Preds Trusting Process, Confident Fortunes Will Turn in Must-Win Game 4

The numbers don't lie. Well, usually.

Just about every single statistic compiled by the Predators during their first three games against the Arizona Coyotes in their Stanley Cup Qualifier points to Nashville as the odds-on favorite to be ahead.

Unfortunately, one of the few categories in which the Coyotes have the lead is the amount of victories amassed - two - compared to one for the Preds.

Because of that total, Friday's Game 4 is of the elimination variety in the best-of-five series, and the Predators are the ones on the brink. Yes, with a loss, the team would head back to Nashville short of their goal.

But as Preds Head Coach John Hynes declared following Wednesday's 4-1 loss in Game 3, the club is also 60 minutes away from forcing a Game 5.

As is the case in hockey, and especially in the postseason, spending time dwelling on the past on the "would've, could've, should've" doesn't do much good. Instead, the sun came up again on Thursday in Edmonton, and the Predators got back to work preparing for the biggest game they've faced in a very long time.

"We've worked so hard to be ready for this situation in this series, and I don't think anybody watching could argue with me when I say we could easily be up 2-1 in the series," Preds forward Matt Duchene, who took responsibility for being offside on a Nashville goal that was called back in Game 3, said Thursday. "At the end of the day, it's about the behaviors and the process that we've had, and we feel like those things are really good. Have we got the results we wanted? No, but it's about continuing to [trust what we're doing]."

The Predators have peppered Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper with shots through three games - 111 to be exact - and many have been high-danger chances. Nashville dominated their opponent through the first 20 minutes of Game 3, yet went into the locker room down 1-0.

Moments like those can be headscratchers and cause one to wonder: "How did that happen?" While the Predators may be asking questions in that realm, they're also finding answers as they look back and plan ahead for what's to come, and they're keeping calm while doing so.

"Desperation, sometimes for me, and I think for a lot of people can be… not the right word," Duchene said. "We're desperate - we need to win, it comes with the territory - but I think if we can stay mentally sharp, calm, mature and play our game to the best of our ability, and the way we have played for most of the series, we give ourselves a chance to win. That's all you can really do at the end of the day. You can't control bad bounces and small things that happened in the game, but you can control how you react to those things."

Overreaction is common in the playoffs, and although it might be easy to make an assessment from afar and count the Predators out, that's the last thing crossing their minds.

"I've played in series or games where you feel like you're just not generating what you're capable of, and you've got to find a way to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, in the middle of the series, but we don't feel like we need to do that," Duchene said. "We've done some really good things, and we can always be better and make some tweaks. We need to score more goals, but like I said, it's all about the process and we're just going to keep on focusing on that."

The core of this group has also been in elimination situations before. They've won some and lost some, but there is no lack of direction when it comes to preparing for the level of competition the Predators know they'll face on Friday afternoon either.

"We have that experience in those games and the kind of situations where we can relate to the one we're going to have tomorrow, so I think we're all really excited," Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "We're all just pumped up to be in a situation like this. This is why we work so hard, to get to this point, and now our backs are against the wall, so to speak, so everyone just has to bring their best. We've been through this before, so there are zero doubts in my mind that we're going to be able to do it tomorrow."

"You have to love these games," Hynes said. "It's at the highest level, it's going to be a highly competitive game and there's something on the line… We've played some good hockey. I think our mental focus and mental toughness, just staying with it and making sure that we're ready to put our best game on the ice is important in the preparation for the game. When we get in the game, [we have to understand] that there's going to be momentum, there's going to be good things that happen, bad things that happen; it's really understanding where we are in the game and what situations are going on in the game. That's something that's exciting, and it's going to be something that we're ready to do. [That's something] our group has the mental toughness and focus to do."

The numbers inside the game may be fibbing, but the ones that truly matter at the end of the 60 minutes will tell the truth. The Predators know they must have the higher goal total tomorrow afternoon.

And, as a collective group, they feel the score is bound to turn in their favor.

"It's easy to get emotional during the playoffs, it's easy to get negative, it's easy to get down and be on a rollercoaster, but at the end of the day, the truth of the matter is, we've played good hockey," Duchene said. "We've generated chances, we've out-chanced them, and we've got to continue. That's going to give us the best chance, and we just got to trust in that process."