Five telling stats from the Penguins-Predators series

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan confirmed that Matt Murray would remain in goal and said that center Nick Bonino was a game-time decision. Pekka Rinne’s game seemed to be in tatters and the Penguins fan base was musing whether it preferred a clean sweep or just a split of the two games in Nashville so the defending champions could raise the Cup on home ice.

The Stanley Cup will be in Nashville on Sunday, but it won’t be prepped for the Predators. Not with Rinne 9-1 at home this postseason. He gave up two goals in the first 6:43 of the game and it never improved from there as h started the second period on the bench. The best thing about my job is when I’m in work for two straight months, like the National Hockey League playoffs, I’m in a room with 20 televisions. We’ve got good players.

Murray has thrived in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins are 9-3 in the playoffs.

The Predators are in a 3-2 hole with Game 6 coming up Sunday night in Nashville. The Penguins aren’t as deep defensively as the Predators, allowing 2.21 goals per game in the playoffs, but D Justin Schultz has provided a boost since getting healthy. “They still have home ice”.

All of it can be a bit overwhelming, but the Penguins are pretty excited to have the hockey world see what their crowd can do.

Wilson took part in the team’s morning skate at PPG Paints Arena and came off before P.A. Parenteau, who said he would not play.

“As much as it is about skill and speed and all that, it’s the work ethic, it’s the little things, and I think that’s kind of the idea behind that is doing the right thing and working as hard as we can”, Ellis said. I think we’ve got to play with urgency. They are so supportive of our group. “He certainly has had success here at home”.

“My sense of being around Geno is that his priorities are just trying to help this team win and trying to accomplish our team goals, which ultimately is a Stanley Cup”, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said of Malkin.

Nashville Predators coach Peter Laviolette and players pause at the bench during the third period in Game 5 of the team’s NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Pittsburgh. “They capitalized on our mistakes, and we have to do the same”. Desperation should probably still fall on our side here, where we know we’ve got to win a game in Pittsburgh. “That is what’s good”. We had a clincher past year at home and we didn’t get it done.

Pittsburgh scored three goals in a 4:11 stretch at the end of the first period of game one, building a 3-0 lead on the way to a 5-3 win.

The Penguins capped off their offensive rally with their sixth goal with 3:20 left in the second period.

It was a unsafe play from a player who should probably know better based on his own concussion history, however, it illustrated the kind of attitude Crosby had brought to what was a pivotal Game 5.

“I thought I was OK in Game 3, obviously not great. We need to do it again to win another game”. “Our focus is really more concerned about just that one game in front of us”. When Ryan Johansen got hurt, we all knew the Predators would need their blue line to stoke the offense, and that’s exactly what’s happened.

For now, he insists he is happy enough just to sit on the floor as long as he plays.

As far as the Conn Smythe goes, look for Crosby to put his imprint on the series in the closing games. I think we’ve got to play determined. We can play him with anybody. “Score more for sure”. The Penguins have come within two games of the first team to capture consecutive Cups in almost two decades due in large part to their resiliency.