Penguins to stick with goalie Matt Murray for Game 5

The question for the Penguins, who are one win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions, is whether they can get that same team-wide effort on the road in Game 6 on Sunday, where they had so much trouble.

The 6-0 score tied for the seventh-biggest blowout in Stanley Cup Final history.

An eventful night, which saw Matt Murray earn his third career playoff shutout, also included a water bottle mistakenly pitched on the ice by Crosby and some wrestling behind the goal with P.K. Subban.

Greetings from PPG Paints Arena, where the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators held optional morning skates in advance of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night. Perhaps the seeds of an upset, too. Nashville’s Frederick Gaudreau continued his brilliant series by scoring the decisive goal for the second straight contest, joining fellow rookie Jake Guentzel of Pittsburgh by accounting for all four-game winning goals in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Penguins played nearly the ideal tactical game to take a 3-2 lead in the series, which is why Hainsey said they’d be in good shape if they could replicate that performance in Game 6 Sunday in Nashville. He was pulled after the first period by coach Peter Laviolette after surrendering half the goals in a 6-0 rout by the Penguins in Game 5 on Thursday night. While he never played quite as poorly, he allowed five goals in Game 3 – the most he’s ever given up in the playoffs – and four in Game 4. The Penguins have the experience. “It’s not only us exhausted”. The Sens would go on to win the game 5-1, as Murray allowed only one goal on the next 20 shots.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan isn’t talking about any lineup changes. He’s not really anxious about the 190 feet in front of Murray, either. A couple lapses, one in each game, making all the difference for a star-studded Penguins team that’s as opportunistic as anyone in the league.

And while captain Sidney Crosby says the “desperation level” will ramp up, Sullivan was quick to point out the term doesn’t mean what you think it means. “It always has a connotation of hopelessness, and that’s not the word we use for our team”. “We felt as though there was a lot to like about that game. We did a good job of that and got rewarded for it”. “I don’t think we have anybody back there that wows you offensively”. “I think young players with young legs have the ability to have an impact”.

While that’s not necessarily the kind of thing the Penguins can count on heading into Game 5, they have pretty consistently scored goals in bunches at home this postseason. “Wanted to make sure that we played on our toes”.

The Penguins won the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final thanks in large part to a pair of three-goal flurries.

The “11 Bruins won the last seven-game Cup final with a 4-0 win over Vancouver in the Canucks” Rogers Arena. Not with the ultimate prize so close at hand. But his possession percentage coming out of the neutral zone now sits at 40%, higher than Dumoulin, Cole, Maatta and Hainsey. “They were coming, they were hungry and we have to return the favor here in a few nights”.

One of the key reasons behind the Predators’ turnaround in the series has been the play of goaltender Pekka Rinne. Now they’re getting fancy. “They certainly are behind our team”. “They still have home ice”.

If Crosby brought his “A” game, Pekka Rinne once again brought his road game. “There’s no other way around it”.

The Predators haven’t scored a goal in 63 minutes, 23 seconds since Filip Forsberg’s empty-net goal in Game 4.

Power plays (goals-chances) – Nashville: 0-5; Pittsburgh: 1-4.

After Crosby and PK Subban both drew minors late in the third period due to some questionable refereeing late in the period, Evgeni Malkin quickly snapped the puck past Rinne despite being guarded by two Predators players with just 10.2 seconds showing on the game clock. I mean, it’s a unsafe team.