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Pittsburgh Penguins: A Game One Victory is Very Important

By Matthew Rodrigopulle

Jan 31, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) carries the puck into the offensive zone as Nashville Predators defenseman Matt Irwin (52) defends during the second period at the PPG PAINTS Arena. The Penguins won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) carries the puck into the offensive zone as Nashville Predators defenseman Matt Irwin (52) defends during the second period at the PPG PAINTS Arena. The Penguins won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Pittsburgh Penguins will face the Nashville Predators in game one of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight.

With the Pittsburgh Penguins obviously looking to take a 1-0 lead on the Predators, it seems as though a game one win may be more important than we think.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins /

Pittsburgh Penguins

Team by Team

If we take a look at both the Penguins and the Predators paths to the Stanley Cup Finals, there are quite some interesting things to be found.

First off, the Predators have won every game one they’ve played. They have also never gone to seven games. This shows that the Predators really try to assert dominance right from the beginning of the series.

The Penguins have also won game one’s, however they only won two out of their three in these playoffs. The Penguins won game one in both of the first two rounds, but lost to Ottawa in round three. This is significant because Ottawa seemed to be the toughest team to beat for the Penguins. Yes, the Washington Capitals did force a game seven, however the Ottawa Senators took a couple of series leads and pushed the series to a one goal decider.

Mental Aspect

The Predators were able to take control of every series they’ve played in because they get off to a great start. They shift the dominance into their hands right from the get-go and they make the other teams fear them.

The Penguins have done this as well, but when we versed the Ottawa Senators it seemed as though we let them make us less confident. We let them constantly take the lead and they pushed us to a dreaded game seven. Not just any game seven too, but one that was settled in double overtime.

The Penguins have to win game one if they really want to win this series. It’s not a guarantee that a game one win will get us a championship, but it would surely set the pace for the rest of the series.

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