No. 4 Predators at No. 1 Hurricanes 8 p.m. ET; CNBC, SN360, TVAS, BSSO Best-of-7 series tied, 2-2
Jaccob Slavin could play for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Nashville Predators in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup First Round at PNC Arena on Tuesday. The defenseman took part in the morning skate. He has missed the past three games with a lower-body injury after playing 21:25 in Game 1, a 5-2 victory. "I mean, it's a good sign. We're hopeful," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He has to try it in warmups, really push it and then see where we're at." The Predators won Game 3 and Game 4, each in double overtime, to tie the series. Forward Luke Kunin scored his first two goals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the game-winner in Game 4 on Sunday. Teams that win Game 5 when tied 2-2 are 213-58 (78.5 percent) winning a best-of-7 series. Here are three keys for Game 5:
1. Saros sizzling
Juuse Saros set a Predators record with 58 saves in Game 4 after making 52 saves in Game 3 to help Nashville even the series. He became the second goalie since 1955-56 to record 50-plus saves in consecutive playoff games, joining Curtis Joseph, who did it for the St. Louis Blues against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Games 1 and 2 of the 1993 Norris Division Final. "He's a stud," Nashville forward Ryan Johansen said. "He's a big part of our team success and our success in winning these last two games. He's going to keep doing his thing and we're going to keep counting on him." Dan Ellis is the only other Predators goalie with at least 50 saves in a playoff game. He made 52 in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5 of the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinals.
2. Power play needs to deliver
Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho said no big changes are needed on the power play, which was 0-for-4 with six shots in Game 4 and is 2-for-14 in the series. "If you see our power play, I don't know how many shots we got but it seemed a lot," Aho said Monday. "I feel we don't have that extra shot we need. Hopefully we're going to be successful tomorrow." The Carolina power play ranked second in the NHL during the regular season (25.6 percent).
3. Feeling good
The Predators are healthy at the right time. They lost 303 man-games because of injury, illness or suspension during the regular season. "We're able to play six (defensemen), we're rolling four lines," coach John Hynes said. "We're not banged up, we don't have injuries, so we're in good shape here. Guys are sacrificing and playing hard, but as far as depth and energy and being able to manage minutes for guys during these two games, we're in good shape here."
