Predators embrace elimination scenario again
SAN JOSE, Calif. – It was hard to gauge the mood of the Nashville Predators before Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks.
The Predators did not skate, likely in part because of the early 6 p.m. local start time, and held media availability at an open courtyard at the team hotel with select players and coach Peter Laviolette.
Because of this there was no locker room access and no way to see how the players were responding to the pressure before Game 7. It was just the word from the team that they were ready to go for their fourth elimination game of this postseason.
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“I mean, I think we’re resilient,” defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “It brings out the best in us. Tonight we’re looking for another strong effort. We haven’t won here in the playoffs yet. That’s our main goal and going forward we’re excited to be in this situation. We’ve found success to this point and have one more job to do.”
Before Game 7 against the Anaheim Ducks, the team did skate and that group was loose. They cracked jokes, they listened to loud music – there was no visible tension. There was a belief that game Nashville was playing with ‘house money’ and the pressure was on the Ducks, a group that was on the verge of collapsing in a fourth straight Game 7.
And the Predators played that way and closed out Anaheim. But with the team now one round deeper in the postseason there could be more pressure on Nashville. A win means the team will go to a conference final for the first time in franchise history.
On the current roster only Mike Ribeiro, Mike Fisher, James Neal and Paul Gaustad have ever made it that far. The furthest the Predators organization has gone in the second-round was six games in 2011.
“I think any time you’re facing an elimination game – the guys know what to do,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “They know where they’re at. They knew where they were at in both Game 6s. They knew where they were at last Game 7 and they know where they’re at today. They’re loose right now. They’re ready to play.”
So far this playoff, the Predators have figured out ways to get at least one more goal than their opponent when facing elimination. In Game 6 against the Ducks, the Predators won 3-1. In Game 7 they downed Anaheim 3-2. In Game 6 against Sharks they simply survived, coming back from deficits of down 2-0 and 3-2 to win 4-3 in overtime.
“Having been around for seven years we know we haven’t gotten past this round and if you want to put pressure on yourself that’s up to you but it’s another game and a one-game series now,” forward Colin Wilson said. “Our team has done a good job of embracing as opposed to putting too much pressure on ourselves.”
This survivalist instinct wasn’t always a part of Nashville’s DNA. The team was known as a scrappy group, but often seemed to not quite have enough against larger market teams with bigger payrolls. That’s part of the reason why they’ve never made it this far in the playoffs.
Laviolette, who holds a 5-1 record in NHL Game 7s, helped instill this in the Predators.
“The nerves and the excitement, you’re definitely there,” Ellis said. You go into the game and it could be another series after this or you’re going home. Ultimately it comes down to playing the game on the ice and once you get out there, get the first shift out of the way it becomes another hockey game – obviously with a little bit more importance to it, but you have to treat it like just another hockey game.”
The Ducks appeared to not be ready for this type of effort from the Predators. The Sharks are more keenly aware that win or lose, the Predators will go down swinging.
“I think everybody expects it. That’s the type of team they have,” said Sharks forward Nick Spaling, who played with the Predators organization from 2007 until he was traded in 2014. “All the teams left at this point have that or else they wouldn’t be here. They don’t give up and they proved that last series too. It’s on us tonight to come out and play a great game and worry about what we do and we know they’re going to play hard too.”
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