Nashville Predators unable to take advantage of power-plays
Nashville Predators were definitely the dominant team in the first period but unfortunately they were trailing the Canucks by two goals at the end of the period.
The Predators came across four power-plays in the opening period but were not able to score a single goal. Coach Trotz said that the Predators had the Canucks down and out leading in shots by 11-2 but they failed to find the back of the net.
The Predators were going on zero goals during the five power-plays but a goal in the middle part of the final period was all that they could manage. In the end, they lost the game 2-1 and lost the series 4-2, which meant that the Canucks booked a spot for
themselves in the Conference Finals.
The Predators struggling form during the power-plays continued as this time they managed to score only one goal out of the 21 chances coming their way.
"We had some chances on the power play, we drew penalties, but we didn't convert and then they converted on their two chances and that was a little tough", Trotz said.
The Predators looked in sublime form in the first round when they managed to score six power-play goals. In each of the five games they scored a power-play but the Canucks were one opposition that is good on killing the power-plays. So they had a tough time
and couldn’t emerge with the same success as in the first round.
Star player of the Predators during the course of the series, David Legwand, said that there was a lot of pressure on the players, who faced tough penalty killers, who put them under a lot of pressure.
"They did", Legwand said. "They did a good job when we got on the power play. But we had our chances. If you bury chances, I think it's a different game early on".
The Predators's coach said the problem with the team was the fact that they were unable to keep pace with the Canucks. The Canucks controlled the pace of the game, which allowed them to win four out of the six games in the series.
"When we look back at this series, I thought the series would probably be won on special teams", Trotz said. "They had a dynamite power play. We did a pretty good job for the most part shutting them down, but we weren't able to match them on the front end
of the power play”.
The Predators have a lot of positives to take away from the series and need to increase their productivity during the power-plays. They are a balanced side, which can turn into a deadly force, if they can score on the power-plays more often.
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