All eyes are on goaltenders Pekka Rinne and Matt Murray going into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final as the Predators visit the Penguins.
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Two couches were set on fire in Mt. Washington a year ago after the Penguins won the Stanley Cup Final, according to Fire Chief Darryl Jones.
“We have no home ice, we knew that coming in”, coach Peter Laviolette said.
His latest was the last in Monday’s 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray picked the ideal time to post a shutout, and his teammates could not have played much better offensively either in Game 5. I think we have to play with conviction. Our guys have a tremendous amount of confidence him. I just think he understands it.
Neither Subban nor Crosby spoke to reporters Friday. “We’re going home and we’re going to be re-energized”. It’s one game at a time. Losing the two previous games in Nashville gave them something to think about on the trip home.
Considered one of the favorites to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP, Rinne’s status as Nashville’s starter was in question after he allowed eight goals on 36 shots in the Predators’ losses in Games 1 and 2.
By the time Crosby earned a secondary assist on Kessel’s goal 8:02 into the second to make it 5-0, the game was effectively over. “Whether it’s [Penguins center Evgeni] Malkin’s line or Crosby’s line, he’s still faced with big challenges”. “If necessary, we’ll start to help the crowd move on and send them on their way”.
It was a familiar showing for Rinne. Perform like that again in Game 6 on Sunday, and the Penguins will surely become the first repeat champions since Detroit two decades ago. But regardless, it’s hard to ignore just how many goals have found their way past the 34-year-old in the three games at PPG Paints Arena: 11 on just 45 shots for a.756 save percentage.
“We had a great start”, said Crosby. We had a clincher previous year at home and we didn’t get it done. “I think they understand how these series go and how, from one game to the next, we have to reset the mindset and just be ready to play that game right in front of us”. After days of back-and-forth between the pair dating back to Subban’s assertion after Game 3 that Crosby had criticized his breath, a claim Crosby later denied, the Penguins star nearly appeared to be scolding his All-Star counterpart with each successive shove. In this season’s 20 playoff games, 19 different players, including 15 forwards, have scored at least one goal. Ed Trapp said police will allow a 90-minute window for any street celebrations that erupt at the end of the game. “I came here well-prepared and we just didn’t have it tonight”.
On his first shift, Crosby split Nashville’s defence and rang a shot off the post, drawing a holding penalty in the process. Justin Schultz and Bryan Rust scored their first goals of the series.
Though the Pens raced out to a 3-0 first period lead, Murray was sharp as the Preds tried to mount an early comeback.
In the second period, Crosby found Conor Sheary with a backhand pass from behind the net to make it 4-0. Evgeni Malkin had two points, including his third goal of the series, and Phil Kessel had a goal and two assists.
Now, Rinne and the Predators, facing elimination for the first time in the playoffs, will have to win at home on Sunday to extend the series.
Former Gazette columnist and current nhl.com scribe Dave Stubbs was on the phone with TSN 690’s Mitch Melnick this week talking about the Predators and he had a great line, saying how the Stanley Cup is nothing but a rumour for a whole generation of Montrealers. It just seems to be like every second game they’re talking about how good we’ve played defense and then the other game they talk about how good they are as an offense, and that’s just going to be. “Right now, our mission is to win Game 6 and then come back and play the best game of the series”. The Penguins have come within two games of the first team to capture consecutive Cups in almost two decades due in large part to their resiliency.
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The Stanley Cup final has been a roller-coaster ride that way for the series’ two starting goaltenders.
