PITTSBURGH VS NASHVILLE
PPG PAINTS ARENA – PITTSBURGH, PA
8:00 PM EST. NBCSN
PENS LEAD 1-0
Despite what Eddy Olsucks screams from inside your television set, experience doesn’t really matter in the playoffs. Teams don’t win because of experience, they win on some combination of skill, goaltending and luck.
Experience does matter in a different arena, however. The Internet.
Nashville has been the belle of the ball for pretty much the entire playoffs. It’s hard to not be the good guy when you’ve played Chicago, St. Louis, and Anaheim, three of the more innately shitbag franchises the NHL has to offer, and now the defending champion Penguins. It’s easy, and everyone likes you.
But the Final is a different animal. It brings out the worst in you. The key is to realize that everything is shitty and stupid and unfair beforehand and not whine about it, but embrace it.
(Should be 3-3)
— Mary Clarke (@marycclarke) May 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/38Godfrey/status/869386605794119680
I usually won't blame a game on the refs but like…………. like……….. I mean like……….
— janie (@janiewhitefield) May 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/stace_ofbase/status/869591889527283713
I would say act like you’ve been here before, but you haven’t so it’s cool.
When you’re a fan of the heel franchise this shit is too hilarious. “Oh my God that was a penalty on Crosby!” Lol, have you watched playoff hockey before? Bitching about a replay review – so do you want them to enforce the rules or not? Oh, just the ones that benefit your team? Cool, cool.
The Pens played like ass but the twitter-meltdowns made it worth it. Just remember this the next time everyone calls the Pens whiners or something.
Lines: A Pens win usually means no changes, but I’m willing to bet we see Hagelin draw in for Wilson. Two of the Preds goals came on the powerplay and Hags speed in that department (and on the forecheck against a tough Preds D) would be a buoy for the Pens.
Fisher and Smith both played for Nashville and looked strong in their returns. Good boost for them.
Pittsburgh:
Kunitz-Crosby-Sheary
Wilson-Malkin-Kessel
Rust-Bonino-Rowney
Guentzel/Hagelin-Cullen-Hornqvist
Dumoulin-Hainsey
Maatta-Daley
Cole-Schultz
Murray-Fleury
Nashville:
Forsberg-Sissons-Aberg
Arvidsson-Fisher-Neal
Wilson-Jarnkrok-Smith
Gaudreau-Fiddler-Watson
Ekholm-Subban
Josi-Ellis
Irwin-Weber
Rinne-Saros
A couple finishing thoughts going into tonight.
You could pretty much see the game 1 collapse coming if you’re a Pens fan. A 3-0 lead means retreat into their defensive shell and the defense ain’t what it was a year ago. Last year, they pulled those wins off easily, stayed aggressive through the neutral zone and turned mistakes into odd-man breaks. The Pens can’t sustain this style of play and expect to be successful.
Counterpoint:
*pittsburgh gets outshot again*
surely they can’t keep winning games like this
*pittsburgh wins a game like this*
ah, well, nevertheless— dom 📈 (@domluszczyszyn) May 30, 2017
While that style of play is unsustainable it’s pretty hard to not feel confident in Sullivan, Tocchet and Martin to find answers. The staff behind the Pens bench has been top notch for two straight years. And while the no shots thing was weird as hell, the Pens quality of shot attempts was clustered towards the slot as G pointed out int he recap (via hockeystats.ca).
The first game of a series is always a feeling out process. The Pens delivered about 10 minutes worth of an effort and the Preds, while solid, were cratered by the worst goaltending performance in the history of the Stanley Cup Final. Literally, the worst.
Play is going to balance out. The Pens PK will find itself, Rinne will stop some pucks, and things will get tight. Stay focused on the next shift and just try to not throw a tantrum on the Internet because the puck didn’t bounce your way.
Go Pens
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