Flames by the Numbers:
Points Leader: Max Pacioretty (51)
Goals Leader: Max Pacioretty (27)
Goalie: Cam Talbot (32 W, 0.901 PCT, 2.79 GAA)

Preds by the Numbers:
Points Leader: Roman Josi (79)
Goals Leader: Patrice Bergeron (30)
Goalie: Roberto Luongo (49 W, 0.925 PCT, 2.04 GAA)

Regular Season Head to Head: Smashville (2-1-0-0)


Playoffs By the Numbers:

Calgary:
Points Leader: Sean Monahan (10)
Goals Leader: Sean Monahan (3)
Goalie: Cam Talbot (8-1, 0.928 PCT, 2.03 GAA)

Nashville:
Points Leader: Patrice Bergeron (18)
Goals Leader: Patrice Bergeron (7)
Goalie: Roberto Luongo (7-4, 0.914 PCT, 2.58 GAA)


Analysis:
To quote a Cylon from the rebooted Battlestar Galactica TV show from a few years ago, “All of this has happened before and will happen again…”  In a rematch of last year’s Western Conference final, once again it’s the Calgary Flames versus the Nashville Predators.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, the Calgary Flames proved as predicted to be too much to handle for the Los Angeles Kings as they took their second round series against LA 4 games to 1 while hardly breaking a sweat in doing so and advance into the Western Conference finals for the second straight year in a row.

Offensively, the Flames broke out against the Kings pumping in 16 goals behind beleaguered LA netminders Raanta and Jaro Halak, who alternated starts against the Flames in the series.  15 different players in the Calgary lineup now have at least one or more goals in the playoffs so far with four players with three goals each including Flames leading scorer Sean Monahan.

In net, Cam Talbot continued his stellar play from the first round and while Flames management would probably like to see Talbot could have tightened up his game a little bit having allowed 13 goals against LA, he got the job done and held the fort when each game was on the line.

On the other end of the rink, the Nashville Predators are once again are rolling through the playoffs after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks, yet again, in an exciting game 7 OT victory.  And just like last year, the Preds have taken out two of the top teams in the regular season in advancing to the Conference Finals after also dispatching the Dallas Stars in just five games in the first round.

Like the Flames, Nashville has had no shortage of offence in this year’s playoffs.  Lead by Bergeron and Michael Frolik with 7 goals apiece, the Preds have no less than 17 different players find the back of the net this post season so far.  In fact, Nashville leads the post season scoring race so far with 45 goals in 13 games played; they also lead the playoffs in goals against with 37…. But we digress….

Roberto Luongo has been, well, Roberto Luongo.  He’s now shut down two of the highest scoring regular season teams in Dallas and Chicago two years running and while his save percentage is only a mediocre 0.914, he’s shut the door when he needed to.

Head-to-head in the regular season these two teams only met three times with Nashville winning the series 2 games to 1.

Prediction:
To say that Calgary has had an easy go so far in these playoffs so far is an understatement.  In St. Louis they faced a team that lost their starting goal tender in the second game of their series.  In LA they faced a young team that was poorly managed and in over their heads.  Nashville will easily be the toughest opponent the Flames will have faced so far in these playoffs.

The Predators on the other hand can’t be too overconfident despite what they’ve accomplished so far.  Calgary enters into this series with the fewest goals against overall and the best power play in the post season.  The Preds, they unfortunately have the worst PK percentage at 76% and have allowed the *most* goals against in these playoffs so far.  If specialty teams become a factor in this series, Nashville could be in trouble.

Last year Nashville took the series in 6 games before ultimately losing to the Ottawa Senators in the finals.  And while history seems to be repeating itself thus far, we can’t help to think that after the horrendous regular season that the Flames suffered through and how they’ve performed in this year’s playoffs, they’re peaking just at the right time and won’t be denied this year.  Calgary in 6.