Pekka, Pontus and lots of guts bring it home for Predators

ANAHEIM, Calif. — They are battered and stretched thin. They had no captain, no top-line center and one minor leaguer starting Saturday in the latest most important game in their history.

The Nashville Predators are a mess. They may yet suffer from injuries that have knocked out star center Ryan Johansen for the rest of the playoffs and captain Mike Fisher for an undetermined period. But they are coming home to play Monday night for a spot in the Stanley Cup finals.

That took a turn toward real Saturday in a stunned Honda Center when Filip Forsberg put a shot on Ducks backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier, and a diving Pontus Aberg put the rebound past him with 8:59 to play, becoming the 16th Predator to score a goal in these playoffs. It got more real as Pekka Rinne continued turning back Ducks charges in perhaps his finest outing yet of these playoffs. It was reality when Austin Watson launched one into an empty net with 47.1 seconds left.

It was Predators 3, Ducks 1 on the arena scoreboard as a crowd of 17,307 exited. It was Predators 3, Ducks 2 on the Western Conference final scoreboard as the teams packed up to fly back to Nashville for a Game 6 that will be the latest biggest sporting event in city history.

“We have an opportunity to seal the deal, and we’re going to make the most of it,” said Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who set up Forsberg for the shot that made Aberg the latest Predators hero.

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This is the escalating story of a special team doing special things, as we try to find the right word for the latest achievement. “Special-er” doesn’t quite do it and isn’t even a word.

How about valiant? Dauntless? Ferocious? Yeah, this team is a mess. A big, beautiful mess. More of an unruly leaf pile in the fall than a rank pile of sweaty clothes in a locker room.

The Predators were on the verge of taking full control of this series after Forsberg tied Game 4 with 34.5 seconds left in regulation. In the next few hours they endured a fluky Anaheim goal and lost in overtime, news that Johansen would need emergency, season-ending thigh surgery, and the realization that the shot Fisher took to the head in the third period would have lasting effects.

“You play for them,” Rinne said of Fisher and Johansen, both of whom sent group texts to everyone on the team before the game. “We talked about that before the game, and I think you can use it to strengthen yourself, use it to your advantage.”

The Nashville team that swept Chicago in the first round had Fisher leading, Johansen dominating Jonathan Toews, and young Kevin Fiala starring before breaking a leg in the second round against St. Louis. The team that took the ice Saturday looked very different.

Coach Peter Laviolette activated 24-year-old Frederick Gaudreau, who spent most of the season with the Milwaukee Admirals. Gaudreau was told Thursday night to be ready and Friday morning that he would play.

“He told me to stay calm, work hard, but most importantly enjoy every second of it,” Gaudreau said of Laviolette. “And that’s what I did.”

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Laviolette shuffled his lines and came up with two first-time combinations. He took on an opponent with some of the best quality center depth in the league, countering with Colton Sissons on the first line, Gaudreau, Calle Jarnkrok and Vernon Fiddler. And he won.

“I tell you, it’s not about what I said,” Laviolette said. “It’s about what the players did.”

Still, add this number to the box set known as Lavi’s Greatest Coaching Hits.

“I think it’s more you guys that build up this win as something huge or something that we weren’t able to (do),” Ekholm said. “Maybe we were down two guys, but we really felt comfortable in this room. Felt confident in the guys stepping up.”

There’s still plenty of talent in that room, such as Colin Wilson, whose power-play goal in the second period tied things up. And the Ducks were missing Rickard Rakell (lower body) and lost goalie John Gibson (lower body) after the first period.

They will not miss the Predators after this series concludes, and vice versa. Witness the skirmish between these teams in the waning seconds.

Earlier in the day, the league announced a $10,000 fine for Ryan Getzlaf, after he screamed a homophobic slur at an official in Game 4. Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler alone make this team hard to like, and the Predators aren’t hiding those feelings. Now they can join with their fans and give the Ducks one big “Buh-bye” on Monday night.

That will be difficult. The Ducks didn’t exploit Nashville’s center situation enough in Game 5, but that doesn’t mean they won’t in Game 6. Math and physics are still on Anaheim’s side, especially if Gibson returns Monday as he told coach Randy Carlyle he will.

But on a Saturday in Southern California, math and physics got elbowed, slashed and slammed into the boards by … what’s the word? Heart.

Contact Joe Rexrode at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @joerexrode.