ANAHEIM, Calif – The Ducks and Predators have played their series to a stalemate through four games. Neither team has played consistent hockey and none of the games thus far have featured quality play by both teams at the same time.
Game five was a bit of a microcosm of the series with both teams trading quality efforts.
The Predators owned the first period an broke through on a nice play against Ray Emery in the Ducks’ net.
At 8:32 of the first, Kevin Klein converted a nifty pass from Jordin Tootoo to beat Emery. The pass was from the right circle and found Klein bearing down on the Ducks’ net. His tip-in continued the streak of the teams scoring in every period of the series so far.
Meanwhile Pekka Rinne was less than busy through the first period but the Ducks began pressuring the Predators’ zone in the final ten minutes of the middle stanza.
The pressure paid off at 13:39 of the second when Jason Blake picked up his first marker of the post season off a scramble in front of Rinne. Blake poked his stick under Rinne’s pads and tipped the puck over the line for the tying score. The goal came on the power play with Shane O’Brien in the box yet again in this series.
It was the seventh power play goal of the series for the Ducks. Four of them have come with O’Brien in the box.
As the third period started the Ducks capitalized on a sloppy pass play by the Predators in the offensive zone.
Bobby Ryan picked off the pass and rushed up ice. Nashville tried to dislodge the puck from Ryan’s stick but he fought off to defenders including David Legwand who lost his stick on the defensive effort (such as it was) and Ryan 
buried the puck for a 2-1 Anaheim lead just 40 seconds into the third. Rinne had no real chance on the goal. For Ryan it was his third of the post season and signaled his return to the series after the two-game suspension.
As the Predators started to exert a little more influence in the final period Emery flashed his glove several times in staying sharp and holding the lead for the Ducks.
Legwand attempted to redeem himself later in the third when he dropped a pass to Joel Ward in the offensive zone who then took an initial shot. He moved deeper into the zone after the shot and picked off the rebound and nailed the puck home for the tying score at 11:20.
But the tie was short-lived as 37-year-old Blake picked up his second of the game off a pass from Temuu Selanne. The goal came at 14:16 from Selanne and Saku Koivu.
Over the final five minutes of the match, the Predators put as much pressure as possible on the Ducks’ net. With 35 seconds left in regulation Mike Fisher won a faceoff after an icing call on Anaheim. The puck found Shea Weber who fired a laser and found the far high corner to tie the score at 3.
In the OT session, the Predators stormed out of the gate and pressed the play and pushed the Ducks back in their zone. Nashville was looking to break a schneid of never having won a game five in franchise history.
Tootoo forced the play deep in the Ducks’ zone and had two chances to put the puck on net. Neither was successful but he continued to play the puck in the right corner. Meanwhile Jerred Smithson who had not scored since January, cycled deep in the slot and took a perfect feed from Tootoo and snapped home the game winner at 1:57 of the extra session.
Nashville now heads home with a 3-2 series lead and can win on home ice in Tennessee.
Contact Lou.Lafrado@prohockeynews.com
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