Penguins jump on Predators early, seize series lead
PITTSBURGH — The night started with a catfish throw.
It ended with haymaker after haymaker both literal and proverbial from the ever-resilient Pittsburgh Penguins.
The defending champions provided an emphatic and repeated reminder of what makes them such a difficult out in a 6-0 demolition of the Nashville Predators in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals to take a 3-2 lead.
Pittsburgh will have a chance to become the first franchise in 19 years to win back-to-back Cups when the series shifts back to Nashville for Game 6 on Sunday night.
"Understand that we're going to play a desperate team," said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
after collecting three assists. "Nothing's done yet and we've got a lot of work ahead of ourselves."
So do the Predators, who can't get back to Smashville fast enough.
"I don't know if anybody shakes off a game like that that quickly," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "Nobody feels good leaving the building playing the way we did."
Justin Schultz, Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin scored during a first-period barrage against Pekka Rinne that sent the Nashville goaltender to the bench for the rest of the night, all the good mojo he created during wins in Games 3 and 4 gone.
Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel and 35-year-old playoff newbie Ron Hainsey also scored for the Penguins. Crosby's night included three assists, a two-minute roughing penalty for trying to dribble Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban's head on the ice near the end of the first period and an flip of a water bottle onto the ice during play.
"I had a gesture with my hand and before I knew it the thing was flying across the ice," Crosby said. "I know you're not allowed to do that, so I'm not going to start doing it in the Stanley Cup finals."
Matt Murray bounced back from so-so performances during Pittsburgh's lost weekend in Nashville to make 24 stops while also benefiting from a dominant performance by the guys in front of him.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan pushed all the right buttons. He stuck with Murray, reunited Sheary with Crosby and Jake Guentzel, and stressed his team needed to play with urgency but not desperation after the Predators rallied to tie the series by outscoring the Penguins 9-2 during two wins in Nashville.
It took all of 91 seconds for Pittsburgh to get its swagger back.
Just 91 seconds after a Nashville fan flipped a catfish onto the PPG Paints Arena ice, Schultz powered home a slap shot to end an 0-for-12 power-play skid. Rust made it 2-0 just 6:43 into the game with a nasty backhand flip over Rinne's glove.
Malkin ripped a wrist shot over Rinne's glove on the ensuing 4-on-4 to make it 3-0 with just 10 seconds left in the first.
Rinne gave way to Juuse Saros at the start of the second period after stopping just 6 of 9 shots.
Sheary took a pretty feed from Crosby and sent it by Saros 1:19 into the second to push Pittsburgh's lead to four. Kessel ended a six-game goal drought 8:02 into the second.
When Hainsey, who waited 907 regularseason games before reaching the playoffs for the first time this season, tapped in a pass from Malkin to make it 6-0, the stage was set for the Penguins to return to familiar territory.