The Nashville Predators now know what days and times they’ll be playing the Vancouver Canucks in the opening round of their Western Conference playoff series.
The NHL releases the schedules of all first-round matchups Thursday night, and the Predators will open the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Arena in Vancouver Sunday at 9 p.m. CT, which is exactly what Predators general manager Barry Trotz was hoping for.
“I would prefer if we started sooner,” Trotz told 102.5 The Game this week. “I think if you get away from the intensity of the game for too long, it takes you a while to ramp it up. In a best-of-seven series, if you can’t ramp it up pretty early, you’ll be packing your bags and going home. I would prefer a Sunday start, if possible. But I’ll let the league decide that.”
The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
The full schedule is listed below:
Game 1: Sunday, April 21, at Vancouver, 9 p.m. CT
Game 2: Tuesday, April 23, at Vancouver, 9 p.m. CT
Game 3: Friday, April 26, at Nashville, 6:30 p.m. CT
Game 4: Sunday, April 28, at Nashville, 4 p.m. CT
Game 5: Tuesday, April 30, at Vancouver, TBD (if necessary)
Game 6: Friday, May 3, at Nashville, TBD (if necessary)
Game 7: Sunday, May 5, at Vancouver, TBD (if necessary)
Nashville and Vancouver played three times during the regular season with the Canucks sweeping the three-game series:
- Oct. 24 Predators lost 3-2 at Bridgestone Arena
- Oct. 31 Predators lost 5-2 at Rogers Arena
- Dec. 19 Predators lost 5-2 at Bridgestone Arena
Three other playoff series will kick off on Sunday as well.
The Florida Panthers host the Tampa Bay Lightning at 11:30 a.m. CT on ESPN, the New York Rangers host the Washington Capitals at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN, and the Winnipeg Jets host the Colorado Avalanche at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
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