Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes ready for Game 1 of Round 2 -NHL Playoffs Preview
Phoenix and Nashville conquered some big teams on their way to round-two of the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Playoffs and are now set to go up against each other in the opening game of the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
Coyotes overtook Chicago Blackhawks in six games while Predators had an even bigger opponent, the Detroit Red Wings. Each opponent had various aspects about them in which each team dominated but now, being nearly level in all aspects, the series is sure
to be intense and exciting.
"We really are mirror images of each other," Coyotes general manager, Don Maloney, said. "We play a similar style, very good defence and work ethic, and you don't get a free night with Nashville. They'll be tough games. This will be an interesting series."
While Nashville acknowledged the fact that Coyotes are nearly identical to the, they have plans of playing over that but know it is not going to be easy.
Nashville finished ahead of the Coyotes at the end of the 2011-2012 NHL regular season but as Phoenix came out on top in the playoffs, they will be getting the home advantage in the semi-final series.
Pekka Rinne has been providing Nashville with the goaltending they needed to down the Red Wings but now as they face Mike Smith and the Coyotes, Predators will have to work extra hard to keep their goalie focused.
"He's an unbelievable goalie, just an athletic guy that competes as hard as anyone out there," Smith said. "We're going to have to elevate our game, try to get as much traffic, people and pucks to the net as we can, and hopefully we'll find a way to get
a pass in."
Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals is set to begin on Friday, April 27, 2012, at 9:00 PM ET at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
It will definitely be exciting to see how both teams play and manage to take advantage of each other’s weak points since their strengths are nearly matched. One advantage Phoenix will have is their offensive shooting power, aspect Nashville does not lack
but stays behind of the Coyotes.
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