Subban issues guarantee for Game 3
Defenseman: ‘No question’ Nashville will win at home.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — A good night’s sleep has P.K. Subban more confident than ever about what the Nashville Predators will do on their own ice trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.
He delivered an All-Star guarantee for Saturday night.
“There’s no question,” S u b b a n s a i d T h u r s d a y. “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 Pittsburgh’s 4-1 win Wednesday night. The Penguins turned a 1-1 game into a rout by scoring three goals in the first 3:28 of the third period, forcing Nashville coach Peter Laviolette to pull star goaltender Pekka Rinne for rookie Juuse Saros.
On Thursday, the All-Star defenseman 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,” Subban 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 start Game 3, saying only that he will not talk about lineup changes. The Pred- ators coach says his goalies know who will start.
Rinne went into the final with the stingiest numbers in net this postseason and a favorite to win the Conn Smythe trophy as postseason MVP. The 34-year-old goalie 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.
“It’s not his fault by any means,” Nashville captain Mike Fisher said. “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 forget about the quality and who we’re playing. And certain par ts of the game where we’ve got to help him out.”