How the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins can win the Stanley Cup
A guide to Nashville and Pittsburgh hoisting the Cup when all is said and done in the Final
•
3 min read
The defending champions were no match for the potential first-time champions in Game 4 of the NHL's Stanley Cup Final series on Monday, as the Nashville Predators won 4-1 -- their second consecutive rout.
So after the Pittsburgh Penguins went up 2-0 and appeared ready to roll over Music City en route to a repeat, we're tied at 2 and it's anyone's Cup.
What do the Preds have to do to capture their first Cup? And how do the Pens become the first team since 1998 to win back-to-back championships?
We can answer both questions:
Nashville Predators
The Western Conference heroes just need to keep the pedal to the metal.
Aside from bouts with after-the-whistle contact and a stunningly porous start to the series for Pekka Rinne, which seems like ages ago with the veteran goalie owning the net Monday, the Predators have had Pittsburgh's number for much of the Final.
That's not to say the Pens didn't genuinely threaten Nashville past the blue line in Games 3 and 4; their scoring sprees early in the series were reminders that Mike Sullivan's crew has the necessary firepower. But you'd be kidding yourself if you denied that the Preds, with even a semblance of stability from Rinne in Games 1 and 2, could very easily be heading back to Pittsburgh with a 3-1 lead.
Nashville has been more gritty, faster and more productive for longer stretches, and that is with top-line center Ryan Johansen sidelined. Now, with Frederick Gaudreau stepping up in a monstrous way, Rinne back to his highlight-reel, earlier-postseason self and the team's feisty blue-liners dominating Pittsburgh on power plays, the Preds have a feasible path to the Cup, especially with Game 6 back in Music City.
That path likely requires Rinne to stand tall in the net, even if he doesn't replicate the diving gems from Monday, other guys like Colton Sissons to chip in alongside Gaudreau and continued aggressiveness from the defensemen -- the X-factor in putting just enough pressure on typically stout Matt Murray.
Even when falling behind 2-0 in the series, Nashville never was outplayed for a full 60 minutes. And with things clicking after sweeping two at home, Peter Laviolette's scrappy contenders head to the Steel City with the edge.
Pittsburgh Penguins
It's a good thing the Penguins are going back home, because the talented, albeit stumped, Eastern Conference champs are in desperate need of a wake-up call after their performance in Music City.
Sidney Crosby silenced the crowd Monday with a breakaway goal that seemed to bring the Pens back to life. But his highlight was a blip of brilliance in an otherwise long night dominated by the undermanned, less-talented Predators and a firm reminder that the Pens need to start capitalizing on opportunities if they want to regain the edge.
One goal on 16 power plays through four games is unacceptable for a team of the Pens' caliber, so fixing that issue against a physical Nashville blue line is Job One. But there are other problems: Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and postseason scoring leader Jake Guentzel have been inconsistent -- leading blowout runs or missing in action. Phil Kessel has been off the mark, and the Pens simply have been outmuscled too many times.
They had chances but could not finish Monday night. The same problem nearly cost them against the Ottawa Senators in the conference finals. The Pens can can turn it around again, but better start soon.
While it may be tempting, the Pens should not replace Murray in net. While he has surrendered eight goals in the past two losses, the youngster has hardly been the reason behind Pittsburgh's struggles, fighting off shots with little to no help from an under-performing offense and regularly rebounding from goals with acrobatics in the crease.
The Pens are powerful enough to win when everything doesn't go their way. Winning the series is all about the basics: Taking advantage of chances they are given and amid inevitable push from Nashville's D firing puck after puck at Rinne like they are built to do.
