Vancover is the biggest surprise this season. He scored 30 points more than last year and was in first place for a long time. He ended up finishing 3rd in the conference and first in the division.
Not much was expected from Nashville this year. Nashville didn’t have a bad start to the season and looked like they would be fighting for the promotion. But Nashville exceeded expectations and finished in 6th place with a 7-point lead.
Head-to-head matches this season
Quinn Hughes vs Roman Josi
Hughes scored 92 points on the season and was the most productive defenseman. Was 4th best in +/-.
He had 6 assists in 3 games against the Predators.
Josi scored 85 points on the season and was Nashville’s 2nd most productive player behind Filip Forsberg. He had 1 assist in 3 games against the Canucks.
Other key players:
Elias Petterson, Brock Boeser, JT Miller, Tkatcher Demko
Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, Jusse Saros, Gustav Nyqvist,
Offense: Vancouver: 8/10 Nashville 6.5/10
Defense: Vancouver 8.5/10 Nashville 8.5/10
Goalies: Vancouver 8.5/10 Nashville 8/10
Vancouver’s offensive strength is spread across multiple formations and all lines are capable of scoring.
Nashville’s offense will rely primarily on the first formation. If others add significantly, Nashville will have a chance to succeed.
Vancouver’s defense is full of great players. Nikita Zadorov also came from Calgary during the season.
In goal for Vancouver will be Demko, who had the best season of his career and was one of the main reasons for the Canucks’ run. He missed the end of the regular season due to injury, but should be fit for the playoffs.
Saros will be in goal for Nashville. Saros did not have the best season and there was speculation about his trade. Nashville would only trade him if he was out of playoff position.
Vancouver will be the favorite, but if Nashville defends well, the Canucks will have big problems.
https://nhl.cz/sezona/player-stats/detailni?stats-menu-section=info&stats-filter-season=2023&stats-filter-competition=7101&stats-playerFilter-position=BK
https://nhl.cz/sezona/player-stats/detailni?stats-menu-section=info&stats-filter-season=2023&stats-filter-competition=7101&stats-filter-team=2394
