• Predators rally despite missing key players
• Bernier steps in as Ducks lose Gibson to injury
• Rinne puts up a solid performance on the road
Despite losing both Mike Fisher and Ryan Johansen to injury—the latter for the remainder of the playoffs—the Nashville Predators put up a strong performance on the road in Game 5 versus the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.
The Predators will now head home with a chance to wrap up the series and move on to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history.
Here are three things we learned from the game.
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Predators defy the narrative
Entering Saturday night’s game, the Predators’ path toward the Stanley Cup Final looked precarious. The series was tied at two games apiece, but the challenge had grown more difficult with the loss of the team’s top scorer, Ryan Johansen, who had emergency surgery on his thigh after Game 4 on Thursday, and Nashville captain Mike Fisher, who left Game 4 with an undisclosed injury and did not suit up on Saturday.
But the Predators rallied past the narrative, and past a one-goal deficit after the Ducks got on the board first, in the second period, courtesy of Chris Wagner.
Colin Wilson tied the game with 40 seconds to go in the second frame, and a net drive by rookie winger Pontus Aberg—who was playing on a line with Filip Forsberg and Colton Sissons—was rewarded with the go-ahead goal (and eventual game-winner) in the third.
The Predators would dominate the final period, with Austin Watson scoring an insurance goal on an empty net with 47.2 seconds remaining in the game.
Ducks lose Gibson to injury
The first period of Game 5 finished with shots tied 10–10. The second period began with stunning news: Jonathan Bernier had assumed position in Anaheim’s net. It was later announced that the Ducks’ No. 1, John Gibson, had suffered a lower-body injury.
Bernier, who entered the game 9-4-0 versus Nashville in his career, allowed two goals on 18 shots before heading to the bench with 1:18 to go in the third. The Ducks had some bad luck in their push to tie it up as the game died down: Jakob Silfverberg’s stick broke as he tried to make a pass in the offensive zone, and Nashville gained control of the puck, which allowed Watson to fire it into the empty net.
It’s unclear whether Gibson will be healthy enough to return in time for Game 6, though Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said post-game that the netminder had told him he’d be ready.
“He made the statement he’d be in the next game to us, when we canvassed him after the game,” Caryle told reporters before cautioning, “That’s maybe adrenaline or whatnot flowing tonight. We’ll see. We’ll do an assessment tomorrow and we’ll do an assessment once we get to Nashville on Monday morning and we’ll see where that takes us.”
Rinne had himself a game
Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne made 31 saves on Saturday and is now 11-4 in the playoffs with a .942 save percentage.
Rinne had a bit of a lucky break in the luck, too, as he played the puck outside the trapezoid but no penalty was called.
The 34-year-old Finn is playing some of the best hockey of his career, and said Saturday that Game 6 at home—which will no doubt be as heated an affair as Game 5—will be “just another Game 6 for us.”
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