Predators look to rebound from late losses, visit Ducks (Mar 07, 2017)
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators, who will meet Tuesday night at the Honda Center, must resolve recent problems while playing some of the NHL's leading contenders in the next nine days.
The Predators already began such a stretch with two late losses.
Nashville squandered a 1-0 lead in the final 9:05 and left the Bell Centre with a 2-1 loss to Montreal on Thursday. The Canadiens scored the winning goal on Paul Byron's breakaway with 8.3 seconds left.
Two nights later, the Chicago Blackhawks scored twice in the final 1:05 to earn a 5-3 win in Nashville.
"Your mindset on the ice has got to be to protect your zone," Predators defenseman P.K. Subban told the Tennessean. "If a bounce happens and we get a break and we can create something, then great. But we can't be looking to create something out of nothing. We just have to pay more attention to detail, and whoever's on the ice, we have to make sure we get the job done."
Attention to detail becomes critical for Nashville, which will start a three-game road trip in California on Tuesday night. Following their game against the Ducks, the Predators will face the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday and the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
San Jose leads the Pacific Division and Los Angeles trails St. Louis Blues by one point for the final wild-card spot.
Meanwhile, the Ducks are in the midst of a slow, unnerving collapse. Since positioning itself one point behind the first-place Sharks on Jan. 31, Anaheim has gone 5-7-1. As a result, the Ducks find themselves tied with the Calgary Flames for third place in the division.
"We have to fight for a playoff spot," Anaheim center Ryan Getzlaf said. "As long as our group takes on the playoff mentality right now -- learning from our mistakes and moving on -- that's what playoff hockey is."
Anaheim must display that mentality against four contenders in the next nine days. After playing Nashville, the Ducks travel for successive games in Chicago on Thursday and in St. Louis on Friday, then return home to face the Washington Capitals on Sunday night before playing the Blues on March 15.
The Ducks will begin that stretch without goalie John Gibson and center Antoine Vermette, and with a stagnating Corey Perry and an ineffective power play.
Gibson missed the past four games with a strained muscle and is considered day-to-day. The goalie skated by himself before Monday's practice but coach Randy Carlyle said he was not sure whether Gibson would accompany the team on its two-game road trip.
Vermette, one of the NHL's leaders in winning faceoffs, continues to serve a 10-game suspension for slashing linesman Shandor Alphonso's legs Feb. 14.
Perry scored just four goals in his past 35 games and is on a pace to finish with 14, the fewest since his rookie season of 2005-06.
The Ducks' power play converted just one of 35 opportunities in the previous 13 games.
