Predators vs. Ducks Battle To Take Crucial Lead In West Final

Nashville Predators had a 1-0 lead in the 7 match Western Final Ice Hockey series against the Anaheim Ducks but squandered the lead on Sunday when they allowed the Ducks to get the upper hand and close out the game with a 5-3 scoreline that evened things out at 1-1.

The Ducks and Predators square off against tonight Tuesday, 16 May for Game 3 and while it is not a do or die encounter for both teams, they will want to desperately secure the lead and give themselves a level of comfort as they head into Game 4.

The Ducks have found it difficult to get off to a good start in Game 1 and Game 2 which gave the Nashville Predators the opportunity to score twice and put the Ducks under pressure.

NHL Workshop

However the Ducks fought hard and bounced back as the Predators found it hard to continue to keep the pressure on till the end of the game. The Ducks were able to hit the back of the net 5 times and showed a lot of character to come from behind and win the game.

Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle was thrilled that his side managed to get themselves back into the game and square the series 1-1 but admitted that his side had a number of areas to address including their sluggish starts. Carlyle also played down reports of his side being under pressure and stated that every game was important and that’s how the Ducks were approaching Game 3.

The Predators need to look and address the chinks in their armour and one of them on Sunday was a lack of quality goal-keeping. The Ducks managed to score freely because Pekka Rinne who is usually safe appeared to have an off night and looked vulnerably throughout the match.

In a statement, Rinne said

Personally, I’ve got to be better moving forward. A few of the goals they crashed the net — good plays — but they just ended up going in. It’s tough to explain . . . obviously disappointed personally.

The Anaheim Ducks need to address their sluggish start and John Gibson will also need to step up his game if he is to keep the Predators at Bay. The Ducks defence will have to be at their best on Tuesday to prevent Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen from tag teaming and giving the Predators a 2-1 lead.