The Anaheim Ducks worked hard all season to get home ice advantage in their first-round NHL playoff series, and they hope to use that advantage Friday night, hosting the Nashville Predators in Game 5 at Honda Center. The Ducks will be without Jarkko Ruutu, who was suspended for his hit on Martin Erat in Game 4. However, the Ducks will get Bobby Ryan back after the forward served his two-game suspension.
"It's always nice when you get home ice advantage back and when you get one of your top guys back, too," Corey Perry told NHL.com. "It's nice to have [Ryan] back and we've just got to be ready to play." Game 5 has a start time of 7 p.m. PDT, and will be televised by Prime Ticket.
Rather than talk of suspensions, or suspicions of diving, Arthur of Anaheim Calling chose to focus on actual hockey. He noted that goalie Jonas Hiller, though now out with vertigo, was still a huge part of getting Anaheim to where they are tonight:
Here's a Ducks team that could barely stay competitive without Jonas bailing them out of 40+ shots-allowed efforts, a team that was severely lacking in chemistry and consistency. Make no mistake, they didn't get here without him. Hiller could not be there for the stretch run, but he stole wins that made the last minute comebacks to end the season relevant. They haven't been better off without his contributions.
For more news and information about the Ducks, or about this first round playoff series, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Anaheim Calling.