Penguins regroup, Preds look for road magic in Game 5
PITTSBURGH » Somewhere between the catfish lobbing, A-list national anthem singers, Carrie Underwood’s forgetfulness, Charles Barkley’s surprise cameo and P.K. Subban’s breath, there’s been another notable development during the Stanley Cup Final: A series has broken out. Perhaps the seeds of an upset, too.
A week ago, the Nashville Predators headed home down 2-0 to the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Pekka Rinne’s game seemed to be in tatters and the Penguins fan base was musing whether it preferred a clean sweep or just a split of the two games in Nashville so the defending champions could raise the Cup on home ice. So, about that. The vibe inside PPG Paints Arena for Game 5 on Thursday figures to be more anxious than anticipatory after the Predators evened the series at 2-2 with a pair of vintage performances on home ice that sent “Smashville” into a frenzy and delivered a very clear message that the first-timers are a clear threat to become first-time winners.
Through four games, Nashville has more goals, more shots on goal and a bit more swagger than Pittsburgh. What began as a twomonth slog to the Cup is now a three-game dash.
“I know people talk about how we’re tired, but believe me, they’re tired too,” Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin said. “It’s not only us tired. It’s only three games left. We’re not talking about being tired.”
Maybe, but Nashville appeared a step quicker in its home building, pouring in nine goals and handing Penguins goalie Matt Murray the first back-to-back playoff losses of his young career. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan isn’t concerned about Murray. He’s not really worried about the 190 feet in front of Murray, either. The Penguins have come within two games of the first team to capture consecutive Cups in nearly two decades due in large part to their resiliency.
And while captain Sidney Crosby says the “desperation level” will ramp up, Sullivan was quick to point out the term doesn’t mean what you think it means.
“‘Desperate’ is a funny word for me because it gets thrown around our game a lot,” Sullivan said. “It always has a connotation of hopelessness. I don’t believe that’s the word that we want to use to describe our team. I think we’ve got to play with urgency . ... ”