Interesting cases can be made for and against the Nashville Predators winning the Stanley Cup this season. Hockey Prospectus take a look at both sides of the coin to determine whether this is the year the Preds hoist the hardware.
Why the Predators can't win the Stanley Cup
Nashville's first-round win over Detroit was truly spectacular, but there's one key reason why we shouldn't expect the Predators' run to continue much longer: possession.
Puck possession is critical in the postseason, and a key reason why the No. 8-seeded Los Angeles Kings were the statistical favorite against the now-defeated, top-seeded Vancouver Canucks, and why the No. 8-seeded Ottawa Senators match up evenly with the top-seeded New York Rangers. It's also why everything has to break in Nashville's favor for the Preds to advance. The second-worst possession team in the regular season, Nashville required a lot of good fortune to beat a good possession team like the Detroit Red Wings (third-best possession team during regular season).
But the good bounces won't last forever.