Penguins Draw First Blood in Stanley Cup Final
The Puck Stops Here
Great goaltending is what the Stanley Cup playoffs are all about.
Pekka Rinne has made all the difference for the Nashville Predators, leading the second Wild Card team in the Western Conference to their first-ever Cup Final.
And the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins are back again, thanks to the heroics of both Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray. However, it was goals scored, not goals stopped, that told the story of Game 1 Monday night. After coughing up a 3-0 lead to Nashville, the Penguins scored late in the third and added an empty-netter to win 5-3 and cash in as –160 home favorites.
The Penguins were –155 favorites to win the Final, enjoying home-ice advantage after finishing second in the Metropolitan Division, and it looked like they were well on their way to defending their title after scoring three times in the first period. But after some early jitters, Nashville righted the ship and held the Penguins without a shot on goal for over 36 minutes – ample time to recover and tie the game in the middle of the third period. Then Ryan Guetzel spoiled the comeback by scoring the winner with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. Pittsburgh will almost certainly have to play better in Game 2 this Wednesday (8 PM ET, NBCSN CBC) if they want to maintain home-ice advantage heading into Nashville. The Pens set an NHL record with just 11 total shots on goal, the fewest by a winning team in the Cup Final. They also had the benefit of video review; after PK Subban appeared to open the scoring for the Predators in the first period, the play was challenged and overturned on an offside call. There was some good fortune for the Penguins during their three-goal outburst, too. The first goal by Evegni Malkin was during a 5-on-3 power play, and the puck went in after Rinne got a piece of it. Then Conor Sheary took advantage of a bad clearing attempt by Nashville. Finally, with just 17 seconds left in the opening frame, Nick Bonino scored a bizarre goal that went off Rinne’s stick and bounced in off defenseman Mattias Ekholm. That the Predators were able to rally from three goals down in their first Stanley Cup Final game speaks volumes for this young squad. They were the better team Monday night; if they keep it up, Pittsburgh will need even more good fortune to keep that Cup in their trophy case. Are you looking for a reputable site to bet the Stanley Cup finals? Check out our reviews, written by fellow sports bettors. Don’t get scammed, get informed.Flightless Waterfowl
