The momentum of a marathon Game 4 victory didn't carry over for the Nashville Predators.
Victims of a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the San Jose Sharks, the Predators need two consecutive wins to keep their season alive, which wasn't what the team had in mind heading into Saturday's Game 5.
"We weren't as desperate as we needed to be," Predators forward Colin Wilson told Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. "It was 2-2. Both teams should be in the same mindset, so just the way it went."
Nashville suddenly finds themselves on the ropes again, having had to erase the same deficit against the Anaheim Ducks in the first round.
"We've been in this position before, and backs against the wall," defenseman Ryan Ellis said. "It usually brings out the best in people. It did last series. Hopefully it does for us this time."
"They'll respond in Game 6," head coach Peter Laviolette said. "Our guys will respond."
The game was tied 1-1 in the first period, but San Jose quickly pulled away, considerably out-playing the Predators for the majority of the game.
"Pretty visible, wasn't it?" forward James Neal said. "We weren't ready to go, I guess, so they came out strong, good push, scored. But I thought we settled down a bit and got one back and then started playing a little better. But not good enough out of our group."
Nashville returns to Bridgestone Arena for a must-win Game 6 on Monday night.
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