There are coaches who will tell you that a playoff series doesn’t
truly start until the road team wins a game.
In the case of the Stanley Cup Final, the first road win will spell
the end of the series. The defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins
can become the first team to repeat since Detroit in 1998 if they
can crack the code of raucous Bridgestone Arena Sunday night in
Game 6 against the Nashville Predators.
“We’re just going to try to stay in the moment regardless of
whether it needs to be played,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan
said. “We’re going to try to play the game that gives us the best
chance to win.”
That game looks a whole lot like Game 5, in which the Penguins
ambushed Nashville early and often, scoring six goals in the first
two periods and netting a contentious 6-0 win that gave them a 3-2
series lead.
It looks nothing like Games 1 through 4, in which the Predators
controlled the flow of play most of the time. While Pittsburgh
created really good scoring chances in the first two periods of
Game 4, it was still outshot in each of the first four games,
sometimes by a lot in terms of total shots.
Nashville looked nothing like that team Thursday night, instead
imitating deer frozen by headlights. Goalie Pekka Rinne lasted one
period, undone by poor defense in front of him and the relentless
Penguins attack.
During the 72-hour break between Games 2 and 3, Predators coach
Peter Laviolette was asked repeatedly if he intended to bench
Rinne. That line of questioning has been squashed during this
72-hour hiatus, in part because Laviolette wouldn’t entertain it,
and also because Rinne has simply been so dominant at home.
He’s 9-1 in this year’s playoffs at Bridgestone Arena, ceding just
15 goals and often standing on his head with spectacular saves like
the ones he made in Game 4 that led Nashville to a 4-1 victory.
“He’s the same every day,” Laviolette said of Rinne. “He works hard
every day. His demeanor seems the same to me. We’ve got to do a
better job in front of him. I know there’s things we can do that
can support our goaltender better.”
One thing can be accomplished simply by playing at home. In
addition to the deafening crowd that seems to act as an extra
skater, wearing the gold uniforms gives the Predators the final
change. That allows Laviolette to use his top defense pairings more
in faceoff situations to better counter the likes of Sidney Crosby
and Evgeni Malkin.
But what if Nashville’s Big Four defensively becomes a Big Three?
Ryan Ellis, who left Game 5 in the second period with an
undisclosed injury, didn’t practice on Saturday. If he’s not able
to go, Roman Josi, P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm may have to soak
up extra minutes.
Regardless, the Predators will be a formidable foe on friendly ice,
especially now that they’re in win-or-else mode. No one knows that
better than the team trying to knock them out.
“We have to approach it like the team that’s playing for its life
tomorrow,” defenseman Ron Hainsey said. “Everybody’s focus will be
on getting off to a real good start because if we don’t, it could
be a rough night.”
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