from Adam Vingan of The Tennessean,

The euphoria of a series-tying, triple-overtime victory having subsided, the Predators had to guard against two things in Game 5 on Saturday— the threat of a letdown and a motivated Sharks team eager to retaliate.

They did neither, losing 5-1 to the Sharks and falling behind 3-2 in their second-round series. To avoid elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Predators must rebound in Game 6 on Monday at Bridgestone Arena.

"We weren't as desperate as we needed to be," Predators forward Colin Wilson said. "It was 2-2. Both teams should be in the same mindset, so just the way it went."

Rarely have the Predators been visibly outplayed during the playoffs, but this particular loss was certainly one of their worst performances. If there were any concerns that the Sharks would be demoralized by their physically and emotionally draining loss in Game 4, they quickly swiped those aside.

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Game highlights are below...