from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

There’s probably a country music song buried somewhere in the way the Nashville Predators lost their first ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.

Then again, even a Music Row songwriter might balk at the story. Too hokey. Not believable.

The Predators held the defending Stanley Cup champions without a shot for 37 consecutive minutes, a stretch never before seen in NHL annals, then clawed all the back from a 3-0 deficit after a catfish was thrown on the ice, only to have the Penguins break the tie with three minutes to go on their first shot since the first period.

Oh, and the Preds had their 1-0 lead wiped away on a controversial coach’s challenge … and Nick Bonino scored two goals without ever actually shooting on a goaltender.

“It was a weird, weird game,” Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne said with perhaps the biggest understatement of the season.

It was maybe the most bizarre game ever played in the Stanley Cup Final, one that left you sitting there thinking: “What the heck did we just watch?”

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Below, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet on Game 1 and video highlights too...