Sharks-Predators is now a best-of-3 series
Despite playing into the wee hours Friday morning, the Sharks didn’t get what they wanted in Nashville — a Game 4 win that would have given them a 3-1 series lead.
[...] they know they’ll have to return to Music City on Monday for an elimination game, which only adds to the pressure they’ll feel going into Saturday’s Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Predators.
Teams that have taken a 3-2 series lead have advanced in the Stanley Cup playoffs 78 percent of the time (283-80).
“(It’s) a best-of-three now, and we’ve got two at home,” Sharks forward Logan Couture said after Thursday’s 4-3 triple-overtime loss.
The Predators will go into Game 5 on an emotional high, having evened the series on Mike Fisher’s goal at 1:03 a.m. CDT.
[...] they and the Sharks had a four-hour flight to the West Coast on Friday, and it remains to be seen how much energy either will be able to muster.
“We don’t need to draw on anything,” Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said.
The 111 minutes and 12 seconds of playing time made it the longest game in the Predators’ history, and the second longest for the Sharks, who went 129:03 before losing an elimination game against Dallas in 2008.
Sustained offensive zone time has been a key in the series, especially for the Sharks, who earned praise from Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette for their ability to spend so little time in the defensive zone, thanks to a good forecheck.
The key to San Jose’s five-game, first-round win over Los Angeles was its pressure in the offensive zone.
[...] starting without the puck as a result of a face-off loss puts a crimp into that strategy.
By falling into an 0-2 hole on the heels of a grueling seven-game first-round win over favored Anaheim, the Predators still face an uphill climb.
A loss Saturday would force them to win two more elimination games — which would make four in two rounds.
“A win like this gives a boost of energy to everyone,” Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm said.
The toll it took will be revealed Saturday and beyond as the series draws to it’s climactic conclusion.
“We’d like to be up, but it is what it is,” said Jones, who sports a .913 save percentage and 2.32 goals-against average through San Jose’s nine postseason games.