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Posted at 3:00 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Nashville over Vancouver

10:07 PM EST. OT included. Strip the logos and jerseys and the points in the standings, and what you have is one team that is totally dictating the pace of play through three games, as the Predators have by far been the better team despite being down 3-1 in this series. Further, of the 16 teams in the playoffs, none has been worse than the Canucks, not the Capitals, Lightning, Kings, Islanders, or Jets. None. If life were fair, the brooms would be out, and it would be over with Nashville sweeping 4-0, but alas, it is not. Such is life in the NHL.

Through four games, the Canucks have 71 shots, which is the lowest total posted ever in the playoffs. Plain and simple, it’s been pure domination by the Preds, which just goes to show you again just how luck-driven the results in the NHL are. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong for Vancouver, as their top players are no-shows, and they are down to their third-string goaltender. Yet, they are in a position to close out this series at home in Game 5.

That said, all the pressure is on the Canucks to send the Preds back to Nashville tonight because it’s clear they are the second-best team on the ice, and they do not want to go to a raucous Music City for Game 6. If the Canucks turn out to be the better team on the ice tonight, so be it, but all the value in this game is with the Preds, and that's how we are going to play it.

Sherwood

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