Predators on verge of disaster, says no one with a clue about hockey

DENVER — Take solace in the fact that the Predators never stopped playing Monday, turning a 4-0 Colorado blowout into a 5-3 final and peppering the net enough late to turn a Pepsi Center party into a tense picnic for a few minutes.

Or freak out about the fact that the Predators have started poorly in three straight games against the Avalanche, a trend that will send this series back to Nashville tied 2-2 after another slaughter Wednesday and necessitate this burning question: Will the Predators ever win again?

Understand that Pekka Rinne was completely sold out by his teammates before being pulled early in the second period of Game 3 and that he remains the only choice to start Game 4. Or take Juuse Saros’ excellent relief work under vastly different circumstances as justification to abandon Rinne.

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Turn one lopsided night into a sweeping judgment. The Predators are frauds! The Avs are Stanley Cup contenders! Colorado fans cheer icing calls more appropriately than Nashville fans!

Or, for the love of all that is holy, act like you’ve seen a playoff series before.

The Predators deserved all the backlash they got for Monday’s performance. They stunk. The Avs deserved all the credit they got. They were relentless in halting a 12-game losing streak to Nashville, winning the franchise’s first playoff game in four years and giving this series a chance to get interesting.

But this is when idiot pills can become hard to resist, and I’m detecting some binges on the periphery of this series. If your mind is spinning the start of Nashville’s postseason into proof that it will end early and badly, breathe deeply. Have a glass of water. Maybe pour it on your head.

There’s no way to know what the Predators’ response will be until we see it. But I have an idea, and it’s based on an extensive body of work, one of the best rosters in the NHL and a coaching staff that knows how to use it. It’s also based on the very unsurprising things I saw off the ice from Nashville in the aftermath of a surprisingly inept performance on the ice.

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It’s not so much what the Predators said but how they said it. They were measured and matter-of-fact. They took responsibility and gave credit. They digested the loss for what it was, a bad performance against a good team playing above its level, which happens to happen all the time in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“It’s tough,” said Austin Watson, who has three goals in this series and a growing role as a team spokesman. “They’re first on every puck; they’re physical; they’re desperate. When you come on the road and the home team scores and you feel that kind of momentum get behind them, just like it happens with us at home when we score, it’s tough to kind of slow it down. But we just need to be more detailed and be ready to play.”

Across the room, Colton Sissons and Nick Bonino were holding a conversation in hushed tones. When Watson was done speaking with reporters, he and Ryan Johansen had their own conversation. It ended in laughter. This was a quiet, losing locker room but not a demoralized one.

After all, most of these guys managed to bounce back a year ago from two ugly losses at Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Final to crush the Penguins twice at home in Games 3 and 4. And then the Penguins managed to bounce back from that to win the next two and the Cup. It’s amazing Pittsburgh was even there, considering blowout losses along the way to the Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators.

Shoot, if one stinker means the Predators are unfit for a run, I guess we can rule out Winnipeg, Boston and Tampa Bay as contenders as well. All three teams took 2-0 series leads and suffered Game 3 road thumpings. Every game is its own adventure in this thing.

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That’s not to say Nashville has no concerns. It has serious concerns. The starts, of course. The fatal attraction to the penalty box. And the defense, which is by far the biggest problem with Rinne right now. His teammates left him exposed Monday and have to help him Wednesday. It doesn’t matter who you are or how it happens; if the puck gets behind you enough it’s going to threaten your confidence.

As a team, though, the Predators still have plenty of it. They know they’re better, and they know what to do. They said all the expected things after Tuesday’s previously unplanned practice. Coach Peter Laviolette was appropriately mum on adjustments. The response that matters comes Wednesday night.

“What happened yesterday is put in the trash today,” said captain Roman Josi, which sounds like someone who has actually been in a playoff series.

Reach Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @joerexrode.

Nashville Predators playoff schedule

GAME 4

WHEN: Wednesday, April 18 at 9 p.m. Central

WHERE: Pepsi Center, Denver

TV: Fox TN, NBC SN

RADIO: 102.5 The Game (Nashville), NHL app

STREAMING: NHL.tv, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, Fox Sports Go

GAME 5

WHEN: Friday, April 20, Time TBA

WHERE: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville

TV: Fox TN, NBC SN

RADIO: 102.5 The Game (Nashville), NHL app

STREAMING: NHL.tv, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, Fox Sports Go