Rested Sharks ready for Predators
SAN JOSE — The rested Sharks are ready for the Predators. The Nashville Predators will carry plenty of momentum into Game 1 of their Western Conference Second Round series against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Friday.
The Predators had their first Game 7 in franchise history Wednesday and defeat the Pacific Division champion Anaheim Ducks 2-1 to clinch the series.
“It means a lot,” Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne said. “It shows a lot of character. I think as a group we can learn from this series. It’s a really good team we played against and there are a lot of good things we can take from this series.
“Just moving forward, I think we are a better team already after this series and after this Game 7, just playing a hard series. I thought we played six really good games. Game 3 maybe not our sharpest game, but other than that we were really good.”
The San Jose Sharks advanced to the second round by defeating the Los Angeles Kings in five games.
They clinched the series with a 6-3 victory at Staples Center on April 22 and waited to find out who they would play. When the puck drops, the Sharks will be playing their first game in a week.
“I don’t think we have to get ramped back up,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “I’m guessing that I’m probably going to have to calm them down a little bit. They’re ready to go.”
Like I said, “They’ve got some pent up energy here after four or five days sitting around watching, and they want to play. I don’t think our energy is going to be an issue. I think it’s just going to be getting that composure and working smart.”
The Sharks and Predators will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third time. San Jose defeated Nashville in the first round in 2006 and 2007 in five games each time.
This season, Nashville won two of three games against the Sharks.
“I feel like they provide kind of a similar challenge as Anaheim did,” Rinne said. “Their top players are some of the top players in the league and really dangerous individuals, and their power play is really good.”
Predators team scope: Rinne will be in goal for the eighth straight playoff game. Nashville, which played its third game in five days Wednesday, stayed off the ice Thursday and traveled to San Jose.
The Predators defeated the Ducks despite going 1-for-26 on the power play in the series. San Jose’s penalty kill ranked 21st in the regular season and Nashville’s power play ranked 10th.
Colin Wilson and Shea Weber each had two goals and three assists in the first round and are tied for the team lead in points with five.
Sharks team scope: San Jose had a brief, up-tempo practice Thursday, doing some on-ice work specifically geared toward playing Nashville.
Captain Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns spent much of practice working on their power play, which ranked third in the regular season and is currently seventh in the playoffs.
San Jose scored five power-play goals on 21 chances against Los Angeles. They scored all three of their goals on the power play in a 3-2 victory in Game 4.
The Sharks had a definite speed advantage against the Kings, but are preparing for a Predators team that relies more on speed than size and power.
DeBoer will use the same lines, defensive pairs and goaltender in Game 1 that he used all five games against the Kings.
Read more at: San Jose Sharks Media Services / AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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