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Pittsburgh Penguins: Three Takeaways from Game 4 Loss

By Matthew Rodrigopulle

Jun 5, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (35) blocks a shot against Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Conor Sheary (43) in the third period in game four of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 5, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (35) blocks a shot against Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Conor Sheary (43) in the third period in game four of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Monday, tying the Stanley Cup Final at two a piece.

The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated in the first two games of the series, but allowed the Predators to dominate in the next two.

Here is a look at three takeaways from game four as we head back home for game five.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins /

Pittsburgh Penguins

1) Offence Needs to Show Up Late in the Game

Throughout these playoffs it seemed as though the Penguins couldn’t score much in the first period, despite the fact that they could score in the second and third periods. Well now this trend has reversed.

These last two games, the Predators have held us to only one goal all game, in only the first period. The Penguins offence has been able to show up in the first period in all these games, but Nashville has been able to slow us down and attack in the second and the third. We really need to adjust to this if we want to win soon.

2) Capitalize on More Chances

Nashville got some lucky bounces, I’ll admit, but we had some great opportunities too. A couple breakaways in game four happened that didn’t put us up on the scoreboard. If we want to win, we’re going to have to start burying some of these.

The Penguins do a great job at starting plays, and we had a lot of great chances and bounces go our way. However, our inability to turn those into goals ended up being our downfall.

3) This Rivalry is Heating Up

We’ve all seen the rivalry and banter between PK Subban and Sidney Crosby evolve. But it truly seems as though the two teams in this series are really going at it. And why wouldn’t they?

The series is tied 2-2. Each team has their stars and their injuries. When really looking at this matchup, it’s quite close. This can be good for our Penguins. With the rivalry heating up, our guys are really pushing themselves now. Developing this hate for the opposing team (and their fans) should drive us to play better and harder. If we do this we can muster up the energy to dominate these games once again.

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