The powerful Pittsburgh Penguins, the defending Stanley Cup champions, against the Nashville Predators, the final team to get into the playoffs. Pekka Rinne, Predators; 3.
The night started with a catfish throw.
The Penguins thrashed Nashville 6-0 in Pittsburgh on Thursday in a dominant Game Five victory that wrestled back control of the Stanley Cup Final series. "If we continue to get those chances, they'll go in for us".
"We know who we're facing, in their building". They swept the number one seed Chicago Blackhawks, and beat solid teams in St. Louis and Anaheim to get here.
After allowing eight goals on 36 shots in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final in Pittsburgh, Rinne has allowed just two goals on 52 shots in the last two games in Nashville.
"I don't know if anybody shakes off a game like that that quickly", Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "We just have to do a better job in front of him".
And yet, as good of a playmaker as he is, Kessel is at his most risky when he's being selfish with the puck and firing shots from everywhere on the ice - something his teammates are encouraging him to do even more often than he has been.
Gaudreau's tally came 3:45 into the period on a wraparound, but there was no goal signal on the ice at the time. He stuck with Murray, reunited Sheary with Crosby and Jake Guentzel, and stressed his team needed to play with urgency but not desperation after the Predators rallied to tie the series by outscoring the Penguins 9-2 during two wins in Nashville. Fleury got the Penguins through the first two rounds, then was replaced by Murray at the first sign of faltering against the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference final.
And apparently not taking any more stuff from Subban either.
Game 4 marked the sixth time in their last 11 games the Penguins have scored just one goal, compared to just twice in 24 playoff games last spring.
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"There was a lot to like about that game", said head coach Mike Sullivan. I was in some sort of lock there.
Subban, who claimed Crosby was complaining about Subban's breath during a Game 3 run-in, just kind of sat there and took it. But those two superstars aren't easy to manage over a seven-game series.
Saros hardly fared any better.
In a flash, Crosby took a pass and split the Nashville defense.
Malkin said Kessel would score, and the right winger did it 8:02 into the period. He has played a total of 15 games - playoffs and regular season - in the National Hockey League. That's all. That's what Evgeni Malkin is reminding himself on the eve of the Penguins' 211th game (plus a World Cup of Hockey) over the past two seasons. It didn't go in the net for us.
The vibe inside PPG Paints Arena for Game 5 on Thursday night figures to be more anxious than anticipatory after the Predators evened the series at 2-2 with a pair of vintage performances on home ice that sent "Smashville" into a frenzy and delivered a very clear message that the first-timers are a clear threat to become first-time winners.
"The real hockey starts now", Subban said.
There is not as much riding on this year's Cup final as there was a year ago. "It's about going back and forth".
Justin Schultz has given the Penguins a 1-0 lead on the Predators with a power-play goal just 1:31 into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The 34-year-old Rinne, along with the Predators franchise, had never gotten out of the second round before this postseason. The teams combined for 100 penalty minutes (58 for Nashville, 42 for Pittsburgh). Phil Kessel, dormant for most of this series, had a goal and two assists. Penguins F Nick Bonino missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury.
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