Ellis, Predators expect to win, no matter circumstances

NEW YORK --Shortly after the Nashville Predators finished their morning skate Monday, defenseman Ryan Ellis was talking about how they believe in their ability and how that has manifested into an expectation to win every game, no matter the opponent, location, or by how many goals they trail.

Several hours later, the Predators proved Ellis' point in a
come-from-behind 5-4 overtime win
against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center.
"A perfect example," is how Ellis described it.
The Predators were down 4-2 less than 25 minutes into the game because their typically reliable goalie, Pekka Rinne, had allowed some uncharacteristic goals. Their best goal-scorer, Filip Forsberg, was not around to help them since he was serving the first of a three-game suspension. They were on the road in a building they hadn't played in since last season and against a team that defeated them 6-2 in Nashville on Oct. 28.
If that wasn't enough, after peppering Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak with 37 shots on goal through two periods, 18 in the first and 19 in the second, the Islanders were stifling the Predators in the third, limiting them to five shots in the period with less than a minute to play.
"We end up pulling it off," Ellis said.
Calle Jarnkrok's goal at 16:25 of the second period to cut the New York lead to 4-3. Ryan Johansen tied it with 43 seconds left in the third period with a 6-on-5 goal. Roman Josi scored with 1:18 left in overtime to win it and push the Predators into a tie for first place in the Central Division with the Winnipeg Jets.

"You've just got to believe," Johansen said. "Whenever you're playing a good team, you know they're never out of the game, and that's how we feel our opponents look at us. That's how we look at each other in this room. … There is a big belief in here that we can always get the job done."
Ellis' point in the morning was that the Predators, based largely off what they accomplished last season in getting to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in their history, have internal expectations that have driven their success this season.
He said there are two kinds of expectations: the kind that is realistic and the kind a team can only dream about or wish to accomplish.
"For us, those two, the ones we dream of and the ones that are realistic for our team, are one in the same," Ellis said. "Every night we expect to win. We expect everyone to be at their best."
He could have added obstacles shouldn't and won't stop them from meeting their expectations.
Ellis listed some examples of proof following the game.
He mentioned how he, an alternate captain and one of Nashville's most important defensemen, missed the first 38 games recovering from knee surgery and the Predators still went 23-10-5.

He brought up how Forsberg missed time -- 11 games from Dec. 30-Jan. 30 with an upper-body injury -- but the Predators were fine, going 7-2-2 without him. He didn't mention they allowed 1.91 goals per game without Forsberg, a big reason they earned 15 points despite scoring 2.27 goals per game.
The win Monday pushed the Predators to 8-2-2 without Forsberg this season.
Ellis brought up how Josi missed some time and that it didn't impact the Predators, who went 2-0-1 without their captain from Oct. 10-14. He also mentioned how Johansen missed some games, three from Dec. 4-8, and how it was the same story, with the Predators going 2-0-1 without him.
"It seems like everyone is missing games here and there, and it doesn't matter, our team is confident," Ellis said. "No matter who is playing with who, where we're playing or who we're playing, there's an expectation to win."
That expectation comes from the belief the Predators built in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.
They lost forward Kevin Fiala to a gruesome, season-ending left-leg injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round. They shockingly lost Johansen after four games in the conference final to a season-ending left-thigh injury.
The Predators took the Pittsburgh Penguins to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
"It wasn't like, 'Pack it in, two of our top guys are out,'" Ellis said. "It was, 'Next guy up.' You saw last year, [Frederick] Gaudreau and guys like Pontus [Aberg] step up and score big goals. That really gave us the experience we needed to realize that no matter what the score is, we're never out of it."

Which brings us back to Monday in Brooklyn, where Ellis' point and the Predators' big picture came into focus yet again.
They expect to win every game. They're right a lot of the time.
"To have success and be able to have a chance to play in the Stanley Cup Final, you obviously won a lot of big games and did a lot of good things," Johansen said. "This year, you always have it in the back of your mind that you can get the job done. With the way the season has been going and us having some pretty good success, there's no reason for us not to still have that mindset."
Stanley Cup championships are won with that mindset. The Predators will probably expect to win that soon too.