NASHVILLE VS. ST. LOUIS

FIRST TIME IN POSTSEASON: These Central Division rivals know each other well with Nashville winning the regular-season series 3-2. This is the first time they have met in the postseason. The Blues are trying to get back to the conference finals after losing to San Jose in six a year ago, while this is the second consecutive second round for Nashville and fourth in its short history. The Predators got the most of their postseason a year ago, going a full 14 games before losing to San Jose in the second round. “Now here we sit, we’re one of eight teams that has a chance to reach the Stanley Cup and to win the Stanley Cup,” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. “So we’re pretty excited about that opportunity.”

STOPPING JOFA: Nashville’s top line of Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson combined for 15 points in the first round. The trio also leads the league in plus-minus rating this postseason.

ROAD WARRIORS: Since Yeo was hired Feb. 1, the Blues have gone 17-4-1 on the road and have won nine of their last 10 counting three wins in upsetting Minnesota 4-1 in their first-round series. St. Louis lost twice in Nashville in games played before Yeo took over.

TIME TO SCORE: Four Predators scored game-winning goals against Chicago, a sign of the depth that featured 12 players scoring at least 10 goals during the regular season. That tied for the league lead. Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who tied for fourth in the NHL with 39 goals, had only one goal in the first round.

HEALING UP: The Blues got center Paul Stastny back from a lower-body injury suffered March 21 for their fifth game against Minnesota. The Predators also expect to have forward Colin Wilson back and are hoping for the man known as “Playoff Colin Wilson” this time of year. Wilson, who missed the first-round series with a lower-body injury, has 20 points in 33 career playoff games. He was at his best last year leading Nashville with 13 points in 14 games.