There's nothing more exciting than a Game 7 and that's exactly what faces the Predators and Ducks when they hit the ice in Anaheim on Wednesday at the Honda Center.
Nashville jumped out to a 2-0 series lead in Anaheim, but it was quickly erased when the Ducks roared back to win three straight games -- including two on the road and one on home ice -- to take a 3-2 lead. The Predators then forced a Game 7 by emerging with a 3-1 victory in Game 6 at home.
The Ducks are looking to erase their demons as they've dropped a Game 7 in their own building in each of the last three postseasons en route to elimination. Conversely, the Predators are playing in their first Game 7 in franchise history.
"Our guys should be excited," coach Peter Laviolette, who is 4-1 in his career in such games, said per NHL.com. "Our Game 7 is really no different than our Game 6. If we didn't win [Monday], then we were done. I think we've got that going for us.
Mattias Ekholm, James Neal and Shea Weber each scored their second goals of the series to lift Nashville in Game 6. Colin Wilson (one goal, three assists) and captain Shea Weber (two tallies, two helpers) each have four points for the Predators in the series.
Ryan Kesler netted his team-high third tally of the series for Anaheim in the loss, its only marker of the game. Ryan Getzlaf (two goals, three assists) has a team-best five points for the Ducks in the series, while Corey Perry has been a curious case. Perry has struggled to light the lamp in the series, but does have four assists despite being a minus-six.
"They've out-competed us in the last couple games," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau, who is 1-6 in Game 7, told the Ducks website, according to NHL.com. "We won one of them, but I mean we've got to get back to where we can out-compete the other team."
In net, Frederik Andersen is set to make his fourth straight start for Anaheim and is coming in off of his first loss of the series after taking over for John Gibson starting with Game 3. Andersen is 3-1 with a 1.26 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage in this series and allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Game 6 defeat.
Pekka Rinne will counter between the pipes for the Predators and he'll look to find some consistency after struggling at some points in this series, but yielding just one goal and making 27 stops in the Game 6 win. Rinne is 3-3 this series with a 2.68 GAA and a .901 save percentage.
The winner of Game 7 will move on to face the Sharks in Round 2.
Game Preview & Live Stream
Details: Predators at Ducks Game 7
Venue: Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.
Time: 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT)
Radio: Nashville (WPRT 102.5); Anaheim (KLAA 830)
Series: Tied 3-3.
Prediction: Our predictions for this series can be found here.
Game 7: Our keys to the game can be found here.
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here.
