PITTSBURGH – The Penguins needed a bounce back game and perhaps more importantly their stars to show up and play well. Nashville wanted to build on the momentum from blowouts they dished out in Games 3 and 4. Pekka Rinne has been very good at home but needed to ward off the demons he’s faced at PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins stars all showed up in a big way while Nashville had a perfect storm of bad performances. Rinne managed to stop only six of the nine shots he faced and the vaunted Nashville defense allowed numerous clean breakouts and scoring chances. The Predators played perhaps their worst game in the playoffs while the Penguins played their best.
When the dust settled, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel all finished with two or more points and Matt Murray, who some fans wanted benched, ended up with the shutout. Nashville also lost one of their top defensemen Ryan Ellis in the second with an undisclosed injury. In the end, the Penguins overwhelmed the Predators, winning 6-0.
The Penguins came out strong and less than 30 seconds in, Bryan Rust nearly scored on an odd man rush. Ellis was called for a hold seconds later, and the Pens would have a man advantage for two minutes but didn’t need all of it. Justin Shultz buried a one timer from the blue line that went through traffic and found the back of the net. Crosby and Patric Hornqvist both helped out on the tally.
The Preds looked a little flat and the Pens spent the better part of the first period in the offensive zone. The Pens added another when Rust beat Rinne top shelf glove side with a backhander. The sequence was led by a nice feed from Chris Kunitz. Trevor Daley got an assist on the goal as well.
The Penguins killed off a power play then got back to playing A Game, as Coach Mike Sullivan would put it. Then Crosby and P.K. Subban got into a scrum sending them both off for roughing. The Penguins would capitalize on the four on four when Malkin beat Rinne glove side high, picking the corner, with ten seconds left in the period. Kessel and Ron Hainsey got helpers as well. 3-0 Pens.
When the second period began, the Predators had a new netminder. For the second time in three trips to Pittsburgh this series, Rinne was chased. The Penguins quickly showed that they didn’t care who was in net. A minute later Conor Sheary tapped a feed from Jake Geuntzel past Juuse Saros. The pair were assisted by Crosby. Pens led 4-0 at that point.
The Pens continued to pressure and Olli Maatta made a clean entry followed by a nice pass to Kessel in the slot. Kessel wristed it past Saros high glove side through a partial screen. Maatta and Crosby both got assists on the snipe. Ron Hainsey finished things off with a nice move past Mike Fisher and James Neal to get free. Then he flipped it to Kessel who relayed it to Malkin. Then he took a dish from Malkin on the doorstep and tapped it past Saros who came out of the crease to seal off Malkin. Kessel and Malkin both got helpers on the goal.
It didn’t take long for the third period to devolve into a street brawl. The Predators came out early showing little interest in playing the puck; they were out to inflict damage on the Penguins forwards. Several times, early on, Pens were side stepping checks, and the ones they couldn’t escape were finished with gusto. Both teams would get power plays in the period but what most people will remember is the melee that ensued at near the finals minutes.
The teams would finish with 100 penalty minutes between them. Most of which was racked up in the final few minutes of the game. These types of things tend to happen in games that get out of hand, but rarely in a Stanley Cup Final. Suspensions do not seem outside the realm of possibility. The Pens ended up winning 6-0 and the lead the series 3-2.
The Penguins played a full 60 minute complete game of Penguins hockey, perhaps for the first time in these playoffs. The Predators may not have anticipated this outpouring of offense. It is doubtful anyone outside the Penguins locker room did.
Regardless of what happened in game 5 the Penguins need one more win to raise the cup for a fifth time. Nashville, will attempt to even the score on home ice Sunday and given their track record in their own barn, has a good chance of doing so. Game six will no doubt be worth the price of admission.
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