Stanley Cup Final: Three questions for Game 2 between Penguins and Predators
Goalie play and the Pens' unpredictable offense highlight things to watch in part two of the title series
•
3 min read
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final belonged -- for the most part -- to the Nashville Predators, even if the final result went the way of the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3.
Stripped of a 1-0 lead on a close offside call, buried in an early 3-0 hole and then robbed of a comeback fueled by some historic defense, the Preds rallied to tie the score at 3-3 with a commanding surge through the second and most of the third periods. And they will probably need to bring their "A" game once again Wednesday with the Pens talking down complacency at PPG Paints Arena.
Can "Smashville" pull it off? Their wild ride through the playoffs suggests that's the case.
Entering Game 2, here are three more questions:
1. Can Pekka Rinne regain his footing in net?
This one isn't so much a question of whether the Preds' postseason standout will rebound from surrendering four goals as much as it is a question of how much of a step forward Rinne will take.
It's unreasonable to expect the veteran to replicate what he did against the Chicago Blackhawks in Nashville's first-round series sweep (as surreal as that series itself may have been), but the key in Game 2 will be slowing more of the soft shots and, of course, limiting Pittsburgh's efficiency in front of the goal.
Poor Rinne, after suddenly transitioning from protect mode when P.K. Subban's opening goal was called back, had one shot deflect off his own teammate and into the net, so his Game 1 was not all bad. But when the Pens fire only 12 pucks at him and four end up getting past Rinne in net, there unquestionably is room for improvement.
Rinne has arguably been Nashville's postseason MVP, and with the backing of the team's top four defensemen could play a big role in setting the tone for a potential rebound.
2. Which Penguins offense will show up?
It's not necessarily astounding that Pittsburgh found a way to get five goals against the Predators, who entered the series with a reputation for big-play defense. And that's because the Pens are, well, pretty much the same Pens who scored goal after goal en route to a title in 2015-16 and then overcame blue-line ailments to contend for this season's title.
But it is astounding that Steel City celebrated five goals on a night that Nashville prevented the defending champs from unloading a single shot at Rinne for nearly 40 minutes. Which Pittsburgh offense, then, will come to play on Wednesday, with the Pens aiming to take a 2-0 lead before the series heads to Bridgestone Arena?
Sidney Crosby and Co. looked a whole lot different at the tail end of the conference finals bout with the Ottawa Senators, when Craig Anderson saw a barrage of shots from Pittsburgh's deep group of forwards. The story then was that Mike Sullivan's unit needed to accompany its heavy shot total with better connections in front of the net rather than the other way around.
3. How will Nashville respond to unfamiliar circumstances?
The Predators did not give up when they were down 3-0 in Game 1, and they certainly don't have the makeup of a team that's going to quit after the Game 1 loss. Just look at their regular season, when they went .500 before going off on the Blackhawks and igniting Nashville with championship hopes.
But the Preds also are in an unusual spot, for two reasons: First, the Preds had yet to go down 1-0 in a series this postseason, let alone to the defending Stanley Cup champions. And second, the numbers from Game 1 show Nashville had a clear advantage for much of the game, like when the Pens were held to zero second-period shots for the first time in a finals game since the NHL began logging the statistic in the 1950s.
Sticking with -- and sticking it to -- the Pens in Game 2 would be a monumental step for Nashville not only because of the obvious series-evening momentum as the series swings to Tennessee for Game 3.
