Nashville Predators vs. San Jose Sharks Predictions, Picks and Preview – 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Western Conference Semifinals Game Seven – May 12, 2016
A Stanley Cup Playoffs series is a hard one to win. The San Jose Sharks should know, as they’ve suffered some tough postseason losses in the past. Will the Sharks prevent further solidifying their legend as playoff failures at least for the meantime with a Game 7 victory over the Nashville Predators? Or will the Preds be the latest team to take San Jose’s heart out of its chest?
Read on for more about this game. You can also check out our breakdown of the MLB game between the Royals and the Yankees here.
If there’s anything we’ve learned about the Preds thus far this postseason, it’s that their specie is hard to extinguish. The Predators survived yet another elimination game on Monday with an incredible come-from-behind 4-3 overtime victory over San Jose.
After getting off just five shots in the first period, the Preds shifted to aggressive mode, outshooting the Sharks from the second period until overtime, 27-10. Credit that possession battle success to the Preds’ blue-liners who were relentless in jamming so many of San Jose’s attacks. The same type of performance later tonight would make life easier for Pekka Rinne, who hasn’t been at his best in the series. The hulking goaltender allowed three goals on 18 shots in Game 6.
Nevertheless, Rinne will play a critical role in the Preds’ attempt to complete yet another playoff comeback. Rinne showed how big-time he can be in a pressure-packed elimination game in the first round, when he made 36 saves in the Preds’ 2-1 Game 7 road win over Anaheim.
The total has gone over in five of the Predators’ last 10 road games.
Betting on the San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have been labelled as playoff chokers in the past. They certainly don’t want to add more to their haters’ arsenal with a Game 7 loss to the Preds.
San Jose will at least have home-ice advantage in this do-or-die contest. More than the ideal location, though, the Sharks are going to need to step up defensively to avoid another postseason campaign go up in flames.
The Sharks went up 2-0 in the first period of Game 6 before allowing Nashville to score two unanswered goals. Then they regained the lead in the third period with a Logan Couture power play score but then let Colin Wilson find the back of the net less than three minutes later.
Game 7 could boil down as to which team will get better performance from their goalie. The Preds have Rinne, while San Jose will start Martin Jones. Rinne is the more accomplished and experienced netminder between the two, but Jones has had undeniable success at home. Jones is 3-0 with just five goals allowed in three starts at home in the series.
