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Posted at 2:30 PM EST.

8:00 PM EST. OT included. When the Predators hosted the Blackhawks last week and beat them, 3-2, we targeted the Preds as good fade material and we’re not backing off that position for the next while. Against Chicago, Nashville was clearly the second best team on the ice. Patrick Kane missed two open nets in that game and Chicago owned a puck possession edge but still lost. It happens. Two nights later, playing the final game of an exhausting road trip, Vancouver went into Nashville and beat them, 5-3. Two nights after that, the Ducks would play their sixth game in nine nights in Nashville after playing the previous night in Columbus. The Ducks came in exhausted, badly banged up with several key players out and Nashville was tooth and nails to beat them in OT. Not only have the Preds been lucky all season, they have caught three exhausted teams coming in here in their last three home games and were fortunate to not go 0-3. 

The media and several publications trust that the Preds are one of the better teams in the league because of its 16-7-3 record but we’re not in agreement with that one bit. Nashville is the luckiest team in the NHL but not close to being one of the best. Since November 3, Nashville’s Corsi for % ranks 26th in the league, which is behind teams like Philadelphia, Detroit and Buffalo among others. The Preds Corsi Against per 60 minutes ranks 28th in the league over that same span. Nashville’s scoring chances for ranks 29th out of 31 teams also. The Preds rank highly in three luck-driven areas -- power-play %, penalty killing % and PDO (shot percentage plus shooting percentage). The Predators have a distinct home-ice advantage but we’re not going to allow that to deter us from fading these imposters often. Regression is coming.

By contrast, the Bruins just keep getting better. An influx of young and very good talent has given this franchise a massive boost and they’ve also held the fort while the B’s waited for some healthy bodies to get back in the lineup. Boston is healthier now than they’ve been all season and they figure to be even more dangerous. The Bruins rank 3rd in Corsi Against and 6th in Corsi For. In a recent trip through Los Angeles, San Jose and New Jersey, the B’s swept those three games before returning home to defeat the Penguins. In a recent win over the then red-hot Bolts, Boston held a 30-9 shots on goal edge at one point and won that game too. The Bruins are hot and they’re legit while the Preds are also hot but they’re not legit. If all things are equal here, we’ll be cashing this ticket but once again, it’s just a matter of going with the best of it.

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