Believe it: Predators head to Stanley Cup Final
Joe Rexrode
Calle Jarnkrok looked across the ice and saw Nashville’s new top-line center. The Predators were in trouble, a two-goal lead blown in the third period, the Anaheim Ducks all over them, but one play can save in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Jarnkrok sent the pass to Colton Sissons. Sissons ripped a shot toward Ducks backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier.
Did you see where it went?
Into the net, into the night, into the history books, into the wall of noise. Into the Stanley Cup final they go, these Nashville Predators, by a final score of 6-3 in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, thanks to a hat trick from Sissons, at the expense of the reviled Anaheim Ducks, to the joyous chorus of a city spellbound by its team and gripped by the biggest sporting event it has ever hosted.
It won’t be the biggest for long. The first Cup final in franchise history will bring Games 3 and 4 to Bridgestone on June 3 and 5, against the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between Ottawa and defending champion Pittsburgh. Nashville and the Predators will have to step their game up again, assuming there’s actually another level to reach.
But you know what? Hold that thought. The Predators have earned a week for everyone to soak up an achievement that is 20 years in the making and half a week from not bloody likely.
“It feels good, man, I’m not going to lie,” said Sissons, who has been stepping up all postseason but went far beyond that with No. 1 center Ryan Johansen out and the Predators wobbling.
Honestly, after they blew a 3-1 third-period lead in a span of 4 minutes Monday, how likely did an end-of-the-night celebration look for them? They just advanced to the Stanley Cup Final with arguably their worst performance of these playoffs.
“We let them back in the game in the third and that was disappointing at the time,” said Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne, who was anything but disappointing. “But thank God we have (Sissons).”
Well, and Rinne. Chris Wagner popped a rebound past Rinne to make it 3-2, then Corey Perry screened Rinne – the Predators challenged for interference but were denied – and that allowed Cam Fowler to tie the score with 11:08 left. The 34-year-old from Finland stood tall from there on a 38-save night.
“What he does every night, you can’t put into words,” Predators defenseman P.K. Subban said of Rinne.
And Sissons connected on the play that will live in Predators lore. No matter what happens from here. No matter all the other improbable moments on the trip to here.
It was just Thursday that the Ducks tied the series 2-2 by breaking Nashville’s 10-game playoff winning streak at Bridgestone. That overtime game saw Johansen suffer a season-ending thigh injury and captain Mike Fisher take a shot to the head that has sidelined him for an undetermined period. The Predators, it stood to reason, were in some trouble.
“We went through a tremendous amount of adversity the past 72 hours,” Subban said.
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But – follow me here – 20 years ago David Poile was hired as general manager of a brand-new franchise in Nashville, shortly after the Washington Capitals fired him. A year later, the team he built in Washington made the Stanley Cup Final without him, and a few months after that the Predators played their first game.
Of all the moves Poile has made since in hopes of earning a Stanley Cup experience and sharing it with Nashville, the 2014 decision to fire coach Barry Trotz and bring in Peter Laviolette might be as important as any. Laviolette and assistant coach Kevin McCarthy are the two members of this team to win a Stanley Cup, while coaching the 2006 the Carolina Hurricanes, and Laviolette is now the fourth coach in NHL history to take three different franchises to the Cup final.
“Probably means I got fired a lot,” Laviolette said of that accomplishment, and when Laviolette is cracking jokes, that means it was probably a good night for the Predators.
Laviolette now has four of the six playoff series wins in Nashville history. And this run alone could fill a how-to coaching guide.
For example, he moved Sissons and Pontus Aberg to the top line for Game 5, and of course Aberg won the game with his first career playoff goal. And of course Aberg found Sissons for a goal Monday, just 8:47 into the game after Austin Watson scored 81 seconds into it.
And yes, of course, Sissons made it 3-1 in the third period with his second goal, putting home a rebound created by Aberg. So of course Sissons won it.
“His game tonight went to another level,” Laviolette said.
Of course, this game wasn’t much pretty. This wasn’t all party. Maybe for the Titans offensive linemen sharing beer with the catfish they were holding, and for thousands of others in gold inside and outside the arena.
But the Ducks outshot the Predators 41-18 on a night of desperation and almost stole it. They were banged up, too, without Rickard Rakell and starting goaltender John Gibson, who left Game 5 and couldn’t go in Game 6 because of a bad hamstring. He was missed.
Bernier was out of the net when Filip Forsberg and Watson each scored for the final margin. It was time to start the party. It will soon be time for another one.
It was 9:54 p.m. Monday in downtown Nashville when Rinne got lost for a few seconds in a swarm of teammates and a wall of noise. If you saw it and heard it, you won’t forget it.
Reach Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @joerexrode.