NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville Predators find themselves in quite a hole in their second round playoff series.
As centre Ryan Johansen puts it, “obviously, it’s not what we drew up.”
Down 2-0 to the San Jose Sharks as the series shifts to Bridgestone Arena for Game 3 on Tuesday, the Predators arrived back in town Monday afternoon, greeted at the airport by a group of jersey-wearing and towel-waving fans, including mascot Gnash (a saber-toothed tiger with orange hair and blue nails) and a kid wearing a goalie mask and Pekka Rinne jersey.
“That brings the juice back to you,” Johansen said, while he listened to the “Go Preds Go!” chants. “Knowing you’re back home, you use that as a boost and some energy. Hopefully (we can) take care of business at home.”
But as excited as the Predators are to be home — Johansen, a 23-year-old Vancouver native, plans to spend some time resting on his couch with his dog — San Jose might be just as excited to be playing on the road.
The Sharks haven’t lost an away game yet this post-season (they went 3-0 against L.A.) and they had the league-best road record in the regular season, losing just 10 times in 41 games played outside the SAP Center.
To boot, Nashville has never come back after trailing a series 2-0, and the Sharks are 7-2 in the playoffs with a two-game series lead.
You can look at all that history and say the Predators are up against it. But none of that really matters, as defenceman Roman Josi pointed out: “It’s not over ’til some team wins four games.”
“We’d rather be up 2-0, but it is what it is,” Josi added. “The mood is good. We’re a confident group.”
The Predators are coming off a solid effort in Game 2 on Sunday, a 3-2 loss in which they outshot (39-25) and out-hit (46-26) the Sharks.
“We got better and played more to our identity of what we expect of ourselves,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “I think I said it after Game 5 when we lost (in the first round against Anaheim), we can take a lot of confidence from some of the things we did. Can’t be happy we lost the game, but we can take confidence from that and build on it, try to get better.”
They’ll have to get to Sharks goalie Martin Jones. The Predators haven’t scored more than twice on Jones in a single game this series, despite getting their chances, especially in Game 2.
“We were in front of the net, we were on the attack all night,” Laviolette said, “Shots, attempts, scoring chances, and just couldn’t seem to find a second goal or a third goal or a fourth goal to put that game away.”
They’ll be looking for more production from their top forwards. Winger Colin Wilson paces the Predators in playoff scoring with seven points, while Johansen has six (3 goals, 3 assists).
“You need your big guys stepping up, and that’s what (the Sharks) have done the first two games,” Johansen said. “They were able to get leads on us and win hockey games. I definitely look at myself and my line and guys I’m out on the ice with to be big producers.”
Defenceman Brent Burns leads the Sharks with 11 points, good for second overall in playoff scoring. Joe Pavelski, the Game 2 hero who scored late in the third period, has a playoff-leading six goals (tied with John Tavares).
Both Burns and Pavelski are part of the top unit of a clinical and league-best power play. The Predators have been emphasizing staying out of the penalty box all series, and it’s no different heading into Game 3.
The Predators also have to get their own power play going. They’re 2 for 31 in the post-season, with a measly 6.5 per cent success rate.
“Just gotta find ways to get pucks (to the net) and get it past Jones,” said Johansen, who has a goal-per-game in this series, accounting for half his team’s production. “But for the most part, I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
The big test comes at home on Tuesday against the best road team in the NHL. Nashville will have to hand the Sharks their first loss outside San Jose this post-season in either Game 3 or 4 to keep this series alive.
“It’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Josi said. “I know the fans are gonna be awesome.”