Y’all ready for Western Conference Game 7, Part 2? Hopefully better than last night’s installment? It’s Predators-Sharks at the Tank. Let’s take a look at the picks, plays and predictions.
| Predators vs Sharks ML +151 / -167 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock. Should be no surprises here: Pekka Rinne and Martin Jones.
For now the second series in a row, the Nashville Predators have won a crucial Game 6 on home ice to force a winner-take-all game in California. The Preds were 0-5 in series in which they trailed three-games-to-two prior to this year. They can improve to 2-5 tonight.
If there’s anything that Nashville has proven to the world this postseason, it is their resiliency. They have a remarkable ability to bounce back after bad gaffes or bad games to completely turn the page.
Case in point: Chris Tierney scored twice in less than two minutes in the first period to put the Sharks up 2-0 early. About five minutes later, Roman Josi pinballed a shot in over the head of Martin Jones to get Nashville on the board.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/729848708855148544
It took only a minute-and-a-half in the second period for Nashville to even things up. Ryan Johansen tallied his fourth goal of the postseason with a slippery backhander that cleanly slid through the five-hole of Jones.
Midway through the third period, it looked as though San Jose had sheathed the dagger in the heart of the Preds. With traffic in front and the puck moving across the ice, Pekka Rinne lost his footing and fell while the Preds were on the penalty kill. Logan Couture, timing his shot brilliantly, buried a wrist shot past the outstretched arms of Rinne- no easy feat, seeing as Rinne is 6’5″ with quite a long wingspan.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/729873880987406336
But Nashville did not quit. They immediately grabbed possession and shoved the Sharks deep into their own zone and put together one of the most beautiful tic-tac-toe plays seen yet this postseason. What makes it impressive is not so much the tape-to-tape passing, but the sheer distance covered by the passes themselves. The puck travels from the high point to the near circle to the crease.
The game went into overtime, where yet another backhander did Martin Jones in.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/729883676465610752
Viktor Arvidsson netted his first career postseason goal to give Nashville the win. Pekka Rinne got a secondary helper on the goal. It looks as though the puck just barely deflected off the stick of Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
So now here we are again. Nashville is traveling to Cali for a shot at their first trip to the Western Conference Final in franchise history. San Jose is looking to stave off blowing a 2-0 and 3-2 series lead. The Sharks have made three trips to the Western Conference final in their history, but have only won a total of three games in that round.
There are narratives to be busted on both sides.
For a never-say-die team like the Predators that has already shown they can get the job done on the road in a Game 7, the line is inordinately cruel to them. They are listed at one of the worst slants yet this postseason at +151. Perhaps it is due to the fact that this has been a home team’s series thus far. Plus, the Preds are 0-7 in San Jose in their playoff history.
Another coaching Game 7 factoid, since Lindy Ruff worsened to 0-4 in Game 7s lifetime: Peter Laviolette has won five straight Game 7s, the first coach in history to do so. He is 5-1 lifetime.
For Nashville to come away with the victory, they will need to get the Sharks on their heels to start the game. Shots were 8-5 in the first period in favor of San Jose, and the Sharks led 2-1. from that point on, shots were 25-9 for the remainder of regulation and 2-1 in overtime in favor of Nashville and the Preds outscored the Sharks 3-1. Nashville took the wind out of Anaheim’s sails early in last round’s Game 7, and they came away with a 2-1 victory.
San Jose will need to squash the bug. Nashville just does not die. The Sharks experienced great success in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings by not letting them back in games, which eventually resulted in their not getting back in the series. San Jose dispatched the Kings in five games and never let their foot off the pedal. They will need to maintain a strong 60-minute effort to move on.
Prediction: Once more, I am sticking with my series preview prediction. Sharks in 7. Play the under.
