Round One: Avalanche and Preds X-Factors

Two of the Avalanche's top five scorers this season and their second-year head coach will be making their playoff debut during Game 1 in Nashville.
Mikko Rantanen, Alexander Kerfoot, Samuel Girard and J.T. Compher are just some of Colorado's key players who will be experiencing the twists, turns and grueling play that can only be replicated in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time. While the Predators have gone further in each subsequent postseason in each of their four seasons under Head Coach Peter Laviolette, Avs bench boss Jared Bednar will be learning on the fly how to approach the chess-like matchups of roster moves and line deployment within a playoff round.

Can the Avs shake off the pressure of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and pull off the first-round upset?
For Nashville, the most-successful regular season in franchise history flows into the most-anticipated start to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in memory. Traditionally, the Predators have been underdogs in their Round One series, including just last year against the Blackhawks.
For just the second time under Peter Laviolette and fifth time in franchise history, the Predators will have home-ice advantage for a playoff series. After starting all four series on the road in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL's best regular-season record this time around means Games 1, 2, 5, and 7 will be at Bridgestone Arena in every playoff round the Preds are able to advance to in 2018.
Can Nashville take a 2-0 series lead at home and put the pressure on the opposition? That's something they haven't accomplished yet in franchise history.