Thoughts: There's really not much to say for this one because Nashville was gone around the first period of this game.
Defense did not look sharp like usual and allowed holes to where forwards had to defend attackers. When that happened, Pittsburgh's top forwards easily scored. It was a big comeback for Pittsburgh after being held to two goals in Games 3 and 4. Pittsburgh was also able to be on better behavior than Nashville and that allowed opportunities to at least have the advantage, since power play goals are not their stongest suit still. Great job once again to Jake Guentzel on now tying the record for most points by a rookie in the postseason. Guentzel ties a 36 year-old record from Dino Ciccarelli at 21 points. This is one of the most important games because either Nashville keeps riding their momentum and becomes one win away from their first Cup or Pittsburgh makes their comeback and prove that they have not been asleep in the past two games.
This game will definitely be one to watch as the action becomes more interesting now that Pittsburgh is the host. No catfish and smashing allowed here. No game today again so we can fully be ready for tomorrow's madness! Now that the series is tied, this is starting to get more interesting and exciting but also stressful. Give your heart a break and relax today. Enjoy some awkward, but great, draft photos of some Stanley Cup players in honor of the scouting combine going on for the draft class of 2017! Roman Josi, Class of '08 Josi before he learned of his potential through Shea Weber. Evgeni Malkin, Class of '04 This is their version of the awkward senior photos that other kids their age took. P.K. Subban, Class of '07. I wonder if this is "P.K. Approved". Sidney Crosby, Class of '05.
Nope. It doesn't get better than this. Thoughts: Pekka Rinne once again stole the show from Pittsburgh with 23 saves. He shut down almost every opportunity, except for one goal from Sidney Crosby, but other than that he stopped Crosby's other THREE attempts.
It's been exciting to see Frederick Gaudreau's role grow more on the team as he is proving himself to be a useful asset to winning the Cup. He showed up in his first game with 10 faceoff wins vs. one of the best faceoff teams in hockey and then a couple games later was when he got the scoring touch. He's been great in these past few games when his team needs him the most and he is a great surprise to them. Once again, Pittsburgh's power play is dormant right now. If only something would be powerful enough to wake it up for a longer time because they need that. Crosby deserved better and I hope they give that to him because he stepped up from 0 shots to 4 last night. He definitely decided to listen to the criticism and do what he had to do. If his team did what he did for the power play then they can go far. The saga returns tonight as Pittsburgh tries to get back on top while Nashville hopes to prove their home ice dominance and tie the series. Things are starting to heat up more between both teams as their players start to become more physical (and verbal!) with each other.
Tonight will not be an exception with all that is being said in between the games and the participation of the crowd. Nashville will definitely be rocking tonight and Murray and the Penguins have to be more prepared tonight. Maybe the last game taught them what they needed to know for tonight. The action heated up for the rookies this week in the Stanley Cup, including games decided by their goals or games where they were the only one to score for their team. This series has really shown the development of these first-timers and has proven their worth to the team. Pontus Aberg? More like Pointus Aberg! Aberg scored Nashville's only goal this in Game Two of the series in Pittsburgh. It was his first goal since May 20 and last point since May 22. Aberg now has 2 goals and 3 assists in 13 games. Frederick Gaudreau... into the net! Gaudreau scored his first playoff goal back in Game One of the series and then scored his second in last night's romp in Nashville. Gaudreau has played only 5 games so far and has found his scoring touch now. Let's see where he can go in another home game tomorrow... It's Jake N' Bake Time! Guentzel now is second for the all-time rookie scoring leaders in the playoffs with his 20 points. He just needs one more goal to tie it up and put his name in history (he can do a double whammy by putting it in history another way too). Here's how Guentzel earned his points in the Final for this week: Game One- Game-Winning Goal Game Two- Two goals, including a game-winner Game Three- Scored the lone goal for Pittsburgh and became second in all-time rookie scoring in the playoffs Conclusion: It's good to be Guentzel. Another wonderful week of rookies and I cannot be happier! When the rookies do well, things go well for us too! Thanks for reading along and maybe this can continue?
Thoughts: Talk about a home ice advantage! Nashville fought back last night in a big way and all those shots on goal paid off from the past two games. You would figure that they would be in for an offensive outburst after all the effort they put in before, even though up until tonight it was Pittsburgh that knew how to find the back of the net.
You could also say that P.K. Subban was right about this game and that was not arrogance at all. Subban's boldness paid off and it really represented what this team is about. This team and its fanbase are both bold and flashy and know that they deserve better in this series. They will not back down, especially not in Nashville. Pittsburgh can come back from this because they probably came into this series expecting a fight from Nashville on defense. The Penguins will return in the next game and either Murray or Fleury will be in net and ready to go again. The Stanley Cup Final starts back up again tonight in Nashville for the first time ever as the Predators try to make a comeback in the series and back P.K. Subban's promise of winning. The Predators have to make history by making a comeback unless they would rather have the Penguins make history. Tonight is a big game and the Penguins need to be ready to take on the energy in the arena. If they can, they can get that much closer to winning it all again. *At this time, we still do not know who is starting in goal for Nashville. Rinne said he knew but was secretive about it. Thanks a lot, Pekka.
No game today! Please rest up your lungs from screaming at the TV and also give your heart a rest by doing something that is relaxing. While you relax, here are some things to remember for tomorrow's game in Nashville: The Game Three starting goalie for Nashville is..... WE STILL DON'T KNOW YET! Laviolette is very protective of his lineups and will not discuss who will start after Juuse Saros took over the role from Pekka Rinne after he gave up four goals in Game Two. Bold PREDiction? How can the Penguins improve even more offensively? The power play! They were 0-for-7 in Game Two and had only 2 shots on goal while allowing 2 shots from Nashville. Just imagine what could happen if they improved this area since their offense has scored nine goals in two games so far. Fun Fact: Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan worked as an assistant coach to current Blue Jackets Coach John Tortorella from 2007-2014. Sullivan also worked with the Blackhawks as a player development coach in 2014-15 and then became head coach for the Penguins' AHL affiliate team, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the beginning of the last season. I guess you could say that Sullivan was there for most of Tortorella's crazy moments in Vancouver and elsewhere. Thanks to nhl.com for the inspiration and facts!
Thoughts: Jake Guentzel is a playoff legend once again with his two goals in this game (including his awesome first goal that I highly recommend watching!), making him the best ever American-born rookie in the playoffs with 19 points.
Pontus Aberg scored his second goal of the playoffs for Nashville's sole goal in the game. Let's just say tonight was a good night for rookies and I cannot be happier (Rookie Report will be rockin'!). Also, Juuse Saros made his playoff debut last night in the third period and he did not give up any good goals since the only one that went past him was waved off for offsides. Saros will likely not return since Rinne is Nashville's primary goaltender but if they ever need him, they know he is highly capable of the task. Nashville had plenty of opportunities to score in the third with three power plays but they could not. Pittsburgh also was given those opportunities but all of their goals were even strength. Nashville seriously needs to do some reevaluating because right now they cannot get the right bounces even though they are outshooting Pittsburgh in the series so far. Pittsburgh just needs to continue what they are doing because they improved so much offensively in this game and it proved to be even more powerful. Three goals in one period is not to be messed with and it will be interesting to see what goes on next. |
ThoughtOne century of this game and League is a wonderful milestone to celebrate. Let's hope to do this in the next century! Archives
October 2017
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