Back home, Preds eager to rebound off 1st postseason loss

Shortly after his near goal, the Predators hem the Blues in their own zone for nearly a minute thirty seconds after Joel Edmundson whiffs on the puck near the goal line, turning it over to the Predators.

This time around, the Predators have scored first in all three games, which plays directly into their defensive setup with the 1-4 neutral zone trap.

Fortunate bounce or not, the obvious theme of the night was that the Ducks offense, with just one more shot on goal than Edmonton in Game 3, came to life with undeniable efficiency.

If the Blues play with the intensity, commitment and effort that they showed for the first two periods of Game 4, they are likely to stave off elimination Friday night in Game 5. Zolnierczyk came through with his first playoff goal in a Game 2 victory over Chicago.

“We’ve just got to be aggressive but be smart”, Pietrangelo said.

“It’s in our own hands, for sure”, goalie Pekka Rinne said. They have consistently been a contender, but have yet to make it to the Stanley Cups Finals since they lost three straight times between 1968-1970. Of course, they only generated 12, a 20% reduction in what they had done in the first two games. That was exactly what Blues coach Mike Yeo wanted to see, keeping a power-play unit that has been the NHL’s best this postseason off the ice. “It’s going to be a tough test, but we’re up for it”. “I think these players that have been in those types of battles and wars before, and while I wouldn’t say they were chiseled veterans, we’ve gained some valuable experience, and that was a hard-checking [game.] [We] have to compete for every inch of ice out there, and I thought our guys did a good job”. Neal kept things rolling when he found the net in Game 2 against the Blues, and Colin Wilson, who replaced Fiala in the top six, has even captured some of that “Playoff Willy” form that Poile has talked about in the past.

Game 3 is Tuesday night. St. Louis is listed with +145 odds to prevail. Then the Predators wound up with 23 minutes on penalties and didn’t get one power play opportunity.

If goaltender Jake Allen hadn’t delivered another impressive performance, with 31 saves on 34 shots, the Predators might actually have embarrassed a Blues team that admittedly wasn’t very competitive for long stretches in Game 3. “As a D-corps, we’re just trying to play our game and do it to our strength”. They took the lead in the first period and were not relinquishing it easily.

Louis Blues Foundation agreed to donate $1,000 to their city’s music museums – the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville and the National Museum of Blues St. Louis – in celebration of their achievements this season, a press release from nashville.gov said. Three seconds after Ryan Reaves’ penalty expired, Ryan Ellis ripped one from the point through Jake Allen.

“We need them, there’s no question”, Yeo said.

Finally, granted a bit of room and space in the third period, Nashville broke the scoring seal.

The payoff is coming with the NHL’s best start this postseason. Playing probably his best game of the series, Rinne was sharp from the get-go.

Vladimir Tarasenko is a special player, and his skills make him the most indispensable forward on the St. Louis Blues roster.