Game 5 harbinger
Winner when series is tied has claimed Cup 70% of the time
The Stanley Cup Final has been whittled down to a three-game series. The Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins are deadlocked through four games as they prepare for crucial Game 5 on Thursday. There have been 24 previous best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final series tied after four games. The winner of Game 5 has won the championship 17 times.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in our group, but we also have a lot of respect for our opponent,” Predators captain Mike Fisher said. “I think that’s brought out the best in us. We know it’s going to have to. Two out of three now. It’s pedal down. We’re ready.”
Here is how the Predators can capture their first Stanley Cup:
‘STEAL’ CITY This particular point is self-explanatory. The home team has won each game of this series, so the Predators must disrupt that pattern. The Penguins are 9-3 at PPG Paints Arena this postseason, riding a five-game winning streak there.
The Predators have five road wins during the playoffs. If they can add another Thursday, they will have an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup on Sunday at Bridgestone Arena, where they’ve won 13 of their last 14 playoff games.
Nashville lost Games 1 and 2 in Pittsburgh by a combined 9-4, though that wasn’t reflective of the Predators’ overall performance. They had a significant advantage in shot attempts (91-60) and scoring chances (42-24) in those games but were undone by the Penguins’ opportunism.
A repeat of those earlier efforts should produce favorable results.
“We know we can play better in this building,” Fisher said. “We liked our game for some of (Games 1 and 2), and then other parts of it they took over and they capitalized.”
CONTAIN CROSBY Held without a shot on goal in Game 3 for the fourth time this postseason, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby rebounded with his best game of the series Monday. He had played 12 consecutive Stanley Cup Final games without a goal before ending that drought on a nifty breakaway in the first period.
Crosby has the type of unworldly skill to carry his team to a second consecutive championship, though he will need more help than he received in Pittsburgh’s Game 4 loss. He has four points in four games, but the Penguins have controlled less than 45% of the total even-strength shot attempts when he is on the ice.
The Predators forward line centered by Fisher has been primarily responsible for tracking Crosby, as has the defensive pair of Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis.
“He doesn’t need a lot of chances,” Josi said. “It’s not just me and (Ellis) defending him. It’s five guys.”
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin and forward Phil Kessel also can’t be ignored. It will be up to Predators defensemen P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm to keep them quiet.
CREASE BATTLE Each starting goaltender in the series has experienced a twogame hiccup.
Pekka Rinne endured a nightmarish first trip to Pittsburgh, allowing eight goals on 36 shots. He regrouped with a .962 save percentage in the Predators’ two home victories.
Matt Murray surrendered eight goals in Games 3 and 4, with the Predators frequently targeting his glove hand. Murray’s consecutive losses at Bridgestone Arena were the first of his 30game NHL playoff career. Who blinks first? “You don’t want to look back yet, but I’ve been playing for a long time and never had this opportunity,” Rinne said. “It means everything to me right now.”