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Home is where the ‘L’ is? Home teams struggling in playoffs

Nashville Predators left wing Kevin Fiala, of Switzerland, center, celebrates with goalie Pekka Rinne (35), of Finland, after Fiala scored the winning goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the second overtime in Game 2 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series Sunday, April 29, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. The Predators won 5-4 to tie the series 1-1. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nashville Predators left wing Kevin Fiala, of Switzerland, center, celebrates with goalie Pekka Rinne (35), of Finland, after Fiala scored the winning goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the second overtime in Game 2 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series Sunday, April 29, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. The Predators won 5-4 to tie the series 1-1. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Nashville Predators left wing Kevin Fiala, of Switzerland, center, celebrates with goalie Pekka Rinne (35), of Finland, after Fiala scored the winning goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the second overtime in Game 2 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series Sunday, April 29, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. The Predators won 5-4 to tie the series 1-1. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

By Associated Press 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – Having home ice is supposed to be an advantage in the NHL. So far in the 2018 playoffs, the only guarantee to playing at home is a monochrome backdrop provided by fans in team-specific T-shirts.

Consider the following:

» The Pittsburgh Penguins finished with the second-worst road record among the 16 playoff teams. Then the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions ripped off three wins in Philadelphia to kickstart their pursuit of a three-peat and backed it up with another victory in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in Washington.

photo Washington Capitals’ Nicklas Backstrom (19), of Sweden, celebrates his empty net goal with Tom Wilson (43), John Carlson (74), and Lars Eller (20), during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL second-round hockey playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sunday, April 29, 2018, in Washington. The Capitals won 4-1. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

» The Capitals dropped Games 1 and 2 at home in overtime against Columbus in the opening round only to beat the Blue Jackets three times in Columbus on their way to advancing to the NHL’s final eight for the fourth consecutive year.

» Winnipeg posted an NHL-high 32 wins on home ice. One of their seven regulation home losses, however, was a wild 6-5 setback at the hands of Nashville in February. The Predators’ triumph helped them win the Presidents Trophy and guarantee home ice through the playoffs. The Jets, of course, won the series opener in Nashville to steal that advantage.