The Pittsburgh Penguins took down the Nashville Predators 5-3 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, but the score doesn’t quite tell the story of this game.
Pittsburgh jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one period. They were in full control of the game. And then their offense stalled to say the least.
The Penguins had literally zero shots on goal in the second period.
NO shots on goal for ENTIRE second period for #Penguins.. 9-0 #Predators 3-1 Penguins lead after two
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) May 30, 2017
The issues continued into the third period, and the Predators took advantage.
The Penguins went being up 3-0 and seemingly in full control of the game, to being tied 3-3 with ZERO SHOTS ON GOAL IN 37 MINUTES.
Yes, the Penguins went 37 minutes without a shot on goal. But they at least made their first shot in 37 minutes count, on this goal from Jake Guentzel with 3:17 remaining.
Jake Guentzel gets the Penguins’ first shot in 37 minutes, scores to take a late lead pic.twitter.com/J7ymHcT0Mc
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 30, 2017
The Penguins would add an empty-netter, and there’s the 5-3 score.
So, the Penguins won a game in the Stanley Cup Final despite zero shots on goal in 37 minutes, and with just 12 shots on goal total. They were outshot 26-12.
The @penguins' 12 shots on goal are the lowest ever for a winner in a #StanleyCup Final game (H/T Doc Emrick).
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) May 30, 2017
And they were still able to turn 12 shots on goal into five goals! Certainly not the best night for Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne (four goals allowed in 11 shots).
The Penguins come away with a big win to go up 1-0 in the seven-game series, but the Predators have to feel pretty good about the way they played — aside from Rinne’s performance — and stormed back.
This should be an entertaining series, and Game 2 will be on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.
[NBC]
