3 ways the Predators can get back into the series

They say a series is never lost until you lose on home ice. While this has proven incorrect countless times, the adage does suggest it's far too early to rule out the Nashville Predators, since they haven't played the franchise's first Stanley Cup Final game at Bridgestone Arena.

As the Western Conference's bottom seed, Nashville hasn't had official home-ice advantage at any stage of the playoffs. Yet, the Predators have gotten this far, in part, due to tremendous play in Music City. They've lost just one game on home ice - a 3-2 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final - and outscored their three opponents 25-13 in eight games.

Here's how the Predators, currently in a 2-0 hole, can get back into the series:

Assemble - and use - the top line

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Nashville was dealt the unfortunate hand of losing No. 1 center Ryan Johansen to an emergency thigh surgery between Games 4 and 5 of Round 3. Head coach Peter Laviolette has been relying on a committee approach to replace him. Defense-first center Mike Fisher returned from injury to lead the team with 20:47 of ice time in Game 1, but he's 36 years old and seven seasons removed from a career-best 53-point campaign.

Filip Forsberg topped the forward corps with 18:41 of ice time in Game 2. While he was rightfully the team leader, he still didn't play nearly enough, and James Neal's ice time fell from 19:43 in Game 1 to 15:24 on Wednesday night.

As the Predators get home ice and the advantage of final change, they need to load up a top line featuring two of Forsberg, Neal, and Viktor Arvidsson - a trio that combined for 85 regular-season goals - with either Pontus Aberg or Colton Sissons playing the pivot at even strength.

Keep shutting down Sid and Geno when it counts

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Coming into the series, there was a lot of talk about how Nashville's elite top-four defensemen would fare against two of the league's top centers, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Through two games, it's difficult to not give the advantage here to the Predators.

Crosby picked up two assists on the Penguins' first two goals in the series opener, registering three shots on goal of his own. He was held without a point in Game 2, recording just a single SOG in 19:54 of ice time.

Malkin has a goal in each game - the opener on the power play in Game 1 and the fourth marker in Game 2 - but that means he's scored on both of his SOG in the series.

Nashville has been able to contain both Penguins stars during the most important sequences and when the games have been closest. While Crosby and Malkin are the type of talents who can ride ridiculously efficient shooting percentages, goaltender Pekka Rinne needs to make some key stops on the tough shots. He was the one who entered the series as the odds-on favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy, after all.

Bring out the stars

Pop music sensation and bandwagon-jumper extraordinaire Justin Bieber has pledged his temporary allegiance to the Penguins. For the Predators to get back into the series in terms of sheer wattage, they'll need to continue attracting music superstars to Bridgestone Arena. With a pair of front-row tickets for Game 3 going for more than $10,000 on Stubhub before taxes and fees, this could take care of itself.

Alan Jackson has already committed to playing a free show at the Stanley Cup Final party in advance of Saturday's game. The Predators can't stop there. Ms. Underwood needs to call in some favors and get the likes of Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, and Luke Bryan sitting in Bridgestone Arena's marquee seats in order to form a Care Bears-like squad and defeat the Penguins and the evil wizard No Heart ... er, Biebs.

In the meantime, the team's most famous fan hasn't lost hope.

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Report: Panthers sign Finnish league’s top scorer

The Florida Panthers have signed Henrik Haapala to a two-year entry-level contract worth an annual average cap hit of $832,500, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

Haapala turned 23 years old this past February and has spent the last five seasons with Tappara Tampere of the SM-liiga, Finland's top league, after going undrafted to the NHL.

He broke out in 2016-17, scoring 15 goals and adding 45 assists for a total of 60 points in just 51 regular season games. He led the league in both assists and points. Haapala went on to add two goals and seven assists in 16 playoff games.

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Panthers name Shawn Thornton VP of business operations

Former tough customer Shawn Thornton is moving into a far less violent role with the Florida Panthers.

Thornton was named the team's vice president of business operations and will work closely with president Matthew Caldwell and chief of staff Sean McCaffrey, the team announced Thursday.

"Shawn's work ethic, enthusiasm, and passion for the Panthers organization is second to none," Caldwell said in the announcement. "We are thrilled to welcome him to our executive team and know that he will bring the same level of professionalism, experience, and leadership to the business side of our organization as he did in the locker room."

Thornton played the final three seasons of his 14-year NHL career with the Panthers where he posted four goals, 10 points, and 197 penalty minutes in 146 games, but is now prepared to take on a different challenge.

"It's a humbling day for me and I'm excited to begin the next chapter of my career in hockey," said Thornton. "The business side of operating an NHL team has always fascinated me. I have had the privilege of learning from and working with a number of first-class individuals, leaders, and organizations during the course of my playing career and I look forward to applying some of those lessons in my new role. My family and I are very grateful that we'll be able to continue to be a part of the Panthers family and the south Florida community."

Over his NHL career, the 39-year-old played in 705 games, tallying 42 goals, 102 points, and a staggering 1,103 penalty minutes, while capturing the Stanley Cup in 2007 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks and again in 2011 with the Boston Bruins.

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Subban: Predators will win Game 3, see what happens from there

A little taste of home may be just what the Nashville Predators need to get back into their Stanley Cup Final series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The old sports adage is a playoff series isn't truly in jeopardy until a team drops a game at home, and immediately following a Game 2 loss, defenseman P.K. Subban said it's his team's turn to take care of business.

"Right away the focus shifts to, 'We don't lose in our building,'" Subban told reporters, per Sportsnet. "So we're going back home, we're going to win the next game, and then we'll see what happens from there."

Despite the two losses, the Predators have largely been driving possession and hold a 64-39 advantage in shots, but Subban wasn't willing to dwell on what went wrong both contests.

"Our focus is our next game, and that's it," Subban reiterated. "We're getting ready for the next game; we win that one and then we move forward."

Game 3 is set for Saturday, and Nashville will play host to its first Cup Final contest.

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How the Penguins came to own the draft pick used on Jake Guentzel

The NHL draft provides very few guarantees, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are learning afresh that it's just as important to luck out in later rounds as it is to cash in on the surefire lottery picks.

With 12 goals in 21 games, forward Jake Guentzel - a native of Omaha, Nebraska, who was drafted 77th overall in 2013 - leads the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs in scoring, and by a wide margin over his all-world teammates.

Evgeni Malkin (second overall in 2004) sits in a tie for second with nine goals, while Sidney Crosby (first overall in 2005) has a share of the fourth-highest total with seven.

Related: Guentzel sets playoff goals, points record by American-born rookie

A quick look back at the 2013 draft reveals that Pittsburgh didn't originally own the third-round pick used on Guentzel. In fact, the Penguins were the fourth team to lay claim to it.

Here's a quick look at how it came into their possession:

June 27, 2011: The Minnesota Wild sent a 2013 third-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Darroll Powe.

Feb. 16, 2012: Philadelphia flipped the pick, as well as a 2012 second-round selection acquired from the Los Angeles Kings, to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Nicklas Grossman.

March 24, 2013: Dallas traded a conditional third-round pick and forward Brenden Morrow to Pittsburgh for defenseman Joe Morrow and a fifth-round pick in 2013. The Stars also possessed a third-round pick by way of the Edmonton Oilers, and therefore placed a condition on the trade with Pittsburgh whereby the Penguins would receive the lower of the two selections. Minnesota finished with a better record than Edmonton that season, hence the Wild pick being assigned to Pittsburgh.

Catch all that?

And so, when Pittsburgh was called upon to make the pick, a forward from the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers became property of the Penguins.

From there, Guentzel spent three seasons at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, developing his game in his hometown and registering 40 goals and 79 assists in 108 NCAA games.

He signed his entry-level deal with the Penguins in 2016, and made an immediate impact upon being called up this past regular season, scoring two goals on his first two shots in his NHL debut, capped by a memorable reaction from his family.

After his latest playoff goal, he's on the brink of scoring 50 in his first full season as a pro.

Team Games Goals
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) 33 21
Pittsburgh Penguins (Reg. Season) 40 16
Pittsburgh Penguins (Playoffs) 21 12
TOTAL 94 49

Guentzel has emerged as an unlikely Conn Smythe Trophy candidate as playoff MVP, and, with the next draft only a few weeks away, he's serving as a reminder for the other 30 teams that championships are often won by mining gold on the second day of the annual event.

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Murray notches 20th playoff win in 3rd-fewest games ever

Matt Murray is a train that keeps on rolling.

The Pittsburgh Penguins netminder collected his fifth win of the postseason Wednesday night, helping his club take a commanding two-games-to-none lead over the Nashville Predators as the series shifts back to Tennessee.

With the victory, Murray reached 20 playoff wins in the third-fewest games of any goalie in NHL history. He completed the feat in 28 games between this spring and last, while Bill Durnan did so in 26 games across four playoff runs from 1944-47, and Patrick Roy got there in 27 games spread across three postseasons.

Despite being in his second NHL season, Murray is still considered a rookie by NHL standards. That rare circumstance has allowed him to set the NHL record for wins by a rookie goaltender. His 20 wins are five more than Steve Penney, Patrick Roy, Ron Hextall, and Cam Ward, who all sit tied for second.

Murray now leads the playoffs with a 1.54 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage in seven games.

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Offseason Outlook: Ducks a team to watch very closely

With the offseason underway for most teams and the remainder to join them in a few weeks, we're looking at what's in store for each club in the coming months.

2016-17 Grade: B

After a first-round, Game 7 loss to the Nashville Predators in 2016, Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray invoked a seemingly desperate measure in firing head coach Bruce Boudreau and replacing him with Randy Carlyle, who led the club to a Stanley Cup win in 2007.

The end result was another playoff series loss to the Predators, albeit this time in the Western Conference Final and with significant injury issues to boot: two big scorers - Rickard Rakell and Patrick Eaves - and No. 1 goalie John Gibson were all sidelined due to injury to finish the postseason, while defensemen Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm both require offseason shoulder surgery after playing through torn labrums.

Murray faced a barrage of criticism for bringing Carlyle back into the mix, but, to his credit, the veteran bench boss was able to adapt to a younger, faster game, bringing the team close to a berth in the final.

There's several questions moving forward, but 2016-17 has to be seen as a success for the Ducks, despite falling short of the ultimate goal.

Free agents

The Ducks will be in the market for a new backup goalie if unable to re-sign either one of their two free agents at the position, while the most notable forward looking for a new deal will be trade deadline acquisition Patrick Eaves.

Player (Position) 2017-18 Status Age 2016-17 Cap Hit '16-17 Points
Nate Thompson (F) UFA 32 $1.6M 2
Patrick Eaves (F) UFA 33 $1M 51
Sam Carrick (F) UFA 25 $575000 0
Nicolas Kerdiles (F) RFA 23 $925000 0
Korbinian Holzer (D) UFA 29 $700000 7
Player (Position) 2017-18 Status Age 2016-17 Cap Hit '16-17 Save %
Jonathan Bernier (G) UFA 28 $4.15M .915
Jhonas Enroth (G) UFA 28 $750000 .872

2017 draft picks

Anaheim's first-round pick is owned by the Dallas Stars thanks to the aforementioned Eaves trade.

The Ducks will also be able to call it a day after the fifth round, pending any picks acquired through further wheeling and dealing.

Round Picks
1 0
2 2 (Own + Sharks)
3 1
4 1
5 1
6 0
7 0

Summer priorities

1. Figure out expansion protection

Of all 30 teams faced with decisions on who to expose in the upcoming expansion draft, the Ducks face arguably the toughest.

As a refresher, teams can protect one goalie and either seven forwards and three defensemen, or any combination of eight skaters. Any player with a no-movement clause cannot be exposed, however, unless he agrees to do so.

That Kevin Bieksa has a NMC on his deal may cause havoc for the Ducks, seeing as Anaheim will no doubt be reticent to expose one of Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, or Cam Fowler.

Protecting all four defensemen, coupled with the fact Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Ryan Kesler can't be moved, would likely mean exposing Jakob Silfverberg up front, which seems unimaginable.

In short, Murray has his work cut out for him here.

2. Explore all trade possibilities

The Ducks are absolutely loaded on the blue line, with Josh Manson, Brandon Montour, or Shea Theodore (all exempt from expansion protection, by the way) waiting in the wings to take on big roles behind the four players mentioned above.

All three will become restricted free agents next summer, and with Fowler eligible to hit unrestricted free agency at the same time, there simply won't be enough cash to go around.

Literally every NHL team is looking to upgrade at this position, giving Anaheim plenty of leverage to pull off a significant trade, ideally for a high-end young forward.

3. Improve goaltending depth

The Ducks remain bullish on Gibson's stock as a No. 1 goalie, but the fact he was injured to finish the postseason and Jonathan Bernier was unable to pick up the slack may have cost the team a shot at the Cup.

Both Bernier and Jhonas Enroth will be UFAs this summer, and there's not much to speak of at this position in the pipeline. As such, drafting a goalie and signing a capable backup are musts on Murray's summer to-do list.

2017-18 Outlook

While there's somewhat of a youth movement happening in Anaheim, the core of the team remains built around Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Ryan Kesler, all of whom are on the brink of exiting their peak years, despite carrying heavy cap hits for the foreseeable future.

There are only so many opportunities to get the job done, and Anaheim's window won't remain open forever. In order for 2017-18 to be a success, nothing short of a final appearance will suffice.

This will be a tricky offseason to navigate, but if Murray can push all the right buttons, he may just be able to serve up the right mix for a winning recipe.

Offseason Outlook Series

COL | VAN | NJD | ARI | BUF
DET | DAL | FLA | LAK | CAR
WPG | PHI | TBL | NYI | WAS

TOR | CGY | BOS | SJ | OTT
STL | NYR | EDM | MTL | ANH

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Subban irked by Malkin’s Russian trash talk: ‘I didn’t like what he said’

With emotions reaching a boiling point, unlikely combatants P.K. Subban and Evgeni Malkin (sort of) engaged in a fight during the third period of Game 2 Wednesday night.

Pittsburgh had exploded for three goals to start the third period, and after a heated exchange behind the goal, Subban and Malkin dropped the gloves, which the Predators defenseman claims started because of some foreign smack talk.

"He spoke a little Russian. I played with a few Russians. I didn't like what he said," Subban told reporters following the game, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.

Malkin, who unleashed a laser wrist shot to provide Pittsburgh's fourth goal, said the scrap was nothing personal.

Playoff hockey.

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