3 Keys: Hurricanes at Predators, Game 4 of first round

No. 1 Hurricanes at No. 4 Predators
2:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS, BSSO
Carolina leads best-of-7 series, 2-1

The Carolina Hurricanes are sticking with goalie Alex Nedeljkovic when they try to push the Nashville Predators to the brink in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup First Round at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.
Matt Duchene's goal at 14:54 of double overtime gave the Predators a 5-4 win in Game 3 on Friday. Nashville goalie Juuse Saros made 52 saves on 56 shots for his second Stanley Cup Playoff win.
Nedeljkovic made 49 of 54 saves in his first playoff loss, after he had allowed two goals on 56 shots winning the first two games. The rookie has a 1.96 goals-against average and .936 save percentage.
Carolina Coach Rod Brind'Amour considered starting Petr Mrazek or James Reimer in Game 4 because of the heavy workload for Nedeljkovic.
"We have a small group going on the ice right now and then we'll make our decision on that," Brind'Amour said Saturday. "That is the concern, not his play, but just the mental and physical grind, because we haven't really given that to our goalies this year. We've really spaced it out, so that's the discussion we'll have here shortly."
Mrazek is 11-14 with a 2.31 GAA and .914 save percentage in 27 postseson games (26 starts). Reimer is 5-5-0 with a 2.70 GAA and .925 save percentage in 11 postseason games (10 starts).
Teams that take a 2-1 lead in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series are 362-154 (.702), including 12-1 in 2020.
Here are three keys for Game 4:

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1. Predators top line responds

Duchene was moved to right wing on Nashville's No. 1 line with left wing Filip Forsberg and center Ryan Johansen in Game 3. The three, who played together in the final game of the regular season, came through Friday. Forsberg gave Nashville a 2-1 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the first period, Johansen gave the Predators a 4-3 lead at 5:01 of the third and Duchene scored the winner.
"''Fil' and I, every time we played together, we found ways to produce and score goals," Duchene said. "Playing with 'Jo,' he does a lot of things that don't get recognized. He's such a strong player, great defensively, makes so many good little passes and plays. Tonight, we scored three goals, that's what we're expected to do. We pulled our weight tonight."

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2. Pesce carrying extra minutes

Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce has played more minutes in the absence of Jaccob Slavin, who will miss a third-straight game with a lower-body injury. Pesce played an NHL career-high 39:27 in Game 3 and scored the tying goal with 3:21 remaining in the third period.
"He's been an absolute animal all year, really," Hurricanes center Jordan Staal said. "With the big guy (Slavin) out, man has he stepped up and played well. He's done everything. Another great game by him and he battles hard and you've got to love it. He's going to keep leading our group back there and we're going to find a way to win next game."

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3. Turn the page

The Predators didn't expect to revel in their Game 3 win for long. They've never come back to win a best-of-7 series when trailing 2-1 (0-10). Nashville can feel better about its game, but knows it will need another great effort in Game 4.
"I thought we played well throughout how many minutes it ended up being, but I thought we were in control for the most part," Forsberg said of Game 3. "It was a step in the right direction. I think we've been getting better since Game 1. We got rewarded with a big win and we're looking to do the same on Sunday."

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Hurricanes projected lineup

Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter -- Vincent Trocheck -- Martin Necas
Warren Foegele -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook -- Steven Lorentz -- Brock McGinn
Brady Skjei -- Dougie Hamilton
Jake Bean -- Brett Pesce
Max Lajoie -- Jani Hakanpää
Alex Nedeljkovic
Petr Mrazek
Scratched:Morgan Geekie, Jake Gardiner, Max McCormick, Drew Shore, Roland McKeown, Joakim Ryan, Joey Keane, Ryan Suzuki, James Reimer
Injured:Jaccob Slavin (lower body), Cedric Paquette (lower body)

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Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Matt Duchene
Eeli Tolvanen -- Mikael Granlund -- Luke Kunin
Calle Jarnkrok -- Erik Haula -- Nick Cousins
Yakov Trenin -- Colton Sissons -- Tanner Jeannot
Roman Josi -- Alexandre Carrier
Mattias Ekholm -- Ryan Ellis
Ben Harpur -- Matt Benning
Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne
Scratched: Erik Gudbranson, Rocco Grimaldi, Brad Richardson, Tyler Lewington, David Farrance, Michael McCarron, Jeremy Davies, Rem Pitlick, Mathieu Olivier, Dante Fabbro, Kasimir Kaskisuo
Injured: Viktor Arvidsson (upper body), Luca Sbisa (lower body), Mark Borowiecki (upper body), Mathieu Olivier (lower body)
Status report
The Hurricanes held a limited skate Saturday and the Predators were off. ... Arvidsson, a forward who did not play Friday, is day to day.