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If you were a casual observer, you'd look at this matchup of the best team in the West taking on the bottom ranked Wild Card seed and think that it was a clear path for the Ducks. This Nashville Predators team is no ordinary Cinderella though, and they're probably the only team left that is better defensively than the Ducks. Goaltending will be a huge issue for both teams, as John Gibson struggled against the Edmonton Oilers, and Pekka Rinne appeared to be coming back to earth at times for the Preds.
The Preds will have to find a way to stop Ryan Getzlaf, who was, save for Leon Draisaitl, the most dominant performer in that series. Getzlaf's been playing like he's 10 years younger, and that's good news for a Ducks team looking to get back to the Finals for a shot at a 2nd Cup. These two teams faced each other last year, and with the Ducks up 3-2, they couldn't close the deal, losing in Game 7. Both teams will tell you that they're not thinking about that at all, which means they totally are.
There will also be a focus on Ryan Kesler and his line trying to shut down the top line of the Preds the way they did against Connor McDavid. Though it's considered blasphemy to say so, McDavid was a non-factor in the series, due in large part to the tenacious checking of Kesler. Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg will have their hands full trying to battle through this, and you may see attempts to split them up to get one of them away from Kes.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
It's become a trend lately: Animated videos by metal bands. Not sure why, but some of them are pretty entertaining. This one from ShredHead isn't going to win awards, but the South Park style is pretty funny, especially when you start counting all the cameos.