Nashville Predators vs. Anaheim Ducks Predictions, Picks and Preview – 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Western Conference First Round Game Seven – April 27, 2016

It’s a test of mental fortitude and physical mettle later tonight in Honda Center, as the Nashville Predators and the Anaheim Ducks square off in a win-or-go-home Game 7. Read on for more about this game. You can also see our breakdown of Game 5 between the Hornets and the Heat.

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Nashville Predators vs. Anaheim Ducks Game 7 Preview

Where: Honda Center, Anaheim

When: Wednesday, April 27, 2016, 10:00 PM ET

Line: Nashville Predators (+145) vs. Anaheim Ducks (-165); total: 5.0 – view all NHL lines

TV Broadcast: NBCSN

Betting on the Nashville Predators

The Preds made sure they wouldn’t be a prey for Anaheim in Game 6 with a 3-1 victory on Monday. To complete a comeback from a 3-2 series deficit, the Preds will have to win Game 7 at Honda Center, where they won the first two games of this series.

Head coach Peter Laviolette’s decision to insert Filip Forsberg into the top line along with James Neal and Mattias Ekholm paid off big time in Game 6, as the unit produced two goals (Ekholm and Neal had one apiece). With the line’s success, expect Laviolette to give the trio more minutes on ice together.

It’s also encouraging for the Preds to see Pekka Rinne return to form. After allowing 11 goals in the previous three games, Rinne got it together in Game 6 and stopped 26 of the Ducks’ 27 shots. Rinne was solid in games 1 and 2 of the series, wherein he turned aside 54 on 58 shots faced.

The Preds are 6-4 in Rinne’s last 10 road starts.

Betting on the Anaheim Ducks

Somebody put a missing person report in Anaheim. Corey Perry has turned into a ghost in this series, as the forward hasn’t scored a goal thus far in the first round. And if there’s ever a perfect time for him to surface, it’s later tonight, when the Ducks host Nashville for an all-important Game 7 matchup. The Ducks are 4-2 in their last six home games.

Perry led the Ducks with 34 goals back in the regular season but has nothing to show after 14 shots on goal thus far in the first round. That shouldn’t deter the former Hart Memorial Trophy winner from going aggressive. Perhaps playing Ryan Getzlaf and Perry together is on the mind of head coach Bruce Boudreau, who tested that ploy for a limited amount of shifts in Game 6.

In any case, Anaheim’s defense will have to hold. The Ducks ranked first in goals against (2.3 goals allowed per game) and penalty kill (87.2 percent) back in the regular season. The Ducks have been particularly fantastic in penalty killing, as they shut down all of Nashville’s last power play opportunities.

Frederik Andersen has definitely played than his more decorated counterpart in Rinne, as the 26-year-old netminder brings a .955 SV% into tonight’s do-or-die game.

Writer’s Prediction

Anaheim (-165) wins, 3-1.