Report: Preds have a plan for Kesler

But...will it work?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Report: Preds have a plan for Kesler
Keystone Press

In games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks, it was clear that Ducks pugilist Ryan Kesler had gotten under the skin of Preds playmaker Ryan Johansen. After game 2’s 5-3 loss, Johansen was flummoxed in describing Kesler’s play saying, “His family and friends watching him play, I don’t know how you cheer for a guy like that.”

Heading into game’s 3 and 4 in Nashville however, it appears the Preds will have a strategy to neutralize Kesler. With home-ice advantage now in Nashville’s favor, head coach Peter Laviolette will have the luxury of matching lines against Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle for the first time in the series. Jeff Vingan of The Tennessean reports that Laviolette will use this opportunity to strategize use of his forward lines and attempt to play the Johansen, Forsberg and Arvidsson line away from Kesler’s line as much as possible.

Will it work? Free from Kesler’s stifling defensive game will Johansen be able to flourish on home ice and make plays for his linemates? Or, will Kesler’s responsibilities simply be shifted elsewhere in the lineup to Ryan Getzlaf or Andrew Cogliano? Whatever the case, it’s clear that whatever Kesler has been doing, has been working. So much so that the Preds have had to draw up a gameplan specifically to keep him at bay. We’ve got a series, folks!


Source: Jeff Vingan