Written by Adam Vingan at The Tennessean.com
There’s no explicit explanation as to why these Predators are so resilient.
Seemingly everything in sports can be quantified with some sort of statistic, but how can one truly measure a team’s fortitude?
That’s what’s being asked about the Predators, who again averted elimination in Game 6 on Monday by defeating the Sharks 4-3 in overtime on a game-winning goal from forward Viktor Arvidsson, rallying to send their second-round series to a decisive Game 7 on Thursday.
“It’s just the character on our team,” Predators defenseman Roman Josi said, attempting to answer that question. “I think all year, we’ve been going through some adversity, and we just never gave up. I think this team always works hard no matter what happens, and we got rewarded for it tonight.”
A weaker-willed team wouldn’t be here right now. Twice now in the past two weeks the Predators have won a Game 6 with their offseason one loss away, something they never had done before this postseason. They’ve pushed a series that they opened with two losses to seven games
On Monday, the Predators trailed 2-0 less than 12 minutes into the first period, having one fewer shot at that time than the Sharks had goals. They recovered, scoring two consecutive goals behind a renewed attack, then did so again after the Sharks scored a go-ahead power-play goal midway through the third period after goaltender Pekka Rinne stumbled in the crease.
“It’s just a belief,” said Predators forward Colin Wilson, whose game-tying tap-in goal with 7:16 remaining in regulation extended his franchise-record postseason point streak to seven games. “I think we’ve been there quite a few times, and we have the skill and a lot of hard work on our team to get things done. We knew that we could win an elimination game.”
To continue reading this article, click here.
