The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators 5-3 in game one of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Pittsburgh Penguins played a decent game with some evident flaws, but either way they were able to take home the victory. Let’s look at a few takeaways from the game.
Pittsburgh Penguins
1) Offence is Getting Better
We scored five goals in game one. Three of these goals came in the first period. I’ve complained a lot about our lack of first period scoring during these playoffs, but it seems like the Penguins are finally starting to improve.
Keeping this strong offence is what we need to do. Taking control of the game before Nashville gets the chance to is exactly what needs to happen for the Penguins. If we can’t do this, our offence will struggle.
Our big guys are coming out on top. Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel are still holding their own at the top of the league scoring races. We need more big games from them. If everyone pitches in we can easily repeat.
2) We Need to Pile Those Shots
The Penguins took just 12 shots on net in last night’s game. 12 shots. Nashville took 26. Over double our total. That’s horrible.
Goals are only scored through shots. Therefore, you can’t score goals without taking shots. Yes, we scored five goals on 12 shots, but that doesn’t always happen. We got lucky this game, but we need to get it together for game 2.
3) We Cannot Allow Blown Leads
We may have won the game, but we can’t dismiss the fact that we nearly blew a 3-0 lead. We were up 3-0 after the first period, and we let the Predators tie it up. Luckily for us, Jake Guentzel potted the game-winning goal, but the point still stands.
Our defence has to be top notch here. We may be missing a few guys on our blue-line but we still have to be effective as ever. Holding leads is just as important as gaining leads. You win by doing both, so let’s be more effective on both ends of the ice.