The Nashville Predators face elimination for the second time in Game 6 against the Vancouver Canucks. With this game back in Nashville head coach Andrew Brunette would like to see his team be comfortable in who they are.
“Lean on each other. We’re grateful for the leadership of this group,” Brunette said. “The hunger of those guys has really helped the group maintain the emotions and maintain composure in difficult times.”
Forward Gustav Nyquist added after morning skate he wants to see the Predators be themselves. It’s been a long season and that’s when they’re at their best.
“Just play our game, worry about ourselves, and come out with our best version,” Nyquist said. “Play the game we know we can play. We’re excited for the opportunity.”
Ahead of Game 6, Andrew Brunette has been named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as voted by NHL broadcasters. While he was the interim head coach of the Flordia Panthers during the 2021-22 campaign, he was also a nominee for the award.
“Tremendous honor. Last time it didn’t go quite as well, I lost my job a little while later. I don’t know how to take it anymore,” a laughing Brunette said.
Nyquist added it’s fun to see Brunette as a former player thrive as an NHL head coach.
“They know what it’s like to be through a season and the grind of it, has a feeling of what the team needs in certain situations,” Nyquist said. “He’s done an excellent job, I’m happy for him and it’s well deserved.”
Ahead of Game 6 the Predators had every skater out on the ice minus forward Cole Smith. His belongings were in his stall and he was not seen around the team once his teammates were filtering in and out of the room.
“Some game-time decisions for us tonight, [Luke Schenn] is one of them, I don’t know how he’s feeling,” Brunette said regarding his lineup.
Brunette confirmed a few players were experiencing some illness on Thursday so more of an official lineup will be seen on ice during warmups tonight.
As Nashville prepped for Game 6 they worked on special teams to round out their time on the ice as usual. There was one adjustment Brunette made in hopes of seeing a more positive result.
He put Tommy Novak on the top unit and slid Luke Evangelista down. He’s hopeful the move can catapult Novak into the version he’s used to seeing from him during the highest points of the regular season.
“When Tommy is skating that’s when he’s really dangerous,” Brunette said. “There’s times this series where he was skating and he wasn’t rewarded and there’s times where I think he can skate more.”
Evangelista hopes to take full advantage of playing at home tonight. He reflected on what Brunette has meant for him in his rookie season ahead of Game 6.
“He’s been huge for us as a group and for me personally as well. He’s tweaked some things in my game and made me think about some things I had not about in the past,” Evangelista said. “I feel like he’s helped change my game for the best, especially in the second half of the season. I feel like I’m playing a different style.”
The most imperative thing Brunette stressed to Evangelista in their conversations was moving his feet.
“He was a skilled player when he played and I think I had that tendency where I played to try to slow the game down,” Evangelista said. “He told me just move my feet and the lanes would open up the more I move and I’d be harder to defend.”
Evangelista understands his team has nothing to lose at this point, they’re taking these playoff games one at a time and the goal after Game 5 was to get back home once things started clicking at a higher rate on the ice.
“If you told me at the beginning of the year we’d be in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs we’d take it for sure so we’re looking forward to it,” Evangelista said.
If Nashville wins tonight they’ll play in their fourth Game 7 in franchise history. They’ve gone 1-2 in those situations but they have to get there first.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet would not confirm who his starter is for Game 6 but regardless of who it is, Brunette has been impressed with their defense this series.
“They’ve played really well. Give Vancouver credit they defend probably arguably one of the best in the league,” Brunette said. “They don’t give you a whole lot, their goaltenders when they do they’ve been there. Demko may be at a different level than the other two but in my opinion, they’ve both been good.”
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
Comments