NHL Playoffs 2012: 5 Matchups to Watch in Predators-Red Wings Series

This year's Stanley Cup playoffs are replete with exciting and intriguing matchups, though perhaps no series brings quite as much to the table as that between the fourth-seeded Nashville Predators and the fifth-seeded Detroit Red Wings.

Both teams are legitimate title contenders, though they arrive in the postseason amidst drastically disparate circumstances and historical expectations. These two squads could easily take seven games to sort out an overall victor, with these five battles—some on the ice and some off—playing crucial roles in the final result.

Original Six vs. Hockeytown South

The big-picture significance of this series for the Predators can't be overstated...until it is, of course. Head coach Barry Trotz has been in Nashville since the team was founded in 1997, with the model for success in the Music City built to emulate that which the Red Wings had (and have) enjoyed for decades in Detroit.

Nashville has slowly but surely morphed into the "Hockeytown South" that Preds' brass had long hoped it would become, though the team has yet to truly challenge Detroit's supremacy within the division.

A win over the big-brother Red Wings would go a long way toward establishing the Preds as much more than just a misplaced expansion team foundering in the Bible Belt of America.

On the flip side, the onus is on Detroit to maintain the "natural order" of hockey for at least another year by putting the Preds in their rightful place.

Jimmy Howard vs. Pekka Rinne

Playoff success for any team is predicated on quality goaltending, of which both of these teams have plenty.

Jimmy Howard was among the best netminders in the league this season before a groin injury knocked him out of the picture for an extended stretch. The Wings' top cop in goal appears to be healthy and rounding back into form after returning in time for the final five games. He will need to be at his best against a Preds offense that ranked in the top 10 in the NHL in goals scored.

The same goes for Nashville's Pekka Rinne against Detroit's seasoned top-six forwards. Rinne's resplendent season (2.39 GAA, .929 save percentage) seems to have relented amidst fatigue, with a 2.88 GAA and .902 save percentage in March.

That's no surprise, considering Rinne led the league in wins and games played this season.

As such, the standoff between these two goalies figures to be a war of attrition of sorts, with each participant hoping to stand on his head without incurring further injury or falling asleep.

Nashville's Power Play vs. Detroit's Penalty Kill

The biggest difference in this series may prove to be on the power play, where Nashville is among the best in the business while Detroit's penalty kill is patently average.

Star defensemen Shea Weber and Ryan Suter have sparked the Preds' attack on the advantage all season and have only seen that part of their game improve since Alexander Radulov and Hal Gill came aboard.

The Red Wings, on the other hand, were only 18th in the league on the penalty kill this season, though their short-handed defense tightened considerably once Howard and Jonathan Ericsson rounded back into health.

Detroit will need to be on its best behavior in the penalty kill to keep Nashville under wraps. Otherwise, Hockeytown South may soon have its day in the sun at the original's expense.

Preds vs. The Clock

Never before has Nashville been so well-positioned to do just that, though there's little time to waste.

Or, to put it more bluntly, it's now or never for the Preds.

Just about every player that GM David Poile brought in at the trade deadline at great expense (Gill, Andrei Kostitsyn, Paul Gaustad) is set to hit free agency, as are longtime stars Weber, Suter and Jordin Tootoo, among others.

Clearly, the Preds are living in the present and must make the most of the opportunity in front of them before it passes them by. A poor postseason performance might mean more than just an extended offseason.

It could also signal the beginning of a full-scale rebuild, especially if Weber and Suter aren't pleased with the team's direction and decide to take their talents elsewhere as a result. 

Red Wings vs. Expectations

Meanwhile, the story in the Motor City is the same as it ever was—Stanley Cup or bust. Failing to make the Stanley Cup Final for two years may not seem like much to most franchises, but to the Mike Ilitch-owned Red Wings, it's indicative of a panic-worthy drought.

Detroit's championship core of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom and Nicklas Lidstrom isn't quite what it once was, though that collection of experienced talent is still more than capable of heating up and going on a deep postseason run under head coach Mike Babcock.

If they don't, questions will abound in Hockeytown as to whether this Wings regime still has what it takes to win the Cup and if the times may be in need of a-changin' as a result.

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