The Nashville Predators are a win away from their first Stanley Cup Final berth in franchise history. Can they finish off the Western Conference Final tonight at home?
| Ducks vs Predators ML +125 / -145 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
For a team missing some of their most important forwards, the Nashville Predators put up one heck of a fight. More than that, actually. Even without Ryan Johansen, Mike Fisher, Craig Smith and Kevin Fiala in their lineup for Game 5, the Predators managed to steal a 3-1 victory in Anaheim Saturday night.
The first period ended scoreless but was eventful as ever. The back-and-forth up-down nature of the series came to a head, as the physicality took a nasty tone. Cody McLeod and Jared Boll came together again, and though no fisticuffs took place Boll did head to the bench with a limp following their encounter.
Jeepers. pic.twitter.com/Vd27k7IcRY
— Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey) May 21, 2017
Nashville took a pair of early penalties but killed them off.
Duck fans received a nasty shock at the start of the second period when Jonathan Bernier led the team out of the tunnel. John Gibson reportedly suffered a lower-body injury in the first period and was pulled from the game.
Anaheim would get on the scoreboard first. Ryan Kesler led a breakout from the Ducks’ zone and carried the puck through the neutral zone and over the blue line. Kesler slid the puck to Silfverberg who then sent a one-touch pass back to the blue line where a streaking Brandon Montour collected it in stride. Montour rolled through the slot in open space and had his shot saved by Pekka Rinne, but Chris Wagner potted the rebound.
Chris Wagner scored 26 goals in 79 games at Colgate over two seasons. 5th round pick. 1-0 Ducks. Might be all they need. pic.twitter.com/BxuyBBG9Zq
— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) May 21, 2017
Considering Montour was responsible for starting the breakout from behind his own goal line, that’s one heck of a shift.
The Predators went on the powerplay in the waning minutes of the second. With 11 seconds remaining in the man advantage and 40 seconds left in the second period, a bouncing puck happened to land on the stick of Colin Wilson. Wilson shoveled a backhander to the net and found twine.
Colin Wilson's backhand PPG knots things up 🚨 https://t.co/jtHOHiVWta pic.twitter.com/DAOGXzGQkG
— SI NHL (@SI_NHL) May 21, 2017
Eleven minutes passed in the final period of play. After a great shift from the Ducks’ top line, the Preds caught the Ducks in a slow transition. Mattias Ekholm entered the zone 1-on-1 and shielded the puck away waiting for reinforcements. He passed it to a charging Filip Forsberg who wired a wrist shot to the net. The initial save was made by Bernier but Pontus Aberg- yes, Pontus Aberg- pounced on the rebound to put the Preds on top.
The 23-year-old Aberg had one goal and one assist in 15 NHL games this season but a very successful AHL season. His goal was his first in his playoff career.
As of now, there's no bigger goal Pontus has scored.
The @PredsNHL are one win shy of a spot in the #StanleyCup Final. https://t.co/qrIh04OycQ
— NHL (@NHL) May 21, 2017
Nashville’s forecheck went to work. Their tenacious defense, coupled with Pekka Rinne’s marvelous puck-handling, made it incredibly difficult for Anaheim to get much going offensively. Though the Ducks were finally able to gain the zone and establish position once they pulled their goaltender, a freak broken stick on an attempted pass by Jakob Silfverberg led to a turnover which then turned into an empty net goal.
Ballgame. Final score: Preds 3, Ducks 1.
Depth is once again the key factor for the Nashville Predators. Their remarkable ability to spread the puck and make anyone on the ice a threat at all times was impressive before. But to go on the road against the Ducks and win a crucial Game 5 without your top two scoring centers in the regular season? That’s insane.
Johansen had emergency surgery on his leg and will be out for at least 2-3 months. Fisher’s status is unlikely for Game 6, as is Craig Smith’s.
Nashville is not the only team that will be without their star player, however. Rickard Rakell missed Game 5 and will sit out Game 6 with a lower-body injury.
Here’s something hilarious: Filip Forsberg tied Martin Erat in career postseason points last night. With 23 points, Forsberg is now tied for fourth all-time in Predators history. Erat, of course, was the grinder that was traded for Forsberg way back when in one of the dumbest trades made in the last decade. Go Caps go!
John Gibson is projected to start Game 6 for the Ducks. Bernier performed admirably in relief, allowing two goals on 18 shots. All relief appearances are horrible from a goalie’s standpoint, so I can’t fault Bernier too much.
Pekka Rinne has been great. He stopped 32 of 33 shots in Game 5 and was invaluable as the Preds’ de facto third defenseman. His ability to play the puck behind the net makes dumping and chasing very difficult. We just won’t talk about that one time in Game 5 he played the puck outside the trapezoid.
Rinne has a .942 save percentage and 1.62 goals-against average. Both numbers lead the postseason.
The series now moves to Nashville, where the Predators could potentially clinch their first ever Stanley Cup Final berth on home ice. The Clarence S. Campbell trophy will be in the house tonight. Considering Nashville has never even made it so far as the third round before, this is quite the time to be a Predators fan.
Nashville won Game 3 in Tennessee 2-1, but Anaheim got an overtime winner in Game 4. The Ducks will need an all-out assault early in the game. Anaheim out-shot Nashville 14-2 in the first period of Game 4 in Nashville. They will need a similar mentality tonight. Even though they will not have Rakell in their lineup, they will need to find a way to step on the gas.
My player to watch is Jakob Silfverberg. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry always seem to be particularly active in big-time games. Silfverberg is the x-factor on the Ducks’ second line. Get to the net, take Rinne’s eyes away and let Silfverberg go to work with his lethal wrist shot and puck protection skills.
Brandon Montour will be another guy to keep an eye on. I love this kid’s game. He’s a great skater and a terrific transition d-man.
Anaheim’s road play has generally been pretty strong this postseason. One could argue that they have played better on the road than they have at home. Maybe it’s playing in front of actually big crowds for a change that energizes them (zing!). I have a sneaking suspicion that the Ducks are not dead yet.
I called Anaheim in seven games in my series preview. I’m sticking to that. The Campbell Trophy will not be presented tonight.
Prediction: Take the Ducks to stay alive tonight. Play the under.
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