The Ducks are looking to move on, while the Predators hope to force a seventh and final deciding game when the puck drops on Game 6 of this Round 1 Stanley Cup playoff series Monday night. They are going to get this question right up until game time… The victor of tonight’s game will face the San Jose Sharks in the Second Round.
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Anaheim responded at 19:46 on the power play after Ekholm was called for holding, a ruling that had Nashville fans throwing giveaway towels on the ice. You get to fly under the radar a little bit.
When they get there they will be happy to see a different opponent.
The Pittsburgh Penguins beating the New York Rangers. The following year, Los Angeles ended their season in the second round with a 6-2 romp. The exception was the 2011 Western Conference semifinals against Vancouver, when the Canucks won Games 3 and 4 in Nashville and closed it out – in the first opportunity, of course – in Game 6. The last three games of a series against Nashville would be May 7, 9 and 12, also with start times and television coverage to be announced. That was all the way back in the first round of the 2009 playoffs. But still, it’s a storyline that won’t go away unless Anaheim wins on Wednesday night.
If the Ducks win, the Sharks would play in Anaheim on Friday at 7:30 p.m. (PDT) and Sunday at 5 p.m. for games 1 and 2.
Boudreau is 1-6 in Game 7s as a coach.
While Anaheim and Nashville prepare for a Game 7, San Jose spent a second straight day Tuesday practicing and recuperating as part of its preparation for round two.
“Our guys should be excited”, Laviolette said.
Playoff time is the greatest time of the year and a Game 7 win could go down as possibly the greatest win in franchise history.
Until now. Get ready, Nashville.
Anaheim’s big centerman, Ryan Getzlaf, has led the charge offensively in the post-season, as he did during the regular season. The Predators added an empty-net goal and took a 3-1 victory over the Ducks that pushed the series to the limit. He was terrible in the next three and forced the team into a situation where it was facing elimination.
The challenge for Sharks coach Pete DeBoer and his staff is to find balance between adequate rest and getting mentally and physically prepared for what should be another grueling postseason series against the Anaheim Ducks or Nashville Predators.
Pekka Rinne’s inconsistency has been an ongoing concern for the Preds all season. When he is bad, the Predators lose.
When he is playing at his best he is capable of going on some incredible goal-scoring streaks that few other players in the league can match.
Is he healthy? Healthy is a relative term for any hockey player that is in the nightly battle of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In fact, only forwards Andrew Cogliano, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and defenseman Cam Fowler have played in each of those three Game 7 losses. Their intentions are clear.
The reason for that gap pretty much goes to point No. 3 up above.
The Predators stayed alive thanks to 26 saves from goalie Pekka Rinne in his best effort of the playoffs.
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They’ve lost each of the three previous Game7s, in oddly similar manners and following strangely familiar Game6 road defeats. They dominated in every key area that Stanley Cup winning teams excel in. They led 2-0 early, their second two-goal cushion in two games, before the Blackhawks tied it in the second period. They are bigger, more skilled, and have much more reliable goaltending.
