The Predators handled the pressure splendidly despite the franchise’s total inexperience with the winner-take-all game.
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“With the way the score was and the way we were pushing, I’d say yes”, Boudreau said. “I just come to work every day until I’m told not to come to work”.
It’s not happening. The Cup favourites are done.
Despite having home-ice in the series, the Ducks lost their third home game of the series; this time by a tally of 2-1.
To Detroit in 2013, to Los Angeles in 2014, to Chicago in 2015 and now this.
The final horn went and the Ducks were gone for good. “But desperation might be more important than experience”.
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He said the Predators had a dress rehearsal two days earlier and it served them well in this one. Bruce had kids, most of us have families and it s hard to go home and explain to your family or your kids explain to their friends that you have to move or that your father s been fired, DeBoer said.
They don’t think this was about a curse, or a choke, or because of what happened in each of the last three seasons.
Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette isn’t quite sure what to expect in terms of rest with his team compared to San Jose, something he’ll wait to evaluate when the puck drops after 9:30 p.m. (CT). That second-round series begins Friday in San Jose, who eliminated the Kings in five games.
“This was probably one of our best games of the series”, Anaheim forward Andrew Cogliano said. “I think we’re too early in the playoffs for fatigue or anything”. “I don’t know what’s better, but for us, it’s a mindset to focus on ourselves and do what we have to do to prepare for a new series”.
Prince scored both goals from just in front of the Lightning goal, getting passes from Ryan Strome and getting the puck past Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, who left after a fourth goal midway through the second period.
First, Colin Wilson scored six minutes into the game and then Paul Gaustad scored late in the period to make it 2-0 at the end of the first frame.
Rinne was outstanding Wednesday night in stopping 36 shots but the story of this series was how Weber and the Preds’ defense corps limited time and space away from Anaheim’s deep forward group.
“Unfortunately, we’re labeled as a group right now that can’t close in Game 7”, Fowler said. Nashville was one of the league’s best teams after the all-star break and landed the top wild card spot in the West and ran out of time in their pursuit of a top three spot in the Central division and after taking down the Ducks they get to face off against another Pacific division foe in the Sharks who finally broke through and took down the Kings in the first round. But not with any goals. They were outshot 28-10 over the last two periods.
General manager Bob Murray showed remarkable patience when he didn’t fire his coaching staff or make big trades after the Ducks’ 1-7-2 start.
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The Ducks, who came back from last place in the National Hockey League to win the Pacific Division and came back from 0-2 in the series, needed to climb off the canvas one more time. They had numerous late chances to tie it while largely dominating the final two periods, but a redirected shot clanked off the post in the final minutes, and nothing went in during a frantic final minute.The Anaheim Ducks battled with dignity, almost doubling the Predators shots on goal with 37 to the winners 20. We hit a couple posts. In game one of the series versus the Kings in Los Angeles, the Sharks came out and played with a vengeance, securing a 4-3 victory thanks to Joe Pavelski.
