Series Matchups
- STANLEY CUP FINAL
- Carolina vs Edmonton
- ROUND THREE
- Western Conference
- Anaheim vs Edmonton
- Eastern Conference
- Carolina vs Buffalo
- ROUND TWO
- Western Conference
- San Jose vs Edmonton
- Anaheim vs Colorado
- Eastern Conference
- Ottawa vs Buffalo
- Carolina vs New Jersey
- ROUND ONE
- Western Conference
- Detroit vs Edmonton
- Dallas vs Colorado
- Calgary vs Anaheim
- Nashville vs San Jose
- Eastern Conference
- Ottawa vs Tampa Bay
- Carolina vs Montreal
- New Jersey vs NY Rangers
- Buffalo vs Philadelphia
|
VS |
|
| San Jose wins the best-of-seven series 4-1 | ||
Nashville (4)
San Jose(5)
Sharks send Predators packing
The road to Stanley Cup playoff elimination is often paved with untimely penalties. The Nashville Predators found this out the hard way Sunday night. . » FULL STORY
Past Stories
TEAM ANALYSIS
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Key Player | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville Predators |
The Predators had the third best penalty-killing unit in the Western Conference, which helped lead to the franchise's first-ever 100-point season. The Predators finished the year killing penalties at an 84.7 per cent rate (needs to be checked) and sport one of the best faceoff men in 11-year-veteran Yanic Perreault. With power plays expected to increase, Nashville's impressive special team's unit will become vital to any playoff success. |
The Predators received a big blow to their playoff hopes when it was announced goaltender Tomas Vokoun would miss the playoffs due to a rare blood condition. Many considered Vokoun an MVP candidate. Now the Predators have to hope that 29-year-old Chris Mason can carry them. Mason did register two shutouts this season, but he'll need to step up immediately if the Predators have plans on advancing past the first round. |
Paul Kariya: The sniper bounced back from an awful season with Colorado in 2003 as he led the Predators in scoring with 85 points. The Vancouver native was particularly strong on the power play, scoring 14 goals, and he also led the team with 245 shots on net. However, Kariya must improve on his minus-10 showing in the regular season in order to be effective in the playoffs. |
| San Jose Sharks |
In Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, the Sharks have two centres who ranked among the top-20 scorers. Thornton has been a scoring machine since being acquired from Boston and his playmaking ability transformed little-known Jonathan Cheechoo into a 50-goal scorer. While Marleau's season was overshadowed by Thornton, his 86 points were the best of his eight-year career. |
The Sharks' penalty killing was abysmal this season as they ranked last among the Western Conference playoff teams. Part of the problem can be attributed to San Jose's lack of a true defensive stud. The Sharks simply have too much trouble controlling the play in their own end and often times find themselves scrambling to clear the puck and the relieve the pressure. |
Joe Thornton: Thornton won his first scoring title but will need to answer questions concerning his lack of productivity in the post-season. In the 35 playoff games he played with Boston, Thornton only managed six goals and was often criticized for his lack of toughness when the games mattered most. However, Thornton does have a better supporting cast in San Jose. |
STATISTICS
| NASHVILLE PREDATORS GOALIES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA | ||||
| Chris Mason | 5 | 1 | 4 | 17 | .901 | 3.45 | |||
| Pekka Rinne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| NASHVILLE PREDATORS TOP SCORERS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW | |
| Paul Kariya | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kimmo Timonen | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Sillinger | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Shea Weber | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Martin Erat | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| NASHVILLE PREDATORS INJURIES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tomas Vokoun | blood clots | out for season |
| SAN JOSE SHARKS GOALIES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA | ||||
| Evgeni Nabokov | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .750 | 5.00 | |||
| Vesa Toskala | 11 | 6 | 5 | 28 | .910 | 2.45 | |||
| SAN JOSE SHARKS TOP SCORERS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW | |
| Patrick Marleau | 11 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| Jonathan Cheechoo | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -1 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Joe Thornton | 11 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -4 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| Christian Ehrhoff | 11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
| Tom Preissing | 11 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| INJURIES | ||
|---|---|---|
| No Injuries were reported. |
Goalie statistics: GP=Games played, W=Wins, L=Losses, GA=Goals against, SV=Saves, SH=Shutouts, SV%=Save percentage, GAA=Goals-against average
Player statistics: GP=Games played, G=Goals, A=Assists, P=Points, +/-=Plus/Minus, PIM=Penalty Minutes, PP= Power-play goals, GW=Game-winning goals
Team statistics: GF=Goals for, GA=Goals against, PP= Power-play efficiency, PK= Penalty-killing efficiency. NB: Team statistics are from the 82-game regular season. Ranking is out of 30 teams.
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