from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

The resilience that has been the Ducks’ trademark during their push into the Western Conference finals deserted them Saturday. They ran out of energy and skidded into the grateful hands of the Nashville Predators, who aren’t just acting like they belong here — they do belong here. And maybe in the Stanley Cup finals, too.

While the Ducks spoke of running out of gas and not competing hard enough, the Predators simply regrouped after losing top scorer Ryan Johansen and team captain Mike Fisher to injuries before Saturday’s game. The Predators were the resilient group Saturday, scoring late in the second period and twice in the third to leave the Honda Center with a 3-1 victory and head home with a chance to clinch a berth in the Cup finals if they win Monday at Bridgestone Arena.

“I thought that we had the opportunity to go out and play hard and send a message in our building and we didn’t compete on the puck throughout,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. “That means being hard on pucks, that means directing pucks at the net, all those things.

“I don’t think our compete level was where it needed to be. I thought they came out and worked harder than us in the second and third period and that was the difference in the game.”

There’s no extra day between games for them to recharge mentally and physical by taking a diversionary side trip, as they did during their seven-game elimination of Edmonton in the second round, or to relax by taking a day off to play pool, as they did before they pulled out an overtime win in Game 4 against the Predators on Thursday at Nashville. The clock is ticking on them and their season, and whatever resilience they’ve displayed up to now is nothing compared to what they’ll need Monday in what will be a rollicking, gold-filled arena filled with fans eager to watch the Predators continue the team’s longest-ever playoff journey.

continued

Watch the game highligths below...