Nashville, Tenn. -- More often than not, playing at home gives most teams an unparalleled advantage against their opposition. What holds true during the NHL's regular season is seemingly multiplied during the playoffs.
Home-ice advantage gives teams battling for the Stanley Cup not just the ability to start a series in front of their fans, but finish there if the series stretches to seven games.
For Nashville, that hasn't necessarily been the case.
The Predators have always been a tough team to play in Nashville, mostly because of their fan support. Yet in nine playoff series, they've combined for just 12 wins in 26 games on home ice. While unimpressive, compare that to six wins in 23 attempts away from Bridgestone Arena. It's obvious that the Predators still heavily benefit from playing in front of their own fans.
"It's extremely important, especially the way we play in our home building," said Predators assistant captain James Neal. "You never know who you could be playing in the first round."
One factor to weigh in for Nashville this season, as opposed to others, is the addition of Peter Laviolette behind its bench. While former coach Barry Trotz did more than enough during his tenure with the Predators, Laviolette owns a home winning percentage of 61 percent in his 14 different playoff series.
That's 25 wins in six different seasons with three different teams. Laviolette knows how to get the most out of his team, especially at home.
"He's been great for us," said forward Matt Cullen, who won a Stanley Cup with Laviolette in 2006. "His coaching style suits what we have in this room and I think he does such a good job getting the most out of his players. I've been lucky enough to play for him a couple of times throughout my career.
"He's a fun guy to play for. He's a very good motivator and he brings a fiery personality to the game. I think his teams carry it over onto the ice."
Nashville currently stands tied with Montreal for the second fewest regulation losses on home ice (nine). In the Central Division, no team currently in the playoff picture has accumulated more than 13 losses at home.
What could be disconcerting for the Predators is how they've played on the road this year compared to the rest of the division. Nashville has the fewest amount of wins on the road among the current eight playoff teams in the Western Conference.
As Nashville closed out a difficult home schedule with a 4-2 loss against Minnesota on Thursday evening -- its fifth straight loss -- the Predators can only look to rediscover some of their early success at home into the first round of the playoffs.
"You play all year to qualify for the playoffs and the next step with that is to qualify and get home ice in the playoffs," Laviolette said. "Obviously, it's something that we've talked about. It's important, I think.
"Guys want to open here, they want to play here in front of our fans. They've been great all year. It's been a great place for our team."
Unfortunately for Nashville, nine of its last 11 games at home have all ended in losses. The last four have seen the Predators grab an all-important first lead just to see it evaporate as the game stretched on.
Their problems have only surfaced over the course of the previous six weeks. Nashville has seen any chance of claiming home ice throughout the playoffs squandered and the opportunity to clinch the Central Division vanish. Now, the only two options for the Preds' first round opponent are Chicago and Minnesota, two teams that have utilized different tactics to drown out Nashville's fan base.
The Blackhawks utilize their own fan base to even the scales of any opponents home-ice advantage -- as Chicago is one of the most well-traveled collection of fans in the league.
Conversely, the Wild simply drain the energy out of the stands.
Case in point: Nashville tied or led at some point in each of its three home games against Minnesota this season. In each game, the Wild chipped away at the Predators before collecting their final lead and locking Nashville down. Even with two potentially troublesome matchups waiting in the first round, will Nashville be able to benefit from starting at home? There's no guarantee.
