Saros, the Predators' No. 1 goalie, missed the final two games of the regular season. He made 30 saves before leaving a 5-4 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday at 13:28 of the third period.
Predators coach John Hynes did not announce whether David Rittich or Connor Ingram will start in goal when the best-of-7 series gets underway at Ball Arena in Denver on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360 (JIP), SNE, TVAS, ALT BSSO).
"[Juuse] will be out the first two games, and then we'll go from there," Hynes said after practice Monday. "He's doing his rehab, he's working, and he's getting better.
"He's in all of our team meetings. He's there. He's preparing himself mentally to make sure that when and if he's ready, then he's going to be ready to go. We're just trying to do the best job we can to provide him with the opportunity to get better, and he's taken advantage of it."
The 27-year-old was 38-25-3 with a 2.64 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage, and four shutouts in his first full season as the Predators' No. 1 goalie after signing a four-year contract Aug. 16. He led the NHL with 67 starts this season, and his 38 wins were third behind Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers, who each won 39.
"He's been a real strong backbone of our team," Hynes said. "He's one of the elite goalies in the League and he gives us a chance to win every night. I think when you look at top goalies in the League, when there's breakdowns in the game, which there are, it's hard to play a perfect game. They can make the routine save regularly, but they can also make big time saves when there's a major breakdown or a really good play by the other team. Lots of times, he's a guy that can keep the puck out of the net."
Rittich went 6-3-4 with a 3.57 GAA and .886 save percentage in 17 regular-season games (12 starts). Ingram was 1-2-0 with a 3.71 GAA and .879 save percentage in three starts. Rittich has played one game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which came in relief with the Flames in 2020.
"'Ritty's' been great for us all year. There's so much trust within our team for Ritty," Predators captain Roman Josi said. "We know how good of a goalie he is. We know how great he can play. You can't control the situation, so whoever's in is going to do an amazing job, and we have full trust in both of them."
Nashville (45-30-7) finished as the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Colorado (56-19-7) had the best record in the West.
NHL.com independent correspondent Ryan Boulding contributed to this report
