Anaheim Ducks play host to Nashville Predators on Friday – NHL playoffs, game 5 preview
Anaheim Ducks go back to the Honda Centre on Friday to play the fifth game of the quarter-final series against Nashville Predators.
Both teams have won a game on away ice and a game on home ice. This is one of those ties that are expected to go right down to the wire.
The last game between the two teams was played at the Bridgestone Arena that saw the Ducks coming up with a brilliant offensive performance. In the end, the Ducks scored six goals to win the game 6-3. Corey Perry was once again the scorer of the winning
goals which shows his importance for the team.
The Ducks were recently facing some problems in defence as well as in offence. However, the comeback of Bobby Ryan to the Ducks team will for sure play a very important role in the team’s morale and confidence ahead of game 5 of the series.
The Predators allowed two early goals in game 4 of the series and it looked as if the Ducks would extend their lead. However, the second period proved to be productive for the side as they successfully scored two goals to draw level.
Unfortunately, the Predators were not able to create chances for themselves despite making 13 shots on goal compared to the 3 by the Ducks. After this, the Ducks absolutely exploded and scored goals every now and then.
“All game I thought we were making just major blunders,” Predators coach Barry Trotz said. “Poor decisions … we didn't go back hard to get pucks. We were making poor decisions and were not real strong there. We turned over too many pucks by our forwards
in the neutral zone.”
The Ducks gave away a two-goal lead to lose the third game of the series. However, the last game saw them coming back from the same deficit to win it in the end. The Ducks have been quite productive in power-plays and it was Teemu Selanne’s power-play goal
that put the Ducks into a 3-2 lead.
Although the lead did not last long but the Ducks will be glad to score in the power-play as they were having problems in doing so in the initial games. Captain of the Ducks, Ryan Getzlaf was in top form in the last game as he scored a goal and came up with
an important assist. His contribution to the team certainly helped them cross the finishing line.
The Ducks will be glad to know that Jonathan Blum, who was suspended for two games, will also be returning to the team.
“It's always nice when you get home ice advantage back and when you get one of your top guys back, too,” Perry said. “It's nice to have him back and we've just got to be ready to play.”
Both the teams are still pretty much in the balance and either of them can come up with a win that would put them in the lead.
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