from Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star,

Let’s say it: The Pittsburgh Penguins, defending Stanley Cup champs, winners of the first two games of the Stanley Cup final, second-best record in the league and they beat the best guys, are underdogs. Yes, the series is tied 2-2. Yes, Nashville needs to win a game in Pittsburgh to win the series. Yes, if Nashville wins the Cup in Game 6 at home, while the CMA Music Festival is in town, well, the hangover might last the summer. Just stay inside with a cool compress on your forehead, and have some hot fried chicken and lemonade.

But after four games, the Nashville Predators are 10 minutes from a sweep. Ten bad minutes, spread over two games, when their goaltender suddenly fell apart and the bounces went the other way, all at the same time. Nashville is without its No. 1 centre, and Pittsburgh got better in Game 4, and they still got rolled. Through four games, the Predators are getting about 56 per cent of the available shot attempts at 5-on-5. That, in hockey, is one hell of an advantage.

“Our guys were pretty confident after Game 2,” said Nashville coach Peter Laviolette. “I know it’s a nasty hole to be in, but we really liked the way we played in Game 1. We thought we played a real competitive game in Game 2. Could have had results in both those games.”

In other words, Nashville knows the score, or thinks it does. The Predators have more speed at the back end than Pittsburgh does, which is like saying that Nashville has more country music playing in bars than Pittsburgh does. As a result, the Penguins have been trying to figure out how to do things like get the puck up the ice and score on the power play. (The Penguins are 1-16 on the power play in the series and the one came at the very end of a 5-on-3.)

continued