Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Predators goaltender Juuse Saros could miss first round of playoffs?

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Zach Laing | Last updated 4/27/22

To say things are tense in Nashville could be an understatement.

Netminder Juuse Saros went down Tuesday night against the Calgary Flames with what the club announced to be a lower-body injury. Saros, 27, is in the midst of a tremendous season for the Preds, posting a 38-25-3 record, a .918 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average.

But according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, there is “real doubt” that he would be available for a Round 1 matchup.

As @FriedgeHNIC noted, specifics hard to come by on #preds goaltender Juuse Saros – but sounds like original injury prognosis was less than encouraging.

You never know in playoffs, but fair to say there is real doubt as to whether Saros will be available for Round 1.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 27, 2022

The Predators, who have clinched a wild-card spot in the playoffs, said earlier Wednesday that Saros would miss the final two games of the regular season.

Signs are pointing toward the Predators meeting up with Calgary in the first round of the playoffs, and if that’s the case, backup goalie and former Flame David Rittich would be manning the crease. The revenge narrative would surely be massive heading into that series, should it happen.

How much of a chance is there at a Predators-Flames matchup? Well, according to hockeyviz.com, those chances sit at 69% heading into Wednesday night’s game. If there’s one series that would be intense, it would be this one.

This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission.

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