays to its potential, we can be a very competitive team in the series.
"There's going to be guys that are going to be out of the lineup, and they're going to stay ready like they have all year long. David and I have talked quite a bit, I've talked with the coaches, we've talked with the players and there's going to be a lineup for Game 1, and there's going to be players out of the lineup for Game 1 that you would feel could be in the lineup. But, like all year long, the lineup that we put on the ice, we need them to play to their max capacity and to the identity that we want to play with, and then we'll continue to move on with the series from there."
In the meantime, the Preds have been putting in the work over the past few days and doing what's necessary to be ready to make a run at the prize every hockey player dreams of winning.
That quest will officially begin soon enough, and for all this Predators team has faced over the past four months, there's not much they haven't dealt with already. Perhaps that will serve them well at a time of the year when anything can happen.
"We've had some big wins, we've had some tough losses, we've had must-win games that we've won, we've kind of had supposed must-win games that you've lost and we've been able to stay pretty even-keel," Hynes said. "We've had a lot of time together to go through the ups and downs and understand how we need to go about our business. I'd label the team right now as focused. They've had a couple of days and mentally and physically recharge, they've come back to the rink focused, very attentive in meetings and I've really liked the way that we've been able to practice. The speed, the pace, the competitiveness, our execution, I think there's a good, focused environment right now, and not tight, not loose, just guys are excited to play and go about our business the way we normally do, and that's been really positive."