Penguins pummel Predators to reclaim series lead
PITTSBURGH (CP) — Sidney Crosby has the Pittsburgh Penguins on the verge of back-to-back Stanley Cups.
Crosby set up three goals as Pittsburgh stomped Nashville 6-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final on Thursday night.
Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel were among the six different goal-scorers for the Penguins, who are now one win away from becoming the first repeat Cup winner in almost 20 years.
Justin Schultz, Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary and Ron Hainsey also found the back of the net in the decisive win, and Matt Murray pitched a 24-save shutout — his third career in the playoffs.
Pekka Rinne got pulled after giving up three goals on nine shots, with Juuse Saros faring no better in yielding three on 15 shots.
All five games of the series have been won by the home team, with Game 6 in Nashville on Sunday night.
After dropping Games 3 and 4 by a combined 9-2 margin, the Penguins came out like a bunch determined to wrestle back control of the final and inch one step closer to consecutive Cups. No team has managed the feat since the Detroit Red Wings emerged in 1997 and 1998.
Pittsburgh’s efforts started with Crosby, who broke through Nashville’s defence on the very first shift of the game and hit a post.
The captain drew a penalty on the play and, on the ensuing power play, set up Schultz for a point blast that sailed through the pads of Rinne — this, after only 91 seconds.
Rinne struggled to start the series in Pittsburgh too, pegged for eight goals on only 36 shots. By the end of the 20 minutes, he’d allowed three more goals on only nine shots with Malkin adding the third with 10 seconds left.