Guentzel gets it going
Rookie scores pair of goals to lift Pens to 2-0 series lead
PITTSBURGH — Proving again that the quality of their shots on goal matters more than the quantity, the Pittsburgh Penguins flattened the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals by capitalizing on their prime scoring chances.
Rookie forward Jake Guentzel scored twice to increase his postseason-leading goal total to 12 as the Penguins were outshot but prevailed 4-1 on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Game 3 will be played on Saturday at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
The Penguins mustered only 12 shots in Game 1 but won 5-3 because they made the most of the few scoring chances they had. That was the case again on Wednesday, with Nashville having a 38-27 edge in shots but only one goal to show for it.
The Penguins’ scoring outburst early in the third period led Nashville coach Peter Laviolette to replace goaltender Pekka Rinne and bring in backup Juuse Saros after Rinne had given up four goals on 25 shots.
Guentzel, who scored the winner in Game 1, now has the second-highest goal total ever recorded by a rookie in one playoff season. Dino Ciccarelli tops the list, having scored 14 goals for Minnesota in 1981. Guentzel, a native of Omaha, leads American-born rookie scorers in goals in one playoff season.
The Penguins said they’d take more shots on goal than the 12 they took in Game 1, and they made good on that with 12 shots in the first period Wednesday. The Predators had 18 shots in the first 20 minutes and the teams ended the period tied at 1-1.
The Predators got a fiveon-three advantage at 9:36 when Penguins forwards Evgeni Malkin (hooking) and Chris Kunitz (crosschecking) were sent to the box. Fans weren’t shy about booing the penalty on Kunitz because they thought P.K. Subban had exaggerated the impact of the blow, and they booed him whenever he touched the puck.
An interference penalty against Nashville’s Mike Fisher at 10:34 cut that advantage short.
Seconds before that, Pittsburgh forward Nick Bonino required help to get off the ice after he blocked a shot by Subban with his left foot. The NHL’s stats showed that Bonino returned to play one shift late in the period.
The Predators scored first, at 12:57, on a bit of individual brilliance by forward Pontus Aberg.
He took a pass from Viktor Arvidsson and danced around Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta, who unsuccessfully reached out with his stick in an attempt to swipe the puck away.
Aberg cut past him and to the front of the net, holding onto the puck before lifting a forehand past goalieMatt Murray for his second playoff goal. Arvidsson and Fisher got the assists.