Online Sports Betting Overview The story of the Nashville Predators will not end with the conclusion of this Western Conference semifinals series. When people are doing online betting for Kentucky Derby winners next year, the Predators will be in the playoffs again. But, for now, NHL fans are watching a team develop right before their eyes. The pay per head hockey fans in Nashville will want to keep a close eye on their hockey team because they could be watching the development of a Stanley Cup contender. One or two player changes in the off-season, and we could be talking about the Predators in an entirely different way next season. The Vancouver Canucks are fully developed and need to start coming through on some of the promise that follows them around. The Canucks needed to play a more physical style of hockey to win this series, and they have risen to that occasion. Goaltender Roberto Luongo needed to get the playoff monkey off of his back and, so far in this series, the Predators have not scored more than one goal in any game. Because of Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne, these games have all been close. But the Predators are reaching the end of this stage of their development, and the Canucks are ready to put them away. Nashville Predators The Predators know that they have an obvious keeper in goaltender Pekka Rinne. Rinne almost single-handedly won game two. But the Predators have also learned that they need larger and more aggressive forwards. They cannot get any pressure on Roberto Luongo because they are not as able to crash the net as they were against the Anaheim Ducks. The Canucks defense is fast and strong, and the Predators forwards are having problems dealing with that. Roberto Luongo is also playing well, which is uncharacteristic of him in the playoffs. Luongo has been a key to the Canucks’ success in this series, and Vancouver hopes he can keep it up. The Predators have a solid defense and a playoff-caliber starting goaltender. They just need a little more help up front and this will be a team to be reckoned with. Vancouver Canucks The “green men” in Vancouver are getting almost as much camera time as the Canucks. The party atmosphere in Vancouver did not always exist. When the Canucks lost game two of this series at home, the fans started to get concerned. But with back to back wins in Nashville, the Canucks will be coming home to a loud and happy house. The Canucks should be able to put the Predators away, but their inability to put sustained pressure on the Nashville defense and goaltending should be a major concern as the Canucks prepare to face the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference finals. The Bottom Line The Predators are a year away from being a team that the Vancouver Canucks need to fear. But Nashville did manage to exploit a few weaknesses that the Canucks will need to address in the conference finals. The Canucks still lack toughness on offense, and there is no telling how Roberto Luongo will react to being in the conference finals again. Pick: Vancouver Canucks
