The Nashville Predators head into a game 4 that could very well be the biggest game in franchise history—topping game 3 from Tuesday night. The Predators have the opportunity to all but shut down the Anaheim Ducks with a win that would put them up 3-1 in a series. Lose and the Western Conference Final is 2-2 and anyone’s to win.

The Anaheim Ducks

The stakes listed above are well known by all of the Ducks players. With the veteran team the Ducks have you should expect them to come out hard and take over the first part of the game. In the likely case this does happen the Predators will need Pekka Rinne and the players in front of him to stand strong and slowly shift momentum back their way.

The Ducks are a team that has come-from-behind all playoffs long and they will not be tentative in this moment. Regardless of how they start, one cannot deny the fact their shot production and suppression have been seriously lacking. The Predators are outshooting them by 43 shots in the series and have 48 more even-strength shot attempts than the Ducks. Even given the Predators’ shoot-from-anywhere mindset, this doesn’t bode well for the Ducks.

The Nashville Predators

As mentioned above, this game has the potential to be the biggest in franchise history, and it all depends on the outcome. Winning this game will be no easy task, but the Predators have the deep squad with the self-belief to do it.

The biggest thing for them to do, other than winning the series, will be getting out healthy. You saw last game the Ducks came out very physical and guys like Harry Zolnierczyk got tossed around and banged up. It’s not something you can plan for, but the Predators need to get out of this one unscathed to maintain their depth.

Finally, with this game’s potential as the biggest game in franchise history MAKE IT LOUD PREDS FANS. On Tuesday the Preds reached 126.4 decibels. After some research by Michael Gallagher, it was determined this matched the second most recent record for the loudest roar in an indoor arena. The loudest is marked at 130.4 decibels. The gauntlet is thrown Preds fans.

Reasons to Watch

1. This section is largely superfluous because, let’s face it, you’re going to watch this game. But first and foremost, it has the potential to be the biggest game in franchise history as mentioned numerous times before.
2. Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen. With all due respect to Viktor Arvidsson (who has been solid in his own right), Forsberg and Johansen took their games to another level last game. That duo is so creative and fun to watch they’re reasons to watch in and of themselves.
3. Public enemy number one is on the other end of the ice. As much flack as Anaheim rightfully gets, they provide the perfect villain for a conference final thanks to the horrible way they carry themselves on the ice. Every hero needs a good villain, and this is compelling stuff.

Sights and Sounds

Like Tuesday, the NBCSN starts their coverage of the game at 7 p.m. If you want to listen to Pete Weber’s sultry voice be sure to tune into 102.5 The Game.

You can also live stream the game here:

http://stream.nbcsports.com/nhl/2017-playoffs-nashville-predators-anaheim-ducks?cid=sbn