Preview: Predators at Ducks

[May 12, 2017]  Having finally put an end to their demonizing streak of Game 7 postseason failures on their home ice, the Anaheim Ducks host the upstart Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Nashville won both playoff matchups against the Ducks, including a seven-game series in the 2016 postseason.

The eighth-seeded Predators are in the conference finals for the first time in franchise history, pulling off a stunning sweep of Chicago in the first round before dispatching St. Louis in six games. Nashville won Game 7 in Anaheim a year ago, which eliminated the Ducks from the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season in a Game 7 on their home ice and led to the dismissal of coach Bruce Boudreau. Pacific Division champion Anaheim, making its fifth appearance overall in the conference finals and second since winning the Stanley Cup in 2007, swept Calgary in the opening round before overcoming the Game 7 albatross with a 2-1 victory over Edmonton on Wednesday to earn a rematch against the Predators. “It’s, obviously, a team that’s playing outstanding in the playoffs,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said following the close-out win over the Oilers. “We’re going to have to be prepared, and we’ll start that process tonight and tomorrow morning.”

TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVAS

ABOUT THE PREDATORS: Nashville's surprising playoff run is due to large part to the remarkable renaissance of veteran goaltender Pekka Rinne. The 34-year-old Finland native overcame an uneven regular season by allowing 14 goals in 10 playoff games, including a pair of shutouts in the sweep of top-seeded Chicago. The defensemen, despite the blockbuster offseason trade of longtime captain Shea Weber for fellow blueliner P.K. Subban, are getting it done at both ends of the ice by amassing nine goals and 27 points in the postseason. The offensive burden up front will fall on the No. 1 line of center Ryan Johansen and 31-goal scorers Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson, who were fairly quiet against St. Louis before combining for four points in the series-clinching victory.

ABOUT THE DUCKS: Getzlaf got off to a miserable start to the season with only two goals in his first 26 games, but has been superb in the playoffs with eight goals and seven assists. Linemate Corey Perry also has come alive after a pedestrian regular season with a goal and five assists in the last four games versus Edmonton while 33-goal scorer Rickard Rakell tallied in four straight games against the Oilers. The defense, despite the absence of Cam Fowler in the first-round win over Calgary, is providing healthy offensive production with a combined three goals and 20 assists. Perhaps the biggest question mark is in net, where John Gibson has surrendered at least three goals in six of his last nine appearances and lost both playoff starts against the Predators a year ago.

OVERTIME

1. Anaheim and Nashville traded five-goal wins before the Ducks' 4-3 shootout victory at home on March 7. The away team won five of seven games in the playoffs last season.

2. Anaheim is 22-12 since the start of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the best winning percentage (.647) of all teams in that span.

3. The Predators are the sixth bottom seed to reach the conference finals since 1982.

PREDICTION: Predators 3, Ducks 2

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