The numbers say it all, really -- Colin Wilson, Mike Fisher and James Neal have exploded for 13 points in the last three games against San Jose.
The rest of the Predators?
Thirteen points as well.
Heading into tonight’s decisive Game 6 at Bridgestone -- where the Preds are facing elimination for the third time this postseason -- the players know the scoring needs to balance out, and contributions are required from somewhere other than the law firm of Wilson, Fisher and Neal.
“They can’t carry the mail every night,” Colton Sissons said, per The Tennessean. “We’ll have to have other guys chip in.”
Among the Preds that’ve been MIA lately:
-- Ryan Johansen. The club’s No. 1 center has just one point (an assist) in his last three games, scoreless in the last two.
-- Filip Forsberg. After leading the Preds with 33 goals during the regular season, he has just one in his last 11 playoff games, dating back to the Anaheim series.
-- Mike Ribeiro, who finished second on the team in assists this season, has struggled mightily and was a healthy scratch for Games 3 and 4.
-- Calle Jarnkrok and Craig Smith (who, in his defense, appears to be playing through injury) have yet to record a point this series.
Nashville’s lack of secondary scoring has been further exposed by the fact that San Jose is getting contributions from its “other” guys. The usual suspects like Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau are all hitting the sheet but, in Game 5, so too did the likes of Joonas Donskoi, Melker Karlsson and Chris Tierney.
(Donskoi has four points in this series alone, and has been a major catalyst for the Sharks.)
If the Preds hope to win a Game 6 on home ice for the second straight round, they know they’re going to have to put forth a more complete team effort.
“It’s only Fisher’s line that has been productive, and we need more from everyone — myself, too,” Jarnkrok said. “They’ve been great for us so far the whole playoff series.
“We need more than just line to win. We need every line out there.”