NHL Playoffs 2012: 5 Matchups to Watch for in the Nashville-Detroit Series

It's (almost) time for the Stanley Cup playoffs in Nashville, and my hometown Predators have never been more ready for their first deep playoff run. 

They're no stranger to appearing in the playoffs, as they've consistently strung together solid regular seasons but have yet to make it past the second round.  

Behind a core group of stars in Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and Pekka Rinne, Nashville boasts one of the most formidable defense-goalie pairings that should give Detroit's elusive stars some trouble.

A rekindled offense led by some longtime veterans and a few shiny additions could put Nashville over the top if they can get it going at both ends of the ice. 

The Nashville-Detroit series could be the most intriguing first-round matchup with all of the storylines. These are the matchups that will decide who moves on and who is sent packing.

Home-ice advantage may not seem like much to the outside eye, but it'll have an enormous impact on this No. 4/5 series between recent bitter rivals.

Nashville has turned from one of the most unstable franchises in the NHL to a perennial sold-out house every night. Those who say that Tennesseans don't know their hockey seem to forget that they sure do know how to make noise and have a rowdy time.

Detroit may be one of the best-prepared teams to enter such an atmosphere as the Wings are littered with veterans who have played in Bridgestone Arena dozens of times and know how influential the crowd can become.

Those watching on TV won't get the full dynamic of what the players and coaches will go through. During commercial breaks in the third period (which will probably transition to all game because of the playoffs), fans will give a standing ovation to their team and city while the brave ones toss catfish on the ice. It may be a tradition adopted by Detroit's octopus toss, but Nashville fans have made it all their own.

If Detroit can split the first two games in Tennessee behind strong leadership and battle-tested experience, it'll be a huge win moving forward in the series. The Wings ended 2011-12 with their worst road record in years at 17-21-3, so they'll have to turn it around on the road to win this series as Nashville has home-ice advantage.

The best defensive pairing in the NHL will have their hands full with two elusive and highly skilled Detroit forwards.

Shea Weber and Ryan Suter have been able to dominate mostly anyone who's met their glance, but Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have been one of the thorns in their side in the Central Division. Both Red Wings led their team in points with 67 and 69, respectively.

Datsyuk single-handedly killed what would have been one of Nashville's biggest wins earlier this season when he scored a game-winner with less than 10 seconds left to extend Detroit's already historic home winning streak. He deked through all of Nashville's "Big Three" for the spectacular goal.

This series will be a grind-it-out series with each team pushing to its limit. The Predators can't afford to let one bad play result in a critical goal for Detroit, which can make it happen before you know it.

If I'm Nashville head coach Barry Trotz, I make certain that Weber and Suter are on the ice every moment that No. 40 and 13 are. This will be even harder considering that they don't even play on the same line. 

Pekka Rinne had the reliable and stellar (at times) year that he was supposed to after getting his huge payday, but many Red Wings fans would argue that Jimmy Howard's year was even more impressive.

Rinne led the league in wins, so his durability and consistency at the position is unrivaled. This would give him a slight advantage heading into the series, as he's more accustomed to playing regularly and without many games off. 

Although, Howard's numbers cannot be denied. His 2.13 goals against average is insane and trumps Rinne's 2.39. He also has six shutouts to Rinne's five.

Rinne has faced 500-plus more shots than Howard, so it's hard to assume how those numbers relate to one another. One thing that can be concluded, however, is that both goalies have the ability to shut down their net and win a game single-handedly. 

Many well-informed individuals around hockey have jumped on the Predators bandwagon after the team opened the season with promise and greatly improved its roster throughout the last two months of the season.

Nashville was expected to be one of the buyers at the trade deadline, and that's what it ended up being. After acquiring big-and-tall defenseman Hal Gill to bolster their blue-line depth, they reeled in Andrei Kostitsyn to add a top-six forward and a potential game-changer. 

They also added Paul Gaustad, who sees many big faceoffs on special teams, to be a fourth-line player and faceoff specialist. 

Perhaps the biggest addition was the return of Alexander Radulov from Russia, widely considered to be the best non-NHL player. Radulov blossomed into a dynamic playmaker for Nashville before leaving in 2008 and becoming a star in the KHL. He's added a nose for scoring and much more skill to Nashville's offense.

It's looking like Detroit will be returning two big contributors on offense for the playoffs. Danny Cleary and Darren Helm have a combined 59 points for the Red Wings this season and are expected to return to the ice after missing time over the final stretch of the season. 

Whichever group has the biggest impact could prove to be a big momentum shift in the series. 

If I asked you to guess which one of these teams leads the league in power-play efficiency, you'd probably guess wrong.

Advantage Nashville.

The Predators blistered out to a great power play this season and have been able to hold the league's top ranking with a 21.6 percent efficiency. Upon further inspection, it's not hard to see why, as they boast one of the most all-around scoring attacks and have two Norris contenders running the point.

Detroit has had an off year on the man advantage, finishing just 23rd in the league with 16 percent efficiency. But don't write the Wings off, because they've shown to have the scoring ability and explosiveness to cash in on one single mistake that the Predators could make.

Nashville's penalty kill was once mediocre, but has improved with the additions of Hal Gill and Paul Gaustad. Gill has brought some size and consistency to the back-line defense and Gaustad's faceoff effectiveness is unrivaled. 

Nashville has a big advantage on special teams, but it won't be easy to execute when it's facing a Detroit team that can make any play on the ice.