Subban: Predators won’t lose at home
NASHVILLE — A good night’s sleep had P.K. Subban more confident than ever about what the Nashville Predators will do on their own ice trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins 0-2 in the Stanley Cup Final.
He delivered an All-Star guarantee for Saturday night’s Game 3 at Bridgestone Arena.
“There’s no question,” Subban said Thursday. “We’re going to win the next game, and then we’ll move forward.”
Subban came very close to guaranteeing a win in the moments after the Penguins’ 4-1 victory Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. A 1-1 game turned into a rout when Pittsburgh scored three goals in the first 3:28 of the third period, leading Nashville coach Peter Laviolette to pull star goaltender Pekka Rinne for rookie Juuse Saros.
On Thursday, Subban channeled Mark Messier, who backed up his own guarantee of a Rangers win against New Jersey in the 1994 Eastern Conference finals. Subban explained why he was so confident, noting the Predators know they deserve to be playing for the Stanley Cup.
“We’re capable of playing even better than we did in Pittsburgh, and I thought we played some great hockey,” the All-Star defenseman said. “I mean, out of 120 minutes, maybe we’d like to take back six of them. Ultimately, we have to be realistic with where we’re at. We’re down 2-nothing.
“We’re coming back in our barn, and we don’t lose here. So it starts Saturday.”
Laviolette gave no hint about whether Rinne will be back in the net, saying only that he will not talk about lineup changes. The Predators coach said his goalies know who will start.
Rinne went into the title series with the stingiest numbers for an NHL goalie this postseason and as a favorite to win the Conn Smythe trophy as the postseason MVP. The 34-year-old has instead given up eight goals on 36 shots through two games. Two goals went off teammates and into the net, but it has not been the inspiring performance the Predators and their fans are used to from the big Finn.
His save percentage has dipped throughout the playoffs — .976 against Chicago, .932 against St. Louis and .925 against Anaheim before dropping to .778 against the quickstrike Penguins. Still, the three-time Vezina Trophy finalist has allowed only 13 goals in eight playoff games at home, and his teammates vowed to play better defense.
“It’s not his fault by any means,” Nashville captain Mike Fisher said of the goals allowed in Pittsburgh.
“We know we can do a better job in front of him. It’s a team game, and everyone looks at shots and save percentage but forgets about the quality and who we’re playing — and certain parts of the game where we’ve got to help him out.”
Returning home should provide a boost for Rinne and the Predators — they are 7-1 in Nashville this
postseason, with the lone loss coming in overtime — but the Penguins have history on their side.
Since the Stanley Cup Final went to the bestof-seven format in 1939, teams leading 2-0 have won 45 of 50 series. That includes the last three such situations, with the Kings winning in 2012 and 2014 and the Penguins a year ago.