It’s easy to view the Penguins and Predators Stanley Cup match-up as a seemingly lopsided affair – the hockey outsiders taking on the hockey establishment – but a narrower examination unearths some serious storylines and the potential for tightly contested series that starts on Monday night.

Nashville Predators Storylines

How they got here:
Divisional Round: Defeated Chicago 4-0
Western Conference Semi-Finals: Defeated St. Louis 4-2
Western Conference Finals: Defeated Anaheim 4-2

When the expansion Predators joined the NHL in 1998, many thought it was a mistake, a massive, massive mistake. Hockey in Nashville, some said, won’t work. Now, 19 years and nine playoff appearances later, the Predators are proving the anti-warm weather hockey expansion people wrong. This year Nashville entered the playoffs as the eighth and last seed in the Western Conference and the lowest ranked of the 16 teams vying for the Stanley Cup.

Remarkably, they find themselves just four wins away from becoming the seventh expansion team to win the Cup in its first attempt. And if one person in the entire organization deserves it most, it’s general manager David Poile (USA) who has served front offices for 33 years in the NHL without sniffing the Stanley Cup Final. The architect, the team and the city have waited for this opportunity and the chance to engrave the Music City on the Cup forever, is at hand.

Pittsburgh Penguins Storylines

How they got here:
Divisional Round: Defeated Columbus 4-1
Eastern Conference Semi-Finals: Defeated Washington 4-3
Eastern Conference Finals: Defeated Ottawa 4-3

This Stanley Cup for the Penguins is certainly about title defence, but more importantly, it’s about legacy. The Penguins teams of the early 1990s won two cups and this squad would like to do the same. There is a lot of criticism that the Sidney Crosby (CAN) and Yevgeni Malkin (RUS) led Penguins have only won two Cups despite the talent and riches at their disposal. A third Cup might well calm the detractors and validate the talent that’s been on display in Pittsburgh for almost a decade.

The superstars have once again led the Penguins this postseason and that’s been by necessity. Pittsburgh was without starting goaltender Matt Murray (CAN) until the Eastern Conference Finals and all-star defenceman, Kris Letang (CAN), has been out for the entire postseason. Add injuries to Patric Hornqvist (SWE), Justin Schultz (CAN), Carl Hagelin (SWE) and Bryan Rust (USA) for different periods of time, and it’s truly been a “next man up” mentality for the Penguins as they seek a fifth Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Offence

Nashville:

During the regular season Nashville ranked 11th in scoring (2.90 g/g) and has continued that trend with 2.94 goals per game in the playoffs – good for second place just behind Pittsburgh (3.05). Yet the story on offense is atrophy. During this playoff run, the team has lost their star centreman Ryan Johansen (CAN), who co-led the team in points this season (61), to a freak, thigh injury during the Western Conference finals against Anaheim. The team also lost Kevin Fiala (SUI) to a broken leg in the second round against St. Louis. The team is hoping to get veteran Mike Fisher (CAN) back for the Stanley Cup Final, but he’s been hampered with a head injury after a hit against the Ducks.

Without those three, it’ll be up to the likes of Filip Forsberg (SWE), former Penguin James Neal (CAN) and a cast of thousands including Viktor Arvidsson (SWE), Colin Wilson (USA) and Colton Sissons (CAN) to carry the load. Nashville has not necessarily found a ton of points from its forwards this postseason, but it has found a lot of energy in the corps. That spark will be vital as they attempt to match a Pittsburgh offense with similar make-up.

Pittsburgh:

Given Pittsburgh’s firepower, it’s no surprise the team led the regular season (3.39 g/g) and the postseason (3.05 g/g) in scoring. Yevgeni Malkin (24 pts) and Sidney Crosby (20 pts) are one-two in playoff scoring with Phil Kessel (USA – 19 pts) positioned fourth.

What’s different about this year’s Penguins is balance and the contribution from unlikely sources like Jake Guentzel (USA), who leads the playoffs with nine goals, Bryan Rust (USA), Connor Sheary (USA) and others. The team has relied on this youth and speed to generate long cycle sequences and odd-man rushes. Even though the status of former Predator Patric Hornqvist is uncertain, the Penguins boast the stars and the depth necessary to combat what can only be described as an elite Predators defence.

Advantage – Pittsburgh

Defence

Nashville:

After winning Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, Pittsburgh’s Chris Kunitz (CAN) described the Predators defence as having “Four Erik Karlssons”. That’s quite the compliment and pretty apropos. Nashville boasts the best defence in the league led by P.K. Subban (CAN), who was acquired from Montreal in the off-season for Shea Webber. Subban has brought skill and energy to the Nashville blue-line, which boasts the likes of Mattias Ekholm (SWE), Roman Josi (SUI) and Yannick Weber (SUI). All four are dynamic two-way defencemen that make the Predators attack extremely lethal. This is far and away the Predators biggest strength and they have the clear advantage over the Penguins at this position.

Pittsburgh:

Injuries have ravaged the Penguins on defence all season and missing Kris Letang has, at times, hurt the Penguins this postseason. Without Letang, the defence lacks a true No. 1 defenceman, but Pittsburgh has received elevated performances from a number of players including Justin Schultz (CAN), Trevor Daley (CAN), Brian Dumoulin (USA) and Olli Maatta (FIN). Others like Ian Cole (USA) and trade deadline acquisition Ron Hainsey (USA) have filled out the top-six quite nicely. The Penguins don’t necessarily have speed and skill on the back-end, but they have a ton of experience and know-how to give balance to a potent offensive attack.

Advantage - Nashville

Goaltending

Nashville:

There was a time three or four years ago that Pekka Rinne (FIN) was perennially considered one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. The three-time Vezina Finalist has been hampered by a multitude of injuries in the past couple seasons, but reasserted his dominance this year. Rinne has been at his best when it matters most. He leads the playoffs in wins (12), goals against (1.70) and save percentage (94.1). Since becoming Nashville’s full-time starter in 2008, Rinne has been the team’s anchor and will be called upon to deliver his greatest performance ever on hockey’s biggest stage.

Pittsburgh:

Matt Murray has given Pittsburgh reliable goaltending – something it so desperately needed – since he was called upon in last year’s playoffs. After winning the Cup last year, Murray was excellent all season for Pittsburgh, but injured himself warming up prior to the first game of the playoffs. That’s when Pittsburgh had to call upon the maligned Marc-Andre Fleury, the man who won a title in 2009, to help save the day.

Fleury had been shaky for the Penguins in recent years, losing his starting job, but you wouldn’t have known that given his performance for much of these playoffs. He was sensational against Columbus and Washington before losing his edge against Ottawa. With Murray healthy again, Pittsburgh went back to the No. 1 starter, who got the job done against Ottawa, winning the decisive seventh game on his 23rd birthday. There isn’t a large enough sample size to compare Murray’s stats against Rinne’s, but he has the experience of a Cup Final, which Rinne does not.

Advantage - Nashville

Special Teams & Coaching

Nashville:

The team ranks fourth on the penalty kill (88.1%) and twelfth (14.9%) on the power play during the playoffs. The biggest game-changer for the Predators in both phases is the mobile defence. With their puck handling and shooting abilities, they make the power play far extremely dynamic and they can carry the team out of trouble when down a man.

Head Coach Peter Laviolette (USA) is bringing his third NHL team to a Stanley Cup Final. Previously he won the title with Carolina in 2006 and lost with Philadelphia in 2010. Laviolette has brought offense and confidence to a Nashville team that never could seem to find a true winning formula in past years.

Pittsburgh:

The team ranks eighth on penalty kill (85.5%) and second (25.0%) on the power play during the playoffs. At times the Penguins have missed Kris Letang as its power play quarterback, but Schultz and Daley have stepped up admirably in his stead. Pittsburgh’s forwards must close out the blue-line when the Predators have the man advantage or else the likes of Subban and Josi will have a field day against the Penguins.

Pittsburgh called upon Mike Sullivan (USA) from their AHL affiliate last year to help salvage a team heading in the wrong direction. Sullivan won the Cup last year and brought a sense of balance and defensive grit that was missing in previous years. Sullivan looks to become the first coach to win back-to-back title since the legendary coach Scotty Bowman (CAN) did so in 1997 and 1998.

Advantage – Pittsburgh

RYAN O’LEARY