ANAHEIM, Calif. -- This first-round series will be a matchup of two teams that caught fire in the season’s second half. After a startlingly poor start, the Anaheim Ducks went on a 25-4-2 tear after Christmas and regained the form that has made them one of the NHL’s top teams the past three seasons. Not to be outdone, the Nashville Predators went on a 12-2-2 run of their own shortly after they hosted the All-Star Game.
Both teams came back down to earth in the closing weeks of the season and will look to get hot again at the perfect time.