The alternative title to this post was “Gone Fishing” because that’s basically what happened to the Penguins after the first period. But Catfished is more appropriate, since the Preds tricked most of us into thinking they were a team that was all hype and no bite. Turns out they’re a pretty good hockey team.
The Predators won this game 5-1. The Pens didn’t lose it, the Preds won it. There were stretches during this game at even strength, especially during the first, where you could argue it was the best the Pens have played all series. They had control of the puck, pace. They were winning races to loose pucks. They were winning board battles. They were playing the type of game that makes them look like a dominant team. And still, the end result on the scoreboard was 5-1.
At the heart of this loss is a Penguins powerplay that absolutely derailed any momentum they had established. At 4:50 of the first, PK Subban takes a holding penalty against Carl Hagelin. The Pens are already up 1-0. They cash in here, Nashville fans are falling back like they just struck out with their cousin. Nothing happening. Eight minutes later, they get another powerplay when the Preds took a too many men penalty (in Nashville they call that a rodeo). Again, the Pens could barely muster a shot. Even if the Pens can score on one of these opportunities, they probably go on to win the game, which gift wraps them the series. Instead, we’re talking about the PP being 0 for 13 after three games. It is literally killing them.
The Nashville crowd, on the other hand, will continue to get played up as the driving force behind the Preds. It’s fun to watch — there was more people on Broadway than were at Trump’s inaguration.
In my short time covering hockey, I have never seen anything like this. Nashville is ridiculous right now. pic.twitter.com/pSCuXeGDda
— Shawn McKenzie (@ShawnMcKenzieSN) June 3, 2017
Stretch wrapping a dead fish to your body with the intent of throwing it onto the playing surface of a sporting event is about as weird as it gets, but that’s fine. And they were really loud, just only when the Preds were winning. When it was 1-0 Pens, it was a different story. Bizarre occurance after the game, though, when it looked like Geno was going to murder one of them:
https://twitter.com/willrbrown93/status/871214072540401664
That moment describes the Pens’ third period in a nutshell. The Preds got under their skin, and instead of fighting back on the scoreboard, the Pens just fought them back. Nashville didn’t do anything special that the Pens haven’t already seen — Columbus tried it, Washington tried it, Ottawa tried it, but then and there it just seemed like the Pens finally got tired of it. And, to be honest, it wasn’t a good visual…
Jake Guentzel is officially tired of your bulls— pic.twitter.com/jC2i9AMjLH
— Colin Dunlap (@colin_dunlap) June 4, 2017
Phil Kessel – NHL enforcer pic.twitter.com/8ncyQaIwz9
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 4, 2017
Hagelin vs Ekholm was too long for a GIF pic.twitter.com/8X12G2w89z
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 4, 2017
The Pens have walked away from this stuff for the last month and a half. Maybe 4-1 seemed insurmountable and a good time to get some shots in, but yikes — haven’t seen the Pens this rattled in a while. And seeing PK Subban in Crosby’s ear after the game brought back some bad memories…
Great answer from P.K. Subban when asked about his run-in with Sidney Crosby at the end of Game 3 pic.twitter.com/Tvx9ZZ0iEP
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) June 4, 2017
More red flags from this game:
- Matt Murray gave up five goals, four were to his glove side.
- Nashville had more odd-mad rushes than catfish landing on the ice.
- Crosby and Malkin had a combined zero shots on goal.
- Styk was in the house playing Renegade during the second intermission and the Pens still couldn’t manufacture a comeback.
But make no mistake, Nashville earned this win. Their PK was aggressive and disrupted almost everything the Pens tried to throw at it. They pulled a Pens and capatilized on their best opportunities. Pekka Rinne came back from the dead and made some big saves. Total team victory.
About the only positive from Game 3 was Jake Guentzel continuing his run at the rookie record for points and goals in a postseason.
Right place at the right time — it’s all he does.
So now it’s on to Game 4 in Nashville Monday night, and maybe Keith Jones isn’t a complete idiot afterall. But the Pens can win in Nashville, and they could have won Game 3 had their powerplay not taken a shit all over the ice. Matt Murray always bounces back strong after a down game, and you can usually say the same for Crosby and Malkin, too. Also, the fact remains Game 5 and 7 will be in Pittsburgh, where the Pens just do not lose. They’re still up 2-1 in this thing, and if you’re hitting the panic button, maybe don’t.
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