2023 EHE Playoffs Rd. 2: Stars vs. Predators..... again.

In the 5th straight iteration of Stars vs. Predators in the playoffs, the Stars will be looking to bounce back from a sweep at the hands of the Predators last year. While the Predators are looking for that elusive Western Conference Championship. Although the Stars were swept last year, the series was much closer than that. 3 games were 1 goal games, with two of those ending in OT. They other game was a 3-1 Preds win in which the Stars outshot them. What will this seasons match-up bring?

Regular Season Stats

Just about everything stat wise supports the Predators this season. Especially on defense, which has been a sticking point for the Stars all season. 

All those numbers aside, the Head to Head match-up was a bit more one sided. All 4 battles went the way of the Dallas Stars. They swept the season series outscoring the Preds 16-10. Kaprizov (2G,4A) and Pastrnak (4G,1A) lead the way in the season series for the Stars, while on the otherside it was the Sidney Crosby show with 1G and 5A. The Stars relatively kept McDavid in check with only 4 points in the 4 games. If the Stars can keep McDavid to a PPG in this series, they would be very happy with that result as he already has 8 points through the Preds' first 4 games to lead the team. Kirll Kaprizov lead the Stars with 10 points through the first round of the playoffs for the Stars, which is tied for the playoff lead with two players that are out.

The Stars will be hoping that their upgraded top 6 will be able to stay ahead of the top 6 of the Predators, as both top 6's are loaded with talent. But it may be whichever team gets more contributions from their bottom six that ultimately that sways the series. In their first round match-up with the Ducks, former Stars; Cam Atkinson and Kasperi Kapanen chipped in with 4 and 3 points respectively. While the Stars had contributions from Bonino with 3 points, with most of their heavy lifting coming from the top 6. 5 of the Stars top 6 forwards chipped in 5 or more points. 

Another point of intruige is the match-up in goal. Former Stars great, Carey Price leads the Predators in against the only other team he has played for. He had a revitalizing year ending up 40-16-4 with a 2.49 GAA and a .915 sv%. Can he stick it to GM Tang for cutting bait too early, or was he just a product of playing in front of what was the best EHE defense this year? On the otherside, Price's succesor, Ville Husso. He had a good but not spectacular year, which was his first year as a starter in the EHE. Coming into the year he had only 1 EHE game played but ended the year with a 39-24-3 record, a 2.86 GAA and a .906 sv%. All number that he has bested through the first round of the playoffs. 

So who wins? The franchise with the most EHE cups, or the franchise looking for its first Stanley Cup appearance? The team with the better regular season record, or the team that won the season series? Of the GM's that predicted the playoffs, 8 correctly picked this match-up. 5 picked Nashville, 3 picked Dallas. Whomever comes out the victor will surely be the betting favorite the rest of the way in the Western Conference.