Must Win
This afternoon, the Nashville Predators will take their second shot at ending the series after a 2-1 loss in St. Louis on Friday evening. Bridgestone Arena will be rocking as the hometown crowd welcomes back their team which is one win away from the Conference Finals. If Friday night’s game showed us anything, it was that this Blues squad will not quit. They are a tough team that has the capability of being dominant. Today is a must win. This series can not go back to St. Louis. The Predators are 4-0 this post-season in Nashville and they need to close the door today. A loss today could be devastating to the goal of moving to the next round.
JOFA
During the Chicago series, Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, and Viktor Arvidsson were unstoppable. This series has been a different story where Forsberg has two points (1 g, 1a), Johansen has one assist, and Arvidsson has been held scoreless. This is unacceptable for this grouping. The main problem has not been chances, yet their ability to finish with the puck. The Blues defense has done an excellent job shutting down the Predators top line. Game Six would be a great time for this group to have a coming out party this afternoon. The Preds need the JOFA line to begin to show up in this series. The chances have been there, but now it’s time to get on the scoreboard.
Help Wanted
The Nashville Predators would have been down 6-0 in Game Five if not for the play of Pekka Rinne. The Predators need Rinne to keep playing like he has all series. Rinne has been exceptional this post-season with a 7-2 record, two shutouts, .951 save percentage, and 1.41 goals-against average. Nashville needs to give Rinne some offensive help. James Neal has picked up his scoring this series and Colin Wilson is getting some decent chances, but more offensive help is needed. If the offense can give him some help, a little breathing room for Rinne, we could see handshakes this afternoon.
The Nashville Predators will have a second take this afternoon as they try, once again, to make HISTORY. Be sure to catch all of the action on NBC or you can listen live on 102.5 The Game. Puck drops at 2:00 pm!
