The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Penguins score winner late, avoid collapse
Predators rally from 3-0 back, don’t allow shot for 37 minutes.
PITTSBURGH — Jake Guentzel broke a shot drought of 37 minutes for his team to score the winning goal with 3:17 left in the third period as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night.
The Penguins jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead on goals by Evgeni Malkin, Conor Sheary and then Nick Bonino, when the puck went in off Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm. The defending Cup champions then didn’t have a shot for 37 minutes as the Predators roared back to tie the score at 3.
Nashville got goals from Ryan Ellis, Colton Sissons and Frederick Gaudreau as it dominated Pittsburgh in the second period and most of the third.
A waved-off goal by P.K. Subban in the first period on a coach’s challenge loomed large when Guentzel beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne on the Penguins’ ninth shot.
Bonino sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
Pittsburgh had the fewest shots by a winning team in a Cup Final game with 12.
Gaudreau scored the tying goal 13:29 into the third period, just after a Pittsburgh power play expired. It was his first career playoff goal.
Sissons scored on a deflection on the power play at 10:06. He redirected Roman Josi’s shot past Matt Murray.
Pittsburgh had no shots in the second period — the first such period by any team in a Stanley Cup Final game since the NHL began tracking shots on goal in 1958. The Predators put up nine shots and scored once to cut their deficit to 3-1.
Defenseman Ryan Ellis made the Penguins pay for Ian Cole’s roughing penalty by scoring a power-play goal 8:21 into the second.
Ellis took a shot from the left circle that went in as Viktor Arvidsson set a jumping screen in front of Murray. The goal was Ellis’ fifth of the playoffs.
Pittsburgh scored three goals on five shots against Rinne in the first period.
Malkin made it 1-0 with a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 15:32.
Sheary scored 65 seconds later. He was wide open at the side of the net on a pass from Chris Kunitz.