Down the Frozen River

Tag: Pekka Rinne

  • Couture’s 3-Point Night Leads Sharks to 2016 Western Conference Final

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownThe San Jose Sharks thumped the Nashville Predators 5-0 in Game 7 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round matchup.

    Logan Couture had a three point night and Joe Pavelski scored the game winning goal while Martin Jones made 20 saves on 20 shots faced en route to the shutout victory on Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose.

    Jones became the fourth Sharks goaltender in franchise history to record a playoff shutout and became the first San Jose goalie to do so in a Game 7. Not only that, but it was the first Game 7 of Jones’s career.

    Pekka Rinne made 21 saves on 26 shots against for a .808 SV% in the loss and was pulled in the third period after the Sharks scored their fifth goal of the evening. Rinne’s replacement, Carter Hutton, notched one save on one shot on goal in 16:06 TOI.

    With the win, San Jose advanced to the Western Conference Final and will face the St. Louis Blues in the next round of the playoffs. It is the Sharks first appearance in the Western Conference Final since 2011 and their fourth overall (2004, 2010, 2011 and 2016).

    Entering Thursday night it was the 13th playoff game in 25 days for the Nashville Predators, who were 3-0 when facing elimination this postseason until Thursday’s outcome. It was just the second Game 7 in Predators franchise history, with their first Game 7 having been a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on road ice in Round One of this year’s playoffs.

    Sharks forward, Matt Nieto, was out of the lineup for Game 7 due to an undisclosed injury. As a result, Tommy Wingels was inserted into the lineup for the first time in two games after being a healthy scratch. San Jose entered the night 3-0 at home in the series and finished 4-0 at home in the series, while Nashville fell to 0-8 in all-time playoff games at SAP Center. Peter Laviolette’s five straight Game 7 winning streak was snapped and his record as a head coach in Game 7s fell to 5-2 (1-1 with Nashville) with the 5-0 outcome.

    Viktor Arvidsson took the game’s first penalty at 8:22 of the first period for sending the puck over the glass. Arvidsson’s delay of game minor gave San Jose their first power play of the night and it didn’t take them long to capitalize on the man advantage. Joe Pavelski wristed one past Rinne for his 9th goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs and gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 9:02 of the first period. Patrick Marleau (5) and Joe Thornton (8) picked up the primary and secondary assists on Pavelski’s goal.

    The goal was just Pavelski’s 2nd career Game 7 goal and tied a Sharks postseason record for most goals in a playoff year with nine.

    It was apparent in the first eight minutes that the Sharks were grabbing momentum of Game 7 when they had already fired numerous shots on goal before Nashville got their first shot on Jones.

    In keeping with the home ice, home crowd fueled momentum; Joel Ward received a pass from Melker Karlsson that sent him in on a breakaway towards Rinne. Ward deked and slid the puck underneath Rinne’s five-hole to give San Jose a 2-0 lead at 16:51 of the period. Karlsson (1) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (7) assisted on Ward’s goal— his 3rd in five-career Game 7s.

    To finish off the first period, Shea Weber took an interference minor that would extend into the second period for 38 seconds.

    UnknownAfter twenty minutes of play the Sharks led 2-0 on the scoreboard and outshot the Predators 17-3. San Jose also lead in faceoff wins (15-7) and takeaways (5-0), while Nashville led in hits (16-14) and giveaways (8-5).

    Both teams blocked seven shots in the first period and Nashville has yet to see time on the man advantage, while the Sharks were 1/2 on the power play.

    Logan Couture extended his two-game point streak to three games with a quick goal 36 seconds into the second period that put San Jose on top 3-0. Couture capitalized on a Shea Weber mishap (that seemed to be a theme of the night) and put his seventh goal of the playoffs through Rinne’s five-hole. With two assists in the third period, Couture not only extended his point streak, but added to his already five goals and three assists (now make that six goals and five assists) in the series.

    His 11 points in the series passed Igor Larionov’s 1994 Sharks franchise record of ten points in a single postseason series.

    Fed up with his own play and Nashville’s general lack of effort, Mattias Ekholm went undisciplined at the end of the second period and cross checked Tommy Wingels. Ekholm received a minor penalty that would be served in its entirety to start the third period.

    But it didn’t take long for San Jose to capitalize on their third chance on the power play as Joe Thornton sent a backhanded puck in the twine 32 seconds into the third period. Thornton’s 3rd goal of the playoffs was assisted by Couture (9) and made it 4-0 Sharks.

    In keeping with the hometown momentum, San Jose pressured the Predators early in the third, resulting in another goal at 3:54 of the period. Joonas Donskoi sent the puck to Couture who then found Patrick Marleau for a snap shot that beat Rinne and made it 5-0 Sharks in the third period. Marleau’s 4th goal of the playoffs was enough to chase Rinne from the net, but not before Rinne swung his stick twice at the net to break it and a third time as he threw it behind him, before skating off the ice to be replaced by Hutton.

    Marleau’s goal was assisted by Couture (10) and Donskoi (5).

    At 14:34 of the third, Justin Braun took the Sharks first penalty of the night for interfering with Colin Wilson. Nashville was unable to amount anything on their only power play of the night and Jones and the Sharks went on to hold the 5-0 lead through the end of the game.

    With the shutout, Wilson’s seven-game point streak had been snapped, along with his 4-5-9 totals in that span and James Neal’s four-game point streak came to an end as well for the Preds.

    San Jose finished the night leading in shots on goal (27-20), takeaways (10-4) and blocked shots (22-12). Nashville ended the night leading in hits (46-31), faceoff wins (32-31) and giveaways (21-12). The Sharks went 2/3 on the power play, while the Predators went 0/1.

    While Couture had a three-point night and Marleau, Thornton and Vlasic each had two-point nights, top Nashville defensive pair, Weber and Roman Josi finished the night as minus-3’s.

    Despite trailing in shots on goal in periods one and two (17-3 and 6-5, respectively), Nashville outshot San Jose 12-4 in the third period.

    With the series outcome, the team that scores first in Game 7s improved to 123-42 (.745) all-time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (4-0 this postseason). San Jose improved to 8-0 when Pavelski records at least a point and the home team won all seven games in the series, which was just the fourth such occurrence in the last 20 years (with the other times being the 2013 Conference Semifinals between Los Angeles and San Jose, the 2003 Stanley Cup Final between New Jersey and Anaheim and the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between Toronto and the New York Islanders).

    For the seventh straight season, a team from California will be playing in the Western Conference Final. San Jose played in the WCF in 2010 and 2011 against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks, respectively, while Los Angeles took on the then Phoenix Coyotes in 2012 and the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2014. The Anaheim Ducks played the Blackhawks in 2015 and San Jose is once again back in the Western Conference Final in 2016.

    Game 1 of the 2016 Western Conference Final is scheduled for Sunday night at 8:00 PM EST in St. Louis at Scottrade Center and will be televised on NBCSN in the United States and CBC and TVA Sports in Canada. The St. Louis Blues have home ice advantage and play host to San Jose in Games 1 and 2, as well as 5 and 7 if necessary. The Sharks will host the Blues at SAP Center in Games 3 and 4, and Game 6 if necessary.

  • Arvidsson and the Predators force Game 7

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownViktor Arvidsson scored the game-winning goal a little over two minutes into overtime on Monday night to give the Nashville Predators the 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 at Bridgestone Arena.

    Arvidsson’s goal was his first career NHL Stanley Cup Playoff goal and tied the series at 3-3, forcing a Game 7 to be played on Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose, California.

    Pekka Rinne turned aside 15 of the 18 shots he faced for a .833 SV% en route to the victory while Martin Jones made 28 saves on 32 shots against for a .875 SV% in the loss.

    Entering Monday night Nashville had not lost a game in regulation at Bridgestone Arena versus San Jose since February 25, 2012— having gone 8-0-1 in regular season and postseason games since then. Predators head coach, Peter Laviolette, improved to 13-6 when facing elimination (3-0 this postseason), while Sharks head coach, Peter DeBoer fell to 4-1 when San Jose had a chance to clinch and move on to the next round this postseason.

    Chris Tierney kicked off the game’s goal scoring almost ten minutes into the first period with his 2nd goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs that he tipped past Rinne on a shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Tierney’s goal made it 1-0 Sharks and was assisted by Vlasic (6) and Tomas Hertl (3) after a brief review to determine if Tierney deflected the puck with a high stick.

    Despite ultimately outshooting San Jose by the end of the night, Nashville recorded their first shot on goal of the game at 10:02 of the 1st period in between Tierney’s first goal (at 9:55 of the 1st) and his second goal (at 11:51 of the period).

    Tierney made it 2-0 San Jose with a backhand that beat a flailing Rinne. The goal was Tierney’s second goal of the game (3rd of the postseason) and gave him his first career NHL multi-goal game. Matt Nieto (2) and Brent Burns (10) picked up the helpers.

    But it was Roman Josi who kicked things off for the Predators, having scored on a backhand that beat Jones in an odd pinball-fashion and cut the Sharks lead in half at 15:27 of the first period. The goal was Josi’s first of the playoffs and his first goal since the regular season— back on April 7th– ending a 12 game goalless drought.

    With the score at 2-1 and the intensity picking up, Nashville was in clear control of momentum and peppered Jones with shots on goal by the end of the period. Craig Smith and Vlasic picked up matching roughing minors at 19:48 of the first period. As a result, 4-on-4 hockey ensued and carried over to the 2nd period.

    After twenty minutes of play the San Jose Sharks led on the scoreboard 2-1 and in shots on goal (8-5), but the Nashville Predators led in everything else— hits (12-9), faceoff wins (14-3), giveaways (3-1), takeaways (2-1) and blocked shots (8-5).

    Ryan Johansen scored at 1:25 of the second period to tie the game, 2-2. Johansen’s goal was his 4th of the postseason and was assisted by Ryan Ellis (6). In keeping with a theme for the night, his goal came on a backhanded shot.

    Both teams settled into a rhythm of defense and shot blocking as they continued through the second period and entered the second intermission with a 2-2 hockey game.

    UnknownJoe Pavelski hooked Craig Smith just over two minutes into the third period and gave Nashville the first power play of the night.

    The Predators were unable to convert on the man advantage and took a penalty of their own when Miikka Salomaki caught Martin Jones with a high stick in the crease at 8:59 of the 3rd.

    With time winding down on their power play, Logan Couture sent a wrist shot past Pekka Rinne to put the Sharks ahead 3-2 with 9:56 left to play in the third period. The goal was Couture’s 6th of the playoffs and was assisted by Burns (11) and Joe Thornton (7).

    Yet the Predators just wouldn’t go away as the third period went on.

    Colin Wilson continued his six-game point streak— the longest in postseason franchise history for Nashville— with his fifth goal of the playoffs at 12:44 of the third. James Neal (4) and Mike Ribeiro (2) were credited with the primary and secondary assists on the goal that tied the game, 3-3.

    At the end of regulation the score was tied 3-3 and the Predators were leading in nearly every category imaginable, including shots on goal (30-17), hits (38-22), faceoff wins (28-20), giveaways (11-10) and takeaways (4-2). The Sharks led in blocked shots (23-13) after sixty minutes of play. San Jose went 1/1 on the power play while Nashville went 0/1 on the man advantage.

    A little after two minutes into overtime (2:03 to be exact) Arvidsson found the back of the net with precision on a backhand that floated top-shelf past Jones for the game winner. Miikka Salomaki (1) and Pekka Rinne (1) were credited with the assists and Predators fans in attendance went home happy. Nashville had won Game 6 on home ice by a score of 4-3 and set a new franchise record for playoff victories with seven of them so far in this year’s playoffs.

    Monday night was the 8th overtime game of the 2016 Second Round (through 22 games played), which is the most in the second round since 2001 (when 8 of the 25 games played reached overtime in round two).

    The Sharks fell to 3-8 all-time and 3-6 on the road in Game 6s when leading the series 3-2 and San Jose fell to 20-20 in all-time Stanley Cup Playoff overtime appearances (11-11 on the road). Nashville, meanwhile, improved to 4-7 (2-3 at home) in all-time postseason overtime games.

    Game 7 is scheduled for Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose and the time of puck drop and broadcast information is yet to be announced by the NHL.

  • Pavelski leads the way (again) as Sharks top Predators 5-1 in Game 5

    By: Nick Lanciani 

    UnknownJoe Pavelski picked up the game-winning goal on a two-goal night in the San Jose Sharks 5-1 victory over the Nashville Predators at SAP Center in Game 5 on Saturday night.

    Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture and Melker Karlsson had the other goals for the Sharks and Mike Fisher had the lone goal for Nashville.

    Martin Jones made 24 saves on 25 shots against for a .960 SV% en route to the win, while Pekka Rinne made 23 saves on 27 shots faced for a .852 SV% before being replaced by Carter Hutton for the final three minutes of the game. Hutton allowed one goal on two shots on net in his 3:01 of ice time.

    With the win, San Jose now has a 3-2 series lead over Nashville heading into Game 6 on Monday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Sharks are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2011. Meanwhile, the Predators fell to 0-7 at SAP Center in their all-time Stanley Cup Playoff matchups with San Jose.

    Marleau kicked off the scoring at 10:47 of the first period with his 3rd goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Joonas Donskoi picked up his first of two assists on the night. Marleau’s goal gave San Jose a 1-0 lead, but Mike Fisher soon answered with a game tying goal of his own less than five minutes later. Fisher found the back of the net on a backhand shot that beat Jones for his 5th goal of the postseason, assisted by James Neal (3) and Colin Wilson (8) at 15:40 of the first period.

    But the game wouldn’t stay tied at 1 for long.

    Joe Pavelski received a pass from Joe Thornton and fired home a slap shot behind Rinne for what would be the eventual game winning goal. Pavelski’s 7th goal of the playoffs was assisted by Thornton (5) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (5) at 17:21 of the opening frame and gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

    After twenty minutes of play San Jose was leading in shots on goal (13-11), giveaways (8-6) and takeaways (5-1). Nashville led in hits (15-11) and blocked shots (12-5), while both teams split faceoff wins 11-11 and had yet to see special teams opportunities.

    Just thirty-five seconds into the second period, Logan Couture found himself on a breakaway and sent one past Rinne on the backhand to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead. Couture’s 5th goal of the playoffs was his 7th point of the series and put him one point shy of leading in postseason scoring across the NHL with 5-8-13 totals thus far in two rounds. Donskoi picked up the assist (his fourth of the playoffs) on the goal.

    Marleau, Pavelski and Couture rank 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively, in Sharks all-time playoff goal scoring and each forward had at least one goal on Saturday night.

    Brenden Dillon was charged with the game’s first penalty as he was sent to the box for interference 10:31 into the 2nd period. The Predators were unable to convert on their first power play opportunity of the night and the Sharks were therefore successful on their first penalty kill of the game.

    UnknownRoman Josi had the most time on ice of any player in Game 4 (49:42 TOI) and was called for a tripping minor at 19:13 of the second period after he tripped up Couture.

    Nine seconds on the power play was all it took for Pavelski to find the twine for the second time of the night and his 8th goal of the postseason. Pavelski’s power play goal gave San Jose a 4-1 lead and was assisted by Marleau (4) and Thornton (6).

    Ryan Johansen received a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct with less than 15 seconds remaining in the second period and gave the Sharks a short power play before Joel Ward caught Paul Gaustad with a high stick and drew some blood. Ward was sent to the box with a double minor for high sticking and the Sharks and Predators would see some 4-on-4 action to end the 2nd period and begin the 3rd period.

    Not much happened in the third period until Johansen tried to mix things up with Pavelski and Thornton roughed up Barret Jackman. Johansen was given a roughing minor and a 10-minute misconduct, while Thornton received two minutes for slashing Jackman and Mike Ribeiro ascertained a 10-minute misconduct himself at 16:01 of the third period.

    Almost a minute later, Anthony Bitetto put the Sharks on a 4-on-3 power play after Bitetto tripped Nick Spaling. By then the Predators had tried just about anything and soon replaced Rinne in goal with Hutton for the last three minutes or so.

    None sooner had the Predators swapped goalies than San Jose capitalized on the goalie change and Melker Karlsson squeaked one past Hutton to make it 5-1 with about 50 seconds left in the game. Chris Tierney (1) and Justin Braun (3) picked up the assists on Karlsson’s 2nd of the postseason.

    The Sharks finished the night leading in shots on goal (29-25), hits (40-37), giveaways (22-17), takeaways (13-2) and blocked shots (18-16) while the Predators ended the night leading in faceoff wins (32-27). Nashville went 0/3 on the power play and San Jose went 1/3 on the man advantage after sixty minutes of play.

    With the 5-1 victory on home ice in Game 5, San Jose now holds a 3-2 series lead— with a chance to eliminate Nashville from the Second Round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs— heading to enemy territory for Game 6 on Monday night at Bridgestone Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:00 PM EST and the game will be televised on CNBC in the United States and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.

  • Mike Fisher’s Triple OT Winner Evens the Series

    By Colby Kephart

    UnknownThe Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks by the score of 4-3 in triple overtime at Bridgestone Arena in Game 4 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff Second Round matchup. The goalies were a huge story of the game as Pekka Rinne stopped 44 out of 47 shots for a .936 save percentage.

    Martin Jones stopped 41-45 shots, 18 of those came in the overtime periods. Mike Fisher had a two goal night for the Predators and Brent Burns also had a two goal night in a losing effort for the Sharks.

    Heading into Game 4, Colin Wilson was on a 4 game point streak and it only took 41 seconds for the streak to continue. A Mattias Ekholm shot from the front squeaked past Martin Jones and Wilson was there to push it into the empty net. It was Wilson’s 4th goal of playoffs and gave his team a 1-0 lead. It was also Nashville’s first shot of the game and it raised a few questions for San Jose.

    The Sharks answered those questions as Logan Couture found Brent Burns busting into the zone along the boards. Burns fired a shot that caught Pekka Rinne by surprised and beat him high glove side. This was Burns 3rd goal of the playoffs and 12th point. Just like Nashville it was also San Jose’s first shot of the game. I was picturing a high scoring game after this but the play began to slow down.

    The game was tied until halfway through the period when Roman Josi made a pass to James Neal who ripped a shot at Jones. It bounced off his pads to Mike Fisher who made no mistake to hit the back of the net. It was Fisher’s 3rd goal of the playoffs and gave his team a 2-1 lead. Nashville was able to keep the lead heading into the break.

    The 2nd period started with Nashville skating well and creating chances. James Neal had a great one early in the period as he tried to step around Rinne and his shot deflected away. 12:09 into the period Roman Josi took a bad interference call that gave San Jose a chance on the powerplay.

    Just as the powerplay expired, Joonas Donskoi took a slap shot from the top of the circle. It bounced off Ryan Ellis’s skate and squeaked past Rinne into the net. Nashville challenged the goal, claiming the play was offside on its entry. It looked like the goal would be disallowed, but the ref’s saw otherwise and called it a good goal. I am not sure if it was the fact they are looking at a small tablet or they saw something I didn’t see, but either way good goal.

    With the goal, momentum began to switch as San Jose started creating more chances. Logan Couture had a great look in front of the net but Rinne was able to stand tall and make the save. The game was tied at 2 going into the intermission.

    UnknownThe 3rd period started with a power play that carried over from the 2nd for Nashville. Things got better for Nashville as Brent Burns took a delay of game penalty, giving them a 5 on 3 powerplay for a few seconds but they weren’t able to do anything with it.

    This seemed to spark San Jose as they began to have more of the puck. The Predators became undisciplined as they took 2 penalties only 3 minutes apart. On the Sharks second power play of the period they finally broke the deadlock. Joe Thornton won a faceoff back to Couture, who slid the puck to Burns, who then hammered it from the point past Rinne for his second goal of the game.

    Nashville realized a 3-1 hole in the series would be dangerous and started to fight back. A shot from the point rang the post, much to Jones’s relief. The fans tried to get their team going making a lot of noise and it worked with just under 5 minutes left in the game. A shot by Ryan Ellis rebounded off of Jones to the stick of Neal who leveled the game at 3. It was Neal’s 4th goal of the playoffs and his second point of the game. The place erupted as overtime was needed to settle Game 4.

    Overtime started with the Predators pushing early as they jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in shots. Jones was not to beaten however as he stood tall. The Sharks had a great chance as Joel Ward tried a wraparound to beat Rinne, but Rinne and Ellis robbed Ward and Donskoi on a second chance opportunity. Nashville answered with a chance of their own as Ryan Johansen got the puck in the slot and hit the post about 5 minutes into overtime. Joe Pavelski thought he had the winner as he scored a goal after running into Rinne. The ref’s ruled the goal illegal, however, as it was disallowed due to goaltender interference.

    Nine minutes into the overtime, Nashville was given a great chance as Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a penalty for delay of game. The Predators threw everything at net on the power play as Josi, Neal and Craig Smith had great looks but Jones was able to turn them aside and kill off the penalty. Neither team could find a break in the first overtime, so a second overtime was needed.

    The second overtime was all San Jose and Rinne. San Jose had a lot of great chances from Tomas Hertl to Joe Pavelski, Rinne was there to keep Nashville in the game. Nashville was outshot 9-3 in the period. One shot attempt that wasn’t part of that shots on goal total was a Paul Martin slap shot that hit the crossbar. Shea Weber took a penalty with 2 minutes left in the period and the Predators penalty kill unit stepped up and bailed out Rinne by clearing the puck out of the zone a few times. The Preds survived the PK and forced a third overtime.

    The 3rd overtime was similar to the 2nd as goalies were the story of the period. Patrick Marleau had a great chance early with a wraparound, but Roman Josi got his stick in the way to block it. A minute into the third overtime period, it became Nashville’s longest game in franchise history. Rinne needed to be huge again as his captain, Shea Weber, took another bad penalty. He was able to stay tall and 11 minutes into the period Nashville got the break they wanted. Ekholm’s shot from the point was stopped by Jones and rebounded to Mike Fisher, who scored a goal that was as beautiful as his wife. It was his second goal of the game and evened the series at 2-2.

    The next game will be Saturday May 7th at the Shark Tank in San Jose at 10 pm.

  • An All Around Team Effort Helps Nashville Earn a Giant Win at Home.

    The Nashville Predators took down the San Jose Sharks easily by the score of 4-1 after scoring four straight unanswered goals. Nashville played a great all-around game and easily won in front of their home crowd. This loss was San Jose’s first road loss of the playoffs.

    The Predators looked to use home ice advantage in their favor to get back in the series. They even had Tennessee Titans superstar quarterback Marcus Mariota appear before the game on the ice to get the crowd pumped up. Nashville made a major lineup change prior to Game 3. Preds center Mike Ribeiro was a healthy scratch after having only one point and a minus-three in nine playoff games this year. Nashville replaced Ribeiro with rookie Pontus Aberg who made his NHL debut tonight. Aberg recorded 40 points, 25 of them goals, in 73 games with their AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals.

    Nashville applied major pressure early and just 1:11 into the game the pressure resulted in the game’s first penalty. Sharks winger Melker Karlsson took down Preds star Roman Josi with a hook and earned a two-minute trip to the sin bin. This sent the Predators to their awful man advantage. Nashville is a horrendous 2/31 on the PP in the playoffs. The penalty resulted in no big chances as they only managed 2 shots and San Jose killed it off.

    Unknown

    The games first goal came with 6:47 remaining in the first period. This goal resulted from pure skill and speed. San Jose vet Patrick Marleau kicked the puck to himself at his own blue line but kicked it so far even I thought the play was going to result in nothing. I and probably every fan in the arena was wrong. Marleau was able to split Predators defender, Shea Weber, and Roman Josi and beat them to the puck in the Preds zone. Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne tried to come out and perform a diving poke check but completely missed the puck after Marleau pulled the puck back onto his stick. Marleau then had a wide open net and slammed the puck home to open up the Sharks tab. This goal was the first 1st-period goal of the series between these two teams.

    With a little of five minutes left in the first period, Predators D-man Anthony Bitetto crossed check Sharks center Joe Thornton. After the penalty was called, a major scrum ensued which resulted in a roughing minor for Sharks defender Brent Burns and Predators defender Barret Jackman. These two calls canceled each other out and sent San Jose to their first PP of the game from the Bitetto cross-check call. The Preds were able to kill this PP of with poise. Then with 55 seconds left in the first, Preds winger Viktor Arvidsson gets the call for slashing Sharks defenseman Brendan Dillon sending San Jose to their second PP of the game and the first period ended with them on the man advantage.

    The second period started with the Sharks on the power play. Nashville was once again up to the task and didn’t allow a shot and killed off the penalty. Then just 2:19 into the second period, San Jose youngster Joonas Donskoi received a four-minute high-sticking call after he caught Preds winger James Neal up high. Nashville went to their second manpower advantage of the game, looking for some major momentum and even a goal to tie the game.

    That is exactly what Nashville did thanks to a very good power play. Predators Mattias Ekholm gathered the puck on the left-hand side, skated the puck across the blue line and drove right into the slot. Ekholm spotted Preds winger James Neal low on the right-hand side and fed him a nifty pass. Neal took the pass and HAMMERED a one-timer from almost the goal line and beat San Jose goalie Martin Jones high short side to tie the game up at 1-1 on the power play.

    Nashville would then get another glorious chance to take the lead just 3:21 later. Predators defender Roman Josi corralled the puck high in the left-hand slot and ripped a wrister looking to beat Jones high glove side. Martin Jones had other plans and robbed Josi with a stellar glove save to keep the game knotted at 1 goal a piece.

    San Jose went back on the penalty kill after Sharks winger Matt Nieto hooked Preds Ryan Johansen. Nashville went back to the power play for the third time looking to take the lead again. Sadly, their power play did not last long because Nashville winger Craig Smith caught Sharks winger Nick Spalling with a stick up high and we then played 4 on 4 hockey.

    Just 44 seconds later of four aside hockey, Nashville would take the lead thanks to Shea Weber. Predators Ryan Johansen carried the puck in on the right side and tried dancing around the defenseman. Johansen got the puck poked right off his stick and went right to Shea Weber sitting in the slot. Weber unleashed a HOWITZER of a slap shot that beat Martin Jones high glove side and went bar down to give them a 2-1 lead. This goal was Weber’s 13th career playoff goal, tieing the franchise record for goals in the playoffs with David Legwand (no longer on the team).

    San Jose went back on the power play with their fourth chance of the game. This time, Nashville defenseman Barret Jackman got called for hooking Sharks defender Brent Burns. The Sharks look to tie the game up on their power play which is usually very strong. San Jose managed to fire four shots on Pekka Rinne, but Rinne was very effective and shut down every opportunity. The second period would end with Nashville up 2-1, but San Jose still looking to tie the game.

    Just like the second period started, the third period started with the Sharks back on the power play for 21 seconds. Nashville killed off that penalty once again, especially thanks to Pekka Rinne and blocked shots. The two teams would then trade a couple of decent scoring chances, but again, the duo of Rinne and Jones would turn them away.

    Then with 13:51 left in the third period, Predators youngster Colton Sissons went on a mini breakaway looking to score. Sissons would then get knocked off the puck and taken down. He went flying into the post banging his knee right off the post. Sissons would then need help to get off the ice and went right into the locker room. Hope he can return quickly!

    Then just 46Unknown seconds later the Predators would strike again to go up 3-1 with 13 minutes remaining. Nashville winger Colin Wilson grabbed the puck on the goal line and slid a beautiful pass to pinching defender Ryan Ellis. He then threw a snap shot on net that was immediately saved by Jones’ left pad. The puck went off the boards and right to Wilson who was sitting in the same spot. Wilson corralled the loose puck on the goal line and shot it off the right post and in to give the Preds their first two-goal lead of the series. Wilson now has points in four straight games.

    San Jose would then start applying some more pressure in the hope of getting back into the game. Although, once again Pekka Rinne was able to stone the Sharks on back to back chances to keep his team’s two-goal lead.

    With 8:52 left in the contest we would get more 4 on 4 hockey. Nashville D-man Roman Josi collects a slashing call against Sharks center Joe Thornton and Joe Thornton getting two minutes for slashing Roman Josi right back. San Jose looked to take a page out of Nashville’s book and score a goal while playing 4 on 4 just like the Preds did earlier in the game, but this never happened.

    Nashville winger Craig Smith would then be sent on a mini breakaway off a nice pass. San Jose D-man Brenden Dillon would slash Smith on his BA causing his shot to go wide. This sent the Preds to their fifth PP of the game looking to convert for another goal. Just 47 seconds into the power play, Mike Fisher would have another amazing chance to add to the lead. Fisher got the puck in the high slot and fired a laser that was calmly gloved down by Jones to still give his team a glimmer of hope.

    Then 1:48 into the Predators fifth power play, Nashville would strike again. Preds winger Filip Forsberg, who was in the right-hand corner, passed the puck up to Preds D-man Roman Josi at the point. Josi passed the puck right back to Forsberg who grabbed the puck, curled back and drove right to the top of the right faceoff circle. Forsberg then rifled a NASTY wrist shot that, once again, beat Martin Jones high glove side and went bar down to increase the lead to 4-1. This would end up being the final score of the game as the Predators would hold on for a huge win.

    Nashville’s goalie Pekka Rinne would end the game saving 24 out of 25 shots for a .963 SV%. While San Jose’s tendy Martin Jones would save 21 out of 25 shots for a measly .840 SV%.

    Nashville would lead faceoffs (35-26), hits (37-28), and giveaways (6-5). San Jose would lead in shots (27-25) and penalty minutes (14-12). The teams would tie in blocked shots (19-19). The Sharks went a terrible 0/4 on the power play and the Predators went 2/5.

    Nashville would earn a huge win and also a huge momentum builder with tonight’s win. Thier win would cut San Jose’s series lead to 2 games to 1. These two teams will meet again on Thursday night at 9 pm back here in Nashville, Tennesee. The game can be seen on CNBC, SN, or TVAS2.

  • San JO(E)se duo leads Sharks to 3-2 win over Predators

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownJoe Pavelski put the San Jose Sharks ahead 2-1 before Joe Thornton scored an empty net goal to make it 3-1 (before Nashville scored a goal with 3.6 seconds left to make it 3-2), as the Sharks beat the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff Second Round matchup on Sunday night at SAP Center in San Jose, California.

    That’s a long winded way of saying that the Sharks have a 2-0 series lead over the Predators after winning 3-2 on Sunday night, but hey, I forced the pun in the title to work, so I forced everything to work in the lede.

    Martin Jones made 37 saves on 39 shots faced for a .949 SV% en route to the win, while Pekka Rinne made just 22 saves on 24 shots on goal for a .917 SV% in the loss.

    No goals were scored in the first period, but both teams got a chance to test out their power play units as Roman Josi took the game’s first penalty 6:24 into the first period for cross checking San Jose’s, Chris Tierney. Joel Ward later tripped Craig Smith at 13:38 of the first period and gave Nashville their first power play opportunity of the night.

    Heading into the first intermission scoreless, the Predators were outshooting the Sharks 10-7, as well as leading in hits (19-7), giveaways (9-5) and blocked shots (10-5). San Jose led in faceoff wins (11-8) and takeaways (4-1) after twenty minutes of play.

    To his credit, Rinne made a series of spectacular saves early in the second period, including one where we brushed the puck aside with nearly the blade of his skate.

    The Sharks were caught with too many men on the ice at 15:16 of the 2nd period and Joonas Donskoi served the bench minor as San Jose successfully made the kill. A few minutes later, the Predators were guilty of having too many men on the ice and sent Victor Arvidsson to the box to serve the bench minor.

    Thirty-three seconds into the ensuing power play, Logan Couture found the back of the net for his 4th goal of the postseason and gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead on a power play goal. Couture’s slap shot beat Rinne and was assisted by Brent Burns (9) and Joe Thornton (3) at 18:36 of the 2nd period and was enough to give San Jose a lead heading into the second intermission.

    Brenden Dillon was sent to the box a little over six-and-a-half minutes into the third period for roughing and gave Nashville a chance on the extra man advantage. A Shea Weber rocket on the ensuing power play caught Sharks defenseman, Marc-Eouard Vlasic right in the visor between the eyes and stopped play for a minute or two as Vlasic gathered himself, stood up and skated off on his own power, in what was clearly another example of why helmets and visors are important in hockey at the NHL level.

    The Predators were unable to convert on their final power play of the night and the Sharks continued to lead 1-0 as the third period marched on.

    UnknownMattias Ekholm tied the game, 1-1, on a snap shot that beat San Jose goaltender, Martin Jones, at 12:56 of the 3rd.

    Ekholm’s 3rd goal of the playoffs was assisted by Colin Wilson (5) and Roman Josi (5).

    But it didn’t take long before Joe Pavelski found a way to beat Rinne for his 6th goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs to put the Sharks back into the lead, 2-1. Pavelski received a pass from Matt Nieto and slapped the puck past Rinne at 17:20 of the 3rd period, sending the fans at SAP Center into a frenzy as their captain came in clutch once again. Nieto (1) and Thornton (3) assisted on the goal.

    The Predators promptly pulled their goalie for an extra skater with around two minutes remaining in the game.

    Thornton received a pass from Couture and fired a wrist shot into the empty net to put the Sharks ahead by two and give San Jose a 3-1 lead with under a minute remaining in regulation. Thornton’s 2nd goal of the postseason was assisted by Couture (6) and Pavelski (4) at 19:04 of the 3rd period. Pavelski earned his third point of the night and thus had his 6th career three-point game in the postseason— the most in San Jose Sharks playoff history, per Elias Sports.

    With the clock winding down and a mad battle for the puck in front of Jones, Ryan Johansen found a gap and pushed the puck to the twine with a slap shot for his 3rd goal of the playoffs at 19:56 of the 3rd period. Johansen’s goal pulled the Predators to within a goal as the Sharks lead was cut to 3-2. Josi (6) and Mike Fisher (1) assisted on the goal.

    At the final horn the Sharks had won Game 2 by a score of 3-2 and finished the night leading in faceoff wins (32-30), takeaways (9-5) and blocked shots (25-24). Nashville ended the night leading in shots on goal (39-25), hits (46-26) and giveaways (20-13). The Preds finished the night 0/3 on the power play, while the Sharks ended the night 1/2 on the man advantage.

    San Jose now has a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3 on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The game will be on USA Network in the United States at 9:00 PM EST and on SN360 and TVA Sports in Canada.

  • Sharks Score 5 in the 3rd for 5-2 Win in Game 1

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownThe San Jose Sharks rallied in the third period on Friday night to defeat the Nashville Predators 5-2 on home ice in Game 1 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Martin Jones made 29 saves on 31 shots against for a .935 SV% en route to the win, while Pekka Rinne made 33 saves on 36 shots against for a .917 SV% in the loss.

    Friday night began just the third postseason meeting between the Sharks and the Predators in Stanley Cup Playoff history. San Jose defeated Nashville in five games in the first round in both the 2006 and 2007 Western Conference Quarterfinals. Heading into Game 1, Nashville defeated San Jose two out of the three times they played one another during the regular season.

    Craig Smith was out of the lineup for Nashville and Eric Nystrom was in his place instead.

    Almost five minutes into the first period, Melker Karlsson shot the puck wide of the goal that had just been dismounted by a crashing Predators defenseman. The play was reviewed to determine if the puck would have gone in the net, had it not been knocked off of its moorings. After some deliberation, the refs determined there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the ice, which was no goal, and thus the game remained scoreless.

    Karlsson would be involved yet another situation with a ref when he was called for tripping Nashville’s Filip Forsberg at 10:52 of the first period. The Preds were unable to convert on their first power play opportunity of the night.

    After twenty minutes of play, the Predators were leading in shots on goal (12-11) and giveaways (5-4), while the Sharks led in hits (18-14), takeaways (7-4) and blocked shots (7-3). Both teams won nine faceoffs in the first period.

    Matt Nieto put Nashville on the power play early in the second period when he was given a minor penalty for tripping Colin Wilson 2:45 into the 2nd.

    Just as the power play was about to expire, Mike Fisher capitalized on the man advantage with his 2nd goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Fisher’s goal was assisted by Ryan Johansen (3) and Mattias Ekholm (1) at 4:33 of the 2nd period and gave the Predators a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.

    Almost a minute later, Eric Nystrom provided San Jose with their first power play of the night when he was sent to the penalty box for interfering with Brenden Dillon. The Sharks first attempt on the power play was unsuccessful and yielded no results.

    With 40 minutes in the books, Nashville led 1-0 and led in blocked shots 15-11. But for not having played since April 22nd in Game 5 against Los Angeles, the Sharks were beginning to find their legs and led in shots on goal (25-22), hits (36-20), faceoff wins (23-19), giveaways (14-8) and takeaways (11-4) after two periods. Nashville had last played in Game 7 against Anaheim on Wednesday night and began to show signs of fatigue compared to the well-rested Sharks by the end of two.

    UnknownJust 50 seconds into the 3rd period Ryan Johansen took a holding penalty for tying up Sharks captain, Joe Pavelski, sending San Jose on their second power play of the game.

    Tomas Hertl beat Rinne with a wrist shot at 2:37 of the third period on the power play for his 2nd goal of the playoffs and tied the game at 1. Joel Ward (5) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (2) picked up the primary and secondary assists on Hertl’s PPG.

    With a clear swing in momentum, Ward led a breakout a little past halfway in the third period that resulted in a breakaway and a dangle that led to a backhand goal past Rinne and 2-1 lead for San Jose. Ward’s first goal of the postseason was assisted by Joonas Donskoi (2) and Norris Trophy finalist, Brent Burns (7), at 11:49 of the 3rd.

    Calle Jarnkrok was sent to the sin bin for catching Donskoi with a high stick at 15:20 of the third period and the Sharks went to work once again on the ensuing power play. Twenty seconds on the man advantage was all it took for Logan Couture to receive a pass from Pavelski and fire a backhand behind Pekka Rinne. Couture’s 2nd goal of the playoffs gave San Jose a 3-1 lead with under five minutes remaining in regulation. Pavelski (2) and Burns (8) picked up the assists.

    When there was less than three minutes remaining in the game, Nashville head coach, Peter Laviolette motioned for Rinne to abandon his net in exchange for an extra attacker. It almost worked in the short run, as Johansen took a puck off his face that deflected past Martin Jones and pulled the Preds to within one at 18:11 of the third period.

    The Predators trailed 3-2 with Johansen’s 2nd goal of the 2016 postseason, assisted by Roman Josi (4) and Colin Wilson (4), however they could not keep the Sharks away from pressing in the closing minutes.

    Logan Couture found the back of the empty twine just 20 seconds after Johansen scored to put the Sharks back up by two goals. Couture’s 2nd goal of the night and 3rd of the playoffs was unassisted at 18:31 of the period. Tommy Wingels added another empty net goal at 19:10 of the third period to cement the 5-2 victory for San Jose in Game 1. The goal was unassisted and was Wingels first goal of the playoffs.

    For the last 50 seconds of the game, Carter Hutton replaced Rinne in net for Nashville in a message that Laviolette was clearly trying to send to his team that they can’t allow five goals in the third period and expect to win (or over rely on their netminder, for that matter).

    San Jose tied a franchise playoff record for most goals in a period with their five goal outburst in the third on Friday night. They had also scored five goals in the 2nd period of a 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinal game at Los Angeles.

    After the final horn, nearly every skater on the ice participated in some face washing, resulting in numerous penalties to be handed out, officially at 20 minutes of the third period. Roman Polak picked up two roughing minors, while Barret Jackman notched a 10 minute misconduct and two roughing minors himself. As well, Colton Sissons was handed two roughing minor penalties of his own at the conclusion of the game.

    With their pleasantries exchanged, the Sharks went on to celebrate their win in Game 1, while the Predators sulked off the ice, soundly beaten.

    San Jose finished the night leading in shots on goal (38-31), hits (42-32), faceoff wins (34-29), giveaways (18-13) and takeaways (15-6), while Nashville ended the night leading in blocked shots (25-15). The Predators were 1/2 on the power play in Game 1 and the Sharks finished 2/3 on the man advantage.

    Game 2 is on Sunday night at 8 PM EST at the SAP Center in San Jose, California and can be seen on NBCSN in the United States and on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

  • Nashville at Anaheim – Game 7 – Rinne stands tall, Preds advance

    UnknownUnknown

     

     

    Pekka Rinne saved all but one of his shots faced to lead his Predators to a Game 7 2-1 victory in Anaheim.

    Colin Wilson scored the first goal of the night at the 6:19 mark on an unassisted backhander.  Mattias Ekholm started the play in Nashville‘s defensive zone.  After collecting the puck along the near boards, he flipped it through the neutral zone to Wilson at the far blue line.  Mike Fisher entered the zone with him and split the defensemen while trying to collect a pass from Wilson, but the trio ended up skating past, leaving Wilson the opportunity to collect, advance towards the crease and score over Frederik Andersen’s glove hand.

    Probably the most impressive feat of the period was actually Anaheim‘s defense, as they held the Predators off the board even through two overlapping penalties that caused a 40 second 5-on-3.

    No, it continued to be the even-strength goal chances that bit the Ducks.  With 4:07 remaining in the frame, Paul Gaustad scored his first goal of the playoffs after assists from Shea Weber and Viktor Arvidsson.  As Anaheim was unable to score in the remainder of the frame, Nashville took a two-goal lead into the dressing room.

    Arguably the strongest measure of Nashville‘s early success is the face-off dot, as they were victorious on 63% of puck drops.

    The first real opportunity of the second period was for the Ducks on a delayed penalty against Roman Josi, but David Perron was unable to both corral the puck and put it past First Star of the Game Rinne.  The ensuing power play only yielded three shots, including a Jamie McGinn attempt that ricocheted off the crossbar of a wide open net.  Nashville actually committed three penalties during the frame, but the Ducks were not able to capitalize.

    Once again, it was the Predators defense that stood tall.  Through two periods, Nashville had 18 blocks to their credit to Anaheim‘s nine, meaning that Rinne had faced only 22 shots.  In total, Josi had a game-leading seven blocks by the time the clock read zero.

    Second Star Ryan Kesler finally got the Ducks on the board at the 1:45 on a carryover power play from the second.  His slap shot was assisted by Jakob Silfverberg and Hampus Lindholm.  It was a tic-tac-toe play, as Lindholm passed to Silfverberg behind the net, who immediately centered the puck into the crease for Kesler to score, but that was all the Ducks had in them as they lost 2-1.

    It didn’t help that they didn’t play very aggressively.  The game almost effectively ended on a delayed penalty against the Ducks, as the Predators worked the clock for almost an entire minute before the play was ruled dead.  Although they put up a good fight during the remaining minute or so, Rinne continued his stellar night to secure the win.

    Rinne ended the night saving 36 of 37 shots faced (97.3%), while Andersen takes the loss, saving 18 of 20 (90%).

    With that win, Nashville earns a spot in the Western Conference Semifinals and a date with the San Jose Sharks.  That series will begin at 10:30 p.m. eastern on Friday, April 29.  Those games can be watched on NBCSN, SN or TVAS.

  • Predators Force First Game 7 in Franchise History

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownPekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators forced a Game 7 with a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night at Bridgestone Arena. Rinne stopped 26 shots on 27 shots faced for a .963 SV% en route to the win, while Frederik Andersen made 23 saves on 25 shots against for a .920 SV% in the Anaheim loss.

    Entering Monday night, Nashville had a 0-5 record in all-time Game 6 situations where they were facing elimination. Craig Smith returned to the lineup for the Predators, but not without a price in the eyes of the hockey gods, as Cody Bass left the game after the first period and did not return for the night with an injury.

    After a scoreless first period, in which the Predators and the Ducks swapped power play opportunities only three minutes into the game, Nashville was leading 8-7 in shots on goal. The Preds were also leading in hits (12-11), giveaways (3-1), takeaways (3-2) and blocked shots (5-2), while Anaheim led in faceoff wins (10-7) after twenty minutes of play.

    Mattias Ekholm scored the game’s first goal at 8:10 of the second period to give Nashville a 1-0 lead. The goal was Ekholm’s 2nd of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs and was assisted by Calle Jarnkrok (1) and Ryan Ellis (2). Almost ten minutes later, James Neal put the Predators up by two with his 2nd goal of the series, assisted by Ryan Johansen (2) at 17:45 of the period.

    Ekholm then served a minor penalty for holding Anaheim skater, Hampus Lindholm, at 19:17 of the 2nd. The Ducks forced their way into the front of the net during the ensuing power play opportunity and Ryan Kesler picked up a rebound before shoving it home for his 3rd goal of the postseason, thereby cutting Nashville’s lead in half on the man advantage. Kesler’s goal was assisted by Corey Perry (4) and Cam Fowler (2) at 19:46 of the 2nd period.

    After forty minutes of play, the Predators led 2-1 on the scoreboard and 20-18 in shots on goal. Nashville also led in giveaways (3-2) and blocked shots (12-6), while the Ducks led in hits (23-20) and faceoff wins (19-17). Both teams had 4 takeaways after two frames and Anaheim was 1/2 on the power play, while Nashville was 0/1.

    UnknownThe third period saw a 9-6 shots on goal advantage in favor of Anaheim, but the Ducks last ditched effort was matched by the cool, calm and collected goaltending by Rinne.

    With ten seconds left in regulation, Shea Weber fired the puck down the frozen river and into the empty net that had been vacated by Andersen with about 90 seconds to go in the period. Weber’s goal, his 2nd of the postseason, gave he Predators a 3-1 lead and was his 12th career playoff goal. As well, James Neal picked up an assist on the empty net goal.

    Weber is now one goal shy of tying David Legwand’s franchise record of 13 career playoff goals.

    Nashville finished the night leading in hits (30-25), giveaways (8-5) and blocked shots (21-11), while Anaheim finished the night leading in faceoff wins (28-26) and takeaways (5-4). With the win, the Predators tied the series at 3-3, thereby forcing a Game 7 on Wednesday night at 10:00 PM EST at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. It will be the first Game 7 in franchise history for the Predators and can be viewed on NBCSN in the United States and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.

    In rare NHL form, Round Two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs kicks off on Wednesday night before Round One will have even concluded, as the Tampa Bay Lightning square off with the New York Islanders at Amalie Arena.

  • Ducks Rout Predators 4-1, Series Tied 2-2

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownThe Anaheim Ducks defeated the Nashville Predators 4-1 on road ice at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday night. Frederik Andersen made 30 saves on 31 shots faced for a .968 SV% in the victory, while Pekka Rinner made 21 saves on 25 shots against for a .840 SV% in the loss.

    Sixty-two seconds into the first period, Ryan Getzlaf sent one behind Rinne to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead. Getzlaf’s 2nd goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs was assisted by David Perron (1) and Kevin Bieksa (1) and was just the Ducks 2nd shot of the night.

    Shea Weber was guilty of the game’s first penalty when he sent the puck over the glass for a delay of game minor penalty at 7:41 of the first period. The Ducks were unable to convert on the man advantage and David Perron was called for a tripping minor himself at 8:15 of the period. Nashville was unable to capitalize on their short power play while Perron was still in box and failed to convert on another power play before the end of the 1st when Anaheim defenseman, Cam Fowler was sent to the box for delay of game.

    After twenty minutes of play, both teams had seven shots on goal and the Ducks were leading 1-0 on the scoreboard as well as in hits (14-13), takeaways (2-1) and blocked shots (11-0). The Predators were leading in faceoff wins (11-6) and giveaways (3-0).

    Twenty-six seconds into the second period, Ryan Garbutt tripped up Predators star, Filip Forsberg, giving Nashville a power play. Nashville was unable to utilize the man advantage to their advantage.

    UnknownMike Fisher tied the game at 1 at 11:26 of the 2nd period with his goal of the series, assisted by Colin Wilson (2) and Shea Weber (1).

    Colton Sissons took a trip to the sin bin at 12:45 of the second period for interference, but was followed up by David Perron canceling Anaheim’s power play a mere five seconds later after high sticking Fisher. Simon Despres and Viktor Arvidsson took a tripping call and an unsportsmanlike minor respectively at 15:55 of the 2nd period.

    Nate Thompson received a pass from Rickard Rakell and scored the eventual game winning goal at 17:04 of the second period. Sami Vatanen was credited with the secondary assist. Almost two minutes later, Jamie McGinn made it 3-1 Anaheim with a goal that was assisted by Chris Stewart.

    At the end of two periods the Ducks led the Predators 3-1 on the scoreboard and trailed 23-19 in shots on goal.

    After failing to capitalize on two power play opportunities in the first half of the third period, Nashville found themselves behind the eight ball if there was any hope for a comeback on home ice in Game 4. At 16:52 of the third period, Andrew Cogliano put the game away for the Ducks with a goal that put Anaheim ahead 4-1. Cogliano’s goal— his 2nd of the playoffs— was assisted by Jakob Silfverberg.

    The Ducks were victorious after sixty minutes of play, despite trailing in many statistics. The Predators lost 4-1, but led in shots on goal (31-25), hits (41-27), faceoff wins (31-22) and giveaways (8-3) in Game 4, while Anaheim led in takeaways (7-3) and blocked shots (25-12). Neither team was successful on the power play, with the Ducks having gone 0/5 and the Preds having gone 0/6 on Thursday night.

    With the series now tied 2-2, the rest of the best-of-7 series now essentially shifts to a best two-out-of-three scenario. Game 5 is scheduled for Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with more information about the time of puck drop and what channel it will be broadcasted on to be provided by the NHL.