Nashville at San Jose

Nashville plays its best hockey at home but is 2,700 miles from home for this opener. They aren't rested, either, coming off a 2-1 Game 7 victory at Anaheim on Wednesday. Nashville was a woeful 1-for-26 with the man advantage versus Anaheim. Nashville ranked #14 in goals allowed during the regular season, #16 in penalty killing. Goalie Pekka Rinne had a number of shaky moments during the regular season and was dented for 11 goals as the Anaheim Ducks won three straight games in their series. Now they face a talented San Jose squad that has been idle since closing out the Los Angeles Kings in five games on April 22. The Sharks are 13-3 against a team with a winning record and have great balance, fourth in goals scored, third on the power play and third in goals allowed. Captain Joe Pavelski had 38 goals during the regular season before scoring five more times against Los Angeles, while defenseman Brent Burns had eight points in the opening round after netting 27 goals with 48 assists in the regular season. The Sharks are 16-6 when their opponent allows two goals or less in their previous game. San Jose holds all the cards, with the home team 8-3 when they clash, plus the Predators are on a 7-19 run at San Jose. Take San Jose.