In a stunning third-period offensive burst, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators to take a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Predators dominated a lot of the play, especially in the second period, but it wasn’t enough as the Penguins scored three goals in 3:18 of the third period to win the game.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Three Quick Goals for Penguins
The teams traded first-period goals, with Pontus Aberg opening the scoring with a beauty for Nashville. Jake Guentzel tied it up for the Penguins on the rebound of a sharp angle Conor Sheary shot. Nobody scored in the second period, though Nashville had the better of the play.
The Penguins had difficulty maintaining momentum with several poor power plays. Then, with just 10 seconds gone in the third period, Guentzel scored the game-winning goal after putting home a Bryan Rust rebound, making it 2-1 Penguins.
The Penguins scored again a couple of minutes later when Phil Kessel threw a shot in front of the net that went off Scott Wilson and in. The fourth goal came from Evgeni Malkin, when he winged a great wrist shot past Pekka Rinne.
The Pens nearly got a four-goal lead after Patric Hornqvist scored from the slot. However, the goal was challenged by Nashville for being offsides and was overturned upon review.
Murray Has a Great Game, Rinne Not So Much
Matt Murray kept the Penguins in the game for the first 40 minutes. He made 37 saves and earned a .974 save percentage. He was also huge for the Penguins’ penalty kill, which was perfect in the game. Murray leads all goaltenders in the 2017 playoffs with an overall save percentage of .952 and a GAA of 1.54.
Rinne, meanwhile, had a poor showing. He allowed 4 goals on the 25 shots he faced for a save percentage of .840. Nashville pulled Rinne after Malkin’s goal, putting in backup Juuse Saros in relief. Rinne’s save percentage has been in a downward spiral throughout the entire playoffs. In the first round series against the Chicago Blackhawks, Rinne had a save percentage of .976. In the second series against St. Louis, Rinne was .932. Against Anaheim, Rinne was .925. In the first two games against the Penguins, Rinne’s save percentage has been .778.
Poor Power Play Showing by Pens
Both teams played a chippy game, accumulating nearly 80 combined hits and over 30 PIM. This culminated in a fight between Malkin and Nashville blueliner PK Subban late in the third period. As a result of the many penalties, each team had several opportunities on the power play.
Nashville was 0/4 on the power play, which included an extended 5-on-3. The Penguins were 0/7. Despite the numerous opportunities the Pens had, the power play was very poor. They struggled to keep the puck in the zone and only generated 2 power play shots overall. If the Penguins want to win this series, their power play has to improve.
The series continues in Nashville for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 is Saturday night at 8 PM.