It is time to put aside catfish, video reviews and other sideshow crap and preview Game Two of the Stanley Cup Final as the Nashville Predators look to even up a series, trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0. It’s another first for the Preds as they trail in a series for the first time during this magical playoff run and for the first time, the odds stack up against them. The game one winner wins the cup an astounding 77.9% of the time. For the Penguins, they have been in this position three times before… winning game one at home… they have won all three series. The Predators have not won a series when they have lost game one.
Well crap… pack it up… why even play the game? We are done… Abandon hope all ye who enter…
Pump the brakes there buster… a Nashville Predators win tonight makes the series a 50/50 proposition. OK… the Predators chances to win the series go from 22.1% up to 48.7% but you see my point.
So, what do the Nashville Predators need to do to come home with this series tied at one?
The first key may be the strangest one… Keep Pekka Rinne involved in the game. Rinne has always been a goaltender that likes a lot of work, likes to be a part of the game. A 37 minute span of the game… over an hour and 15 minutes without a shot is difficult for any goaltender, Rinne more than most. With a lethal lineup like Pittsburgh’s I just don’t see that happening again… I expect Rinne to see more shots… and that is a good thing.
The second key is to continue to smother the Pittsburgh attack. The Predators completely shut down the outlets for the Penguins, their breakout was completely stifled by excellent board play from Nashville. The only real high quality chances the Pens got were on the 5-on-3 in the first period.
Key three is… expect much better play from the Penguins. The Predators will need to meet and exceed the Pens effort coming out in Game Two. Pittsburgh could not be pleased with their effort on Monday night and know that they are lucky to be up in this series.
And last, but certainly not least… keep working, no matter what. Down by three, keep working… Up by three, keep working… The relentlessness of this Predators team is their towering strength, they have to leverage it as every team they have met in the playoffs thus far has not been able to handle it. Keep the attacks coming in waves and this team will come home with a tie in this series.
Game time is 7pm tonight… there will be a Party in the Park tonight at Hall of Fame Park adjacent to the arena, there will also be a screen set up on the plaza. Game coverage gets going on NBCSN at 7pm. Radio coverage begins with pregame at 6pm, Pete Weber and Brent Peterson take over at 7 with the call on the Predators Radio Network.
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Last night’s SlapShot Radio, featuring the first captain of the Nashville Predators, Tom Fitzgerald.
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Playoff Random Notes
- Game One set a ratings record for Nashville, drawing a 22.2 overnight rating… that is the highest rated Predators game since Game Six of the Western Conference Final. The National rating was up big, posting a 28% increase over last season’s Game One between the Pens and Sharks.
- So… now a catfish is an “instrument of crime… … now I don’t care who you are… that’s funny.
- I will be very curious to see the officials call of tonight’s game. They have to do better.
- OK… damn the diet… I have to try one of those Gold Monster shakes at Burger Republic!
- The Stanley Cup Final – Game Two – tonight @ 7pm from Pittsburgh, coverage on NBCSN. Radio on 102.5 the Game.
Tweet of the day…
Pretty sure if I listen to the south from Pittsburgh tonight, I'll hear Preds fans loud and clear. Can't wait to get to Nashville tomorrow https://t.co/ci1bRy93G2
— Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) May 31, 2017
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