Heading into Game Five of their playoff series at Vancouver on Tuesday at 9 p.m. CT, the Predators have two options: learn to finish or be finished.
The Preds are hoping to stave off postseason elimination in the first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series, as they trail the Canucks 3-1 following Sunday’s stunning 4-3 overtime defeat.
Nashville has looked like the better team through a solid chunk of the series, outshooting the Canucks by an average of 25-18 per game and producing more scoring chances in two of the four contests.
The Predators have posted a higher expected goals total in two of the four games, per Natural Stat Trick, and come out on top in MoneyPuck’s “Deserve To Win O’Meter" — based on a compilation of various stats — in two of the contests as well.
“We’ve played really good hockey in all four games,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “We didn’t get rewarded maybe as much as we liked, but that doesn’t change the mentality of the group. Regardless again of where the series is at, even if we’re up 3-1 or tied 2-2, [Tuesday] is a game we have to go and play our best and see what happens.”
One of the big reasons the Predators are not tied 2-2 or up 3-1 is Nashville’s inability to close out games.
The Preds have led going into the third period in three of the four contests — in Games One, Two and Four — but are only 1-2 in those games. That’s in contrast to Nashville’s play during the regular season, when the Predators finished 32-4-1 when leading after two periods.
The rest of the NHL teams this postseason are 19-2 when leading after two periods.
Nashville is one of just three teams to have led three playoff games going into the third period. The other two — the New York Rangers and the Edmonton Oilers — each went 3-0 in those contests.
“It’s hard not to like a lot of parts our game, but at the same time, we’ve got to find ways to close it out and ... win games,” Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “We’ve talked about it after Game One, our desperation level, and we proved that we can do that in Game Two in Vancouver. So we have that to lean on here, and that’s what we got to do here is go and focus on winning one game.”
The biggest third-period fail was obviously Sunday in Game Four, when the Preds held a 3-1 lead with three minutes remaining in regulation. But Vancouver scored twice in the period’s final 2:49 and then won when Elias Lindholm scored merely one minute, approximately, into overtime.
Especially on the Canucks’ game-tying and game-winning goals, there were defensive mistakes and blown coverages that preceded the scores. Lindholm, for instance, was left wide open. Forward Ryan O’Reilly — coming off the sideboards — was the closest to Lindholm, while defensemen McDonagh and Luke Schenn were each behind the goal line.
“Yeah, obviously it’s a cycle play by [the Canucks],” McDonagh said. “You try to take away time and space. But obviously the important ice is right in the slot. We’ve done a great job of being there all series and not allowing those slot chances. Obviously had a breakdown there and allowed one and they capitalized on it. So it’s a tough situation for sure. You never want to give Grade-A looks at any time.”
The Predators must hope they can put that memory behind them heading into Game Five, as they seek to play a complete contest — in the first, second and third periods.
“[Having] sort of an etch-a-sketch, goldfish kind of mentality,” Brunette said of letting go of the past. “All the focus and all the effort is just about [Tuesday] night. Doesn’t matter how you got here. This is playoff hockey. Things happen fast. Things change fast. Let’s change the narrative.”