Three-minute thumping
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Mattias Ekholm of the Nashville Predators is sandwiched between Pittsburgh Penguins' Bryan Rust (left) and Matt Cullen during Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup final on Wednesday. The Penguins won 4-1 to take a 2-0 series lead. Bruce Bennett / Agence Ffrace - Presse |
PITTSBURGH - By coach Peter Laviolette's math, the Nashville Predators have been pretty good for all but 10 minutes of the Stanley Cup championship round.
That's not bad - unless you're playing the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The defending champions needed just over three minutes at the start of the third period to turn a taut Game 2 into a runaway, beating Pekka Rinne three times in a 4-1 victory on Wednesday to inch closer to becoming the first team in nearly 20 years to win back-to-back titles.
The barrage started with rookie Jake Guentzel. Mired in an eight-game scoring drought heading into the series, the speedy winger provided the winner in Game 1 and again in Game 2 when he pounded home his 12th goal of the playoffs just 10 seconds into the third.
"It's crazy," said Guentzel, who has an NHL rookie record five game-winning goals this postseason.
"I can't even put into words what it feels like. But we know the ultimate goal is two more wins... and they're going to be tough to get."
Only if Rinne turns back into Rinne.
The 34-year-old Finn spent the first three rounds of the playoffs helping carry Nashville to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in franchise history.
Now he's the biggest reason the Predators are reeling as they head back to" Smashville" for Game 3 on Saturday.
After giving up four goals on 11 shots in Game 1, Rinne allowed four more on 25 shots in Game 2. He was pulled after Evgeni Malkin sniped his ninth of the postseason at 3:28 of the third period.
Rinne entered the series with a .947 save percentage in the playoffs, but against Pittsburgh it's just .777. And he remains winless in his career against the Penguins in games he's started.
"With the limited chances they've had, they've done a good job," Rinne said.
"It's disappointing to be down 2-0, but we have to feel positive about the way we played as a whole and how we created chances."
Asked if he was committed to starting Rinne on Saturday, Laviolette stressed his goalie has been "terrific," adding there are plenty of things the Predators can do better in front of him - like stopping the odd-man rushes that opened the floodgates.
"There were stretches when they were able to gain some momentum, able to capitalize and be opportunistic, and that swung two games in their favor," he said.
Pontus Aberg opened the scoring for the Preds midway through the first period, but Guetnzel put the Penguins back on even terms three minutes later.
In Game 1, the Penguins fired three pucks past Rinne in a span of 4:11 in the first period to build a 3-0 lead. The Predators rallied to tie the score before Guentzel's go-ahead tally with 3:17 remaining put the Penguins ahead to stay.
This time, Pittsburgh's flurry came a little bit later. And it was once again led by the baby-faced 22-year-old who has found a comfort level playing alongside superstar Sidney Crosby.
Ten seconds into the third period, Guentzel jumped on a rebound and beat Rinne from in close to make it 2-1.
Scott Wilson was credited with his third of the playoffs just over three minutes later when a centering pass caromed off Nashville's Vernon Fiddler and slid past Rinne. Fifteen seconds after that, Malkin's shot sent Rinne to the bench in favor of backup Juuse Saros.
"When we score one, we don't stop," Malkin said. "We want to score more. The first shift in the third period, we scored. We wanted more. It's our game. Never stop."
The Penguins vowed to put more pressure on Rinne than in their 5-3 victory in Game 1-a win they managed despite going 37 minutes without managing a single shot on goal. That drought - which included the entire second period-was the longest since the NHL started tracking shots in 1957.
On Wednesday, the Penguins matched their entire shot total from Game 1(12) by the end of the first period, but still found themselves trying to keep up with Nashville.
The Predators, meanwhile, are going home confident they can still win the series, pointing to the way they've carried play for long stretches against the potent Penguins.
Associated Press
