Victories prove elusive at home
PITTSBURGH — Having home ice is supposed to be an advantage in the NHL. So far in the 2018 playoffs, the only guarantee to playing at home is a monochrome backdrop provided by fans in team-specific Tshirts. Consider the following: The Pittsburgh Penguins finished with the secondworst road record among the 16 playoff teams. Then the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions ripped off three wins in Philadelphia to kickstart their pursuit of a three-peat and backed it up with another victory in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in Washington.
The Capitals dropped Games 1 and 2 at home in overtime against Columbus in the opening round only to beat the Blue Jackets three times in Columbus on their way to advancing to the NHL's final eight for the fourth consecutive year.
Winnipeg posted an NHL-high 32 wins on home ice. One of their seven regulation home losses, however, was a wild 6-5 setback at the hands of Nashville in February. The Predators' triumph helped them win the Presidents Trophy and guarantee home ice through the playoffs. The Jets, of course, won the series opener in Nashville to steal that advantage.
Home teams are just 25-25 so far in the playoffs heading into tonight, when Pittsburgh hosts Washington and Winnipeg welcomes the Predators. Both series are tied after the visitors claimed their respective openers on the road.
Asked why the games have become a coin flip regardless of venue, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan — whose team was outplayed at PPG Paints Arena by Philadelphia in Game 2 and Game 5 in the opening round — admits he can't really come up with a reason.
“I don't know if I have answer for you that makes sense,” Sullivan said Monday. “Sometimes when teams go on the road, they have tendency to simplify their game I know our team historically has been very good at home and I believe we will continue to do that.”
If Pittsburgh wants to become the first franchise in 35 years to win three straight titles, it doesn't really have much of a choice. Though Sullivan is right in that the Penguins are pretty good at PPG Paints Arena, they've only been so-so when facing the Capitals. Washington won Game 3 and Game 6 in Pittsburgh during the 2017 postseason and wrapped up its third straight Metropolitan Division title with a 3-1 win there on April 1.
“You've got to create your own momentum, but it gives you good memories,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “If you have to go back into the memory bank, at least we have one. Those are things that you can bank on maybe for some positive feeling going forward.”
Predators forward Nick Bonino couldn't offer up any specifics about Nashville's victory in Winnipeg even though it happened all of two months ago, saying only “I'm sure we played a solid road game.”
The road does offer the visiting team a sense of routine. There aren't as many friends or family around. No kids waking up in the middle of the night. No traffic to deal with in most places. Just wake up, suit up and go play.
“You go out to dinner, there's not really any distractions,” Bonino said. “You're there for hockey.”