Saturday night is game night for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, but each team faces vastly different paths forward depending on how round three of the Stanley Cup Final plays out at Bridgestone Arena.
The Pens, working to become the first repeat champions since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98, could push their Western Conference foes to the brink of elimination thanks to a 2-0 series lead. And the Predators, desperately in need of life after a pair of odd and undisciplined defeats, could cut Pittsburgh's advantage in half in front of the Music City crowd that's energized their postseason run.
As both sides look to do damage in Game 3, here are keys to victory for the final two contenders on Saturday:
Pittsburgh Penguins
Start strong and spread out the offense
Starting with the defending champs, the Pens really haven't had a problem scoring in bunches -- they would have had four third-period goals in just about as many minutes in Game 2 if it weren't for an offside call.
Even with the much-discussed struggles of Pekka Rinne in Nashville's net, however, Pittsburgh hasn't exactly been a consistent model of offensive success.
That sounds silly to say considering the Pens have outscored the Predators 9-4 through two games. But putting more pressure on Nashville in their opponent's defensive zone could do wonders for the still-banged-up Penguins, who were all but driven by Matt Murray's stingy play until their third-period burst in Game 2.
Get Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin involved before the clock is on its final 20 minutes. Keep pushing early on and set the tone sooner rather than later, when the Predators have actually thrived at times this season. Take advantage of power plays (duh). And make sure to fire pucks at Rinne or whoever is guarding Nashville's net on more than just one or two occasions -- even if, up to this point, Rinne has not even come up big on those.
Nashville Predators
Cut down on the nonsense, lean on the blue line and get confident in the net
It would be a stretch to say that the Predators would have pulled out a Game 2 victory if not for their excess of penalties -- Rinne's third-period meltdown was as terrible as his run to the Final was mesmerizing.
But discipline is a monumental factor for Nashville moving forward. The Predators probably got away with a few big infractions on Wednesday and still gave Pittsburgh seven power-play opportunities during a Game 2 in which the officiating crew failed to prevent physicality from devolving into recklessness. So if one thing needs to be corrected for Peter Laviolette's club no later than Game 3 in Music City, it is playing smartly.
Take away the scrappy-turned-ugly play, and Nashville is at least a step closer to sticking with the Penguins, which it certainly did in Game 1 and parts of Game 2.
Throw in a stronger dependence on -- and performance from -- the top-four defensemen that made them postseason darlings, not to mention a semblance of confidence from Rinne or his replacement, and Nashville could legitimately bring the Final back to Steel City with momentum. That's not to say they haven't already gotten some big plays from the blue line, but if they can focus more on stymieing the Pens in the center of the ice and attacking on future power-play tries rather than, say, slamming Matt Cullen into the boards, they'll be back in contention in no time.
