When the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators square off in the first round of the NHL playoffs, there will be quite a few areas on the ice where the Central Division-champion Canes outmatch the Preds.
Perhaps the most staggering mismatch between the two teams will come when Carolina takes a penalty and heads to the box, as the Canes boast one of the league’s best penalty kills while the Predators have one of the NHL’s worst power-play units.
While avoiding penalties altogether is of course ideal, the Canes shouldn’t fret too much when Nashville goes to the power play in this playoff-opening series between the Canes and the team they beat six of eight times in the regular season.