Pushed the brink in Game 5, the Predators pushed back in Game 6 and forced everyone back to San Jose for a decisive Game 7 with a 4-3 OT win over the Sharks Monday night in Nashville.
The winner came from Viktor Arvidsson who scored his first career playoff goal at 2:03 of the extra session.
“It felt really good, awesome,” said Arvidsson, 23, who has played in 62 regular-season NHL games and 13 in the playoffs. “It was a great feeling to see the puck go in the net, so it was awesome.”
The Sharks failed to pick up the puck on a clearing effort and Arvidsson sneaked through three Sharks players and skated into the circle before firing a backhand past Martin Jones for the winner.
“We felt like we were playing good,” Nashville forward Mike Fisher said. “We didn’t have a good start. They jumped us early and obviously were up 2-0, but ever since then, we felt good about our game. We could come back at any time. We’ve done it numerous times in the series, and come overtime, we felt good about our second and third period and the way we were playing and skating.”
The win came off yet another rally for the Preds who needed a goal from Colin Wilson with just over seven minutes left in regulation to tie it at 3-3.
The Sharks had raced out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Chris Tierney in the first period but Nashville rallied with goals from Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen.
“Once we got going and got back to doing the things that make us successful and playing Preds hockey, we were unstoppable at times,” Johansen said. “We played a great game the last 45 minutes, and hats off to every guy in this room, being resilient and not quitting and finding a way to win.”
Logan Couture gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead midway through the third period before the rally.
“We’ve got a really good hockey team in here when guys are playing to their potential, and for long stretches or some stretches of this series, that hasn’t happened,” Couture said. “Everyone needs to take a look at themselves and bring it in Game 7. You never know what can happen.”
The series ends Thursday in San Jose giving both teams a two-day break.
“I can’t even tell you,” Laviolette said about the extended break. “We just kept saying let’s get through this game and we’ve got two days. We have not had anything, and it’s been nonstop with the travel and the fact that we’re every other day since the playoffs started. It’s really good for our group. We need that break, and I feel like it’ll give us a push when we go out there for Game 7.”
Pekka Rinne made 15 saves for the win and Jones stopped 28 in the loss.
The game was relatively clean affair with each team getting only one power play chance with the Sharks converting on their attempt.
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