NHL playoff scores 2017: Predators depth scoring comes alive in key Game 5 victory

With the news that Ryan Johansen would miss the remainder of the playoffs for the Predators, many started to worry that Nashville’s secondary scoring wouldn’t be up to the task. Fortunately for the Predators, they got all the secondary scoring they needed in Game 5 against the Ducks.

Pontus Aberg, Colin Wilson, and Austin Watson did the heavy lifting for the Predators as Nashville’s only goal scorers in the 3-1 win. Aberg, especially, was extremely effective in his game-winning goal with nine minutes to play in the game.

Playoff-winning teams are often made by their ability to score up and down the lineup. Stars are all well and good, but the playoffs are battles of attrition that almost need deep lineups to succeed.

Johansen wasn’t the only one missing from the Predators’ lineup for Game 5 either, as captain Mike Fisher was inactive for the game with an undisclosed injury. So that left the Predators down their top two center-men with a big test on the road in Anaheim, and they came away victorious.

It wasn’t a perfect win for the Predators by any means, but the work by Aberg and Wilson has Nashville one victory away from its first-ever Stanley Cup Final appearance. Safe to say the Predators’ secondary scoring is doing just fine.

Predators 3, Ducks 1 (Nashville leads series 3-2)

John Gibson could be out for the rest of this series

The Ducks starting goaltender played just 20 minutes of action before being pulled for a lower-body injury. Jonathan Bernier saved 16 of 18 shots in relief, but there was no word on Gibson’s status after the game.

Bernier is a solid backup netminder who can carry the Ducks for the remainder of their playoff run, but Gibson has gotten Anaheim to where they are. Players are falling left and right the longer this series goes on, it seems.

Aberg likely shouldn’t have been on the ice to score his game-winner

Moments before scoring the tie-breaking goal, Aberg took a tumble in the Ducks’ zone where his head impacted the ice. In his next shift, he scored the game-winning goal and never returned to play, as he was pulled by a concussion spotter.

It feels so very NHL that the Predators’ savior in Game 5 was being evaluated for a concussion as he scored the game-winner.

No, we won’t let the Filip Forsberg-Martin Erat trade go

The Capitals, still taking losses even when they’re out of the playoffs.

Austin Watson’s empty netter with a minute to go closed the book on Game 5, as the Ducks had no chance to go all Nashville on the Predators in the final moments of a locked-up game.

Pekka Rinne looked extremely strong in net for Nashville in Game 5. After a few leaky games early on, he was a wall on Saturday as he saved 32 of 33 Ducks shots.