Pekka Rinne Played On His Head, As Predators Tie Series At Two

Jun 6, 2017
3 min read

The Nashville Predators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1. Sidney Crosby had the lone goal for the Penguins, while Pekka Rinne played on his head making crucial saves to keep the penguins with only one goal. Nashville played well fueled off the crowd and they are going back to Pittsburgh with the series tied at 2.

Jared McCabe: Again the fans in Nashville was loud and helped propel their team to a victory over the Penguins. It seems when the crowd gets louder the team responses and plays well. The Predators outplayed the Penguins again and the Penguins need to go back to the drawing board because they were drastically getting out played in all facets of the game. Nashville got on the board first from Calle Jarnkrok where he put in the rebound to get the Predators rolling. But the lead didn’t last very long because a minute later Sidney Crosby would score in his first Stanley Cup since 2009 to level the score at 1. At the end of the first Pittsburgh had all the momentum going into the second, but the Predators fueled off their home crowd as Frederick Gaudreau put the Predators back in the lead and like Game 3, they didn’t allow the Penguins to get back into the game. Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg would score for the Predators that would lock the victory up for the Predators. The offense was a great sign for the Predators as they tied the series, but the fact that Pekka Rinne is back to making saves like we saw during the first three rounds of the playoffs is a great sign. If he can play like that in Pittsburgh, Nashville is in the driver's seat because they would have a great chance to win in a tough place to play where Pekka Rinne and the team hasn’t had much success. We will find out who will take the advantage in the series Thursday night at 8.

Caden Balint: The Nashville Predators looked fantastic this game, yet again out playing Pittsburgh in every facet of the game and for two games straight, and for two games straight the Penguins payed for it. The first goal came with five minutes left in the first when Craig Smith would shoot the puck on net and Calle Jarnkrok would bat home the rebound to make it 1-0, but Pittsburgh would challenge it for goalie interference. After a good minute of review the call on the ice stayed as a goal and the score stayed as 1-0, but the Pens would not stayed silenced. Only a minute and six seconds later Sidney Crosby would score his first Stanley Cup Final since 2009 to tie the game at 1-1. That would mark the end of the first with the Penguins having the momentum, but the Preds ended it quick. 3 minutes into the first Frederick Gaudreau would try to stuff the puck in on a wrap around and Murray would almost keep it out, but another review was done. After the referees had a good luck at the play it was determined that the puck crossed the line giving the Predators the 2-1 lead. 10 minutes later Mike Fisher would dive to get the puck to Viktor Arvidsson who would score on the breakaway to give the Predators the 3-1 lead. The last goal came with about 4 minutes left in the third on an empty net as Filip Forsberg would shoot the puck full ice to give the Preds the 4-1 lead. The Predators look to force a major shift of momentum as they travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday for game 5.