Predators silencing Crosby and Malkin

Penguins stars held without a shot in Game 3 blowout.

The Stanley Cup Final has some bad blood brewing. The defending champion Penguins had a chance to take a 3-0 series lead Saturday night before the Predators scored five straight goals in a 5-1 rout to win the first Cup Final game in Tennessee.

Now the Predators want to tie it in Game 4 tonight. They are 8-1 at home this postseason, and all-star defenseman P.K. Subban made it clear he expects Nashville fans to find a way to crank the volume up even higher.

“I know there’ll be a lot more energy if you can imagine that ... which will be pretty awesome,” he said.

The Penguins’ frustration bubbled over in Game 4 as they racked up 10 penalties for 44 minutes. That included Chris Kunitz, Patric Hornqvist and Matt Cullen each getting a 10-minute misconduct— all in the final five minutes.

Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby has yet to score a goal in this series, and he and Evgeni Malkin were held without a shot in the same game for the first time in their star-studded careers.

It’s the fifth time Crosby, with 160 career playoff points and 23 points this postseason, had been held without a shot and third this spring. It was the eighth time Malkin, with his NHL-best 26 points this postseason, was held without a shot. Malkin hasn’t gone two games without a shot in the same postseason since his rookie year, while Washington did it to Crosby on April 29 and May 1.

“We had chances,” Crosby said. “We just got to hit the net. They blocked some. I think it’s just a matter of winning those battles too and finding ways to get to the net.”

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said Crosby and Malkin simply command a lot of attention, and he doesn’t want to interfere with their instincts on when to pass or shoot. Sullivan did see chances for both to throw the puck at the net.

“They’ve produced consistently for this team all year long and throughout the course of these playoffs,” Sullivan said. “There’s no doubt that we believe they will continue that.”

The Predators have outshot the Penguins in each game so far, and they’ve also smothered the NHL’s best scoring team even when the Pens have the man advantage, allowing just four shots in 13 penalties killed. Pittsburgh has just one powerplay goal in the series.