At first glance, I would say the Preds. Plus, that would really inject some bad blood leading into the winter classic next year. But now that I think about it, I think I would rather see the Jets. Rinne concerns me more than Hellebuyck, and Nashville is a much more balanced offensive team. I think the key to beating the Jets is to just shut down their top line (where have I heard that before?). The Jets are what I imagine the Stars would have been had Seguin, Benn, and Radulov had better overall seasons. But given the goaltending we've seen this season, we'd probably be far and away the best in the Central. In a best of 7, with Zuccarello back in the lineup and Bishop in net (presumably healthy), I'd EXPECT the Stars to win. With Nashville, I'd be less confident.
As hard as it is to believe, we're only 6 points behind Nashville with 2 games in hand. It's not out of the realm of possibility that we could catch them and get home ice for the first round. Thay would certainly help tip the odds in our favor.
Either way, I'm so ready for playoff hockey. Nothing else like it.