ARVIDSSON’S SIX-WEEK SLUMP A SIGN OF WHAT AILS PREDS
Star goaltender Rinne taking a lot of heat, but Nashville forwards need to bury biscuit
Viktor Arvidsson didn’t know what to say. At this point, he doesn’t really even know what to do.
The poor guy, who last scored six weeks ago, is going through his worst slump at possibly the worst time of his career. Arvidsson didn’t score at all in the second round of the playoffs. Then he went the third round without a goal, too.
After coming up empty again in the first two games of the Stanley Cup final, Nashville’s goal-scoring leader has now been silent for 14 straight games, and it’s killing him.
“I don’t know what to say,” said Arvidsson, who last scored in Game 4 of their first-round series sweep against the Chicago Blackhawks. “I try to work as hard as I can. Of course, I wish I could score. I think I should have a lot more than I have in the playoffs. I want to get it done. I want to be a leader on the team and try to get it done. They just haven’t gone in.”
Arvidsson isn’t alone in that regard.
While goalie Pekka Rinne is getting most of the blame for why the Predators are down 0-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the best-of-seven series with Game 3 scheduled for Nashville on Saturday, it wouldn’t be the case if his teammates could find the back of the net with any regularity.
Filip Forsberg, who leads the team in scoring, had no goals and no points in Games 1 and 2 of the Cup final. James Neal has gone the last six games without a goal. Calle Jarnkrok has no goals in the last eight games.
Then there’s captain Mike Fisher, who picked up his first assist in Game 2 and last scored two full months ago.
“We’ve got to find a way to produce more offence, for sure,” Predators head coach Peter Laviolette said. “That comes from everybody. It comes from our forwards. It comes from our defence. It comes from our power play, which has scored some goals for us.
“I think if there’s a chance to be better offensively, we need to, because we’re not scoring enough goals.”
The Predators do not have a Sidney Crosby or an Evgeni Malkin or even a Phil Kessel. At this point, they don’t even have a Jake Guentzel.
Though they have a defence that can fill the opposing net with ease, they are not a team that jumps out at you offensively. In the playoffs, Nashville has relied on scoring from just about everyone, with 14 different forwards contributing goals.
But you need whatever stars you have to shine brightest at this time of year. That means Arvidsson and Forsberg, each of whom had 31 goals this season, and Neal — who has scored 40 goals in the past — need to be much better.
“I think we just have to bear down,” said Neal, who has five goals in the playoffs. “Maybe have a little more traffic in front of (Penguins goalie Matt) Murray. He’s a good goalie, he sees the puck well. I think for us, we’ve got to go in there and get some dirty goals and look for rebounds and get pucks there as much as we can.”
Forsberg also cited Murray’s play.
“I think obviously we’ve got to give their goalie some credit,” he said. “He’s played two good games. We’ve had some decent chances and played some good hockey, but at the same time we know we’re capable of better.”
Part of the Predators’ problem is the absence of Ryan Johansen not only robbed the team of its No. 1 centre, but also its No. 1 playmaker. Johansen led the team in the regular season with 47 assists and is still second in team scoring in the playoffs despite missing the last four games. Without him, Forsberg and Arvidsson have looked less dangerous.
Still, the Predators are getting chances — they outshot the Penguins 26-12 in Game 1 and 38-27 in Game 2 — something the team believes will eventually lead to more offence.
“I always say when the opportunities are there, you put people (out) that are good at scoring goals and creating offence and making plays, typically the points will come, and your team production will come,” Laviolette said. “We feel like it will be (coming). We can be a little bit better as a group. I wouldn’t necessarily say Arvie. I think he’s done an excellent job in this playoffs. He works. He gives everything he has every shift. He generates offence.”
Indeed, Arvidsson was trying to rely on the positives heading into Game 3.
He might not have scored in a long while, but with nine assists he has found ways to contribute offensively. Eventually, he said, the goals will come. He just needs to keep working hard and keep moving his feet and keep getting to the front of the net.
All it takes is one shot to break through. Then, hopefully, the floodgates would open.
“I think I’ve had the looks and the chances,” Arvidsson said. “I think I’m creating opportunities and feel like maybe I can score more goals. I just need to go to those dirty areas where you score the goals and try to do that better. I feel like I’ve been setting up other people to score goals and try to do my best for other players to score, too.
“But of course I want to score more goals, a hundred per cent.”
Of course, I wish I could score. I think I should have a lot more than I have in the playoffs. I want to get it done.