from Joe Rexrode of The Tennessean,

Maybe Rinne will find his game in his favorite arena. Maybe the weird bounces that have enabled two pucks to go off Nashville teammates and past Rinne will pay a visit to red-hot Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray.

Maybe the Predators will build on how they’ve played for most of two games and capitalize on opportunities the way the Penguins did in front of their fans at PPG Paints Arena. To be clear, Nashville has not been the better team – the better team has a 9-4 edge in goals and a demonstrated ability to finish, no matter what any other statistics say about the Predators’ puck control and quality chances.

The Predators also have not been thumped as the scoreboard suggests. And considering the way this team has responded to all challenges for nearly two months now, the idea that it might come up with 60 strong, winning minutes is not at all far-fetched....

“When you're doing the right things, you're winning hockey games, you feel good about the game you're playing, I think you can take confidence from that,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said Thursday of drawing from this postseason of success. “I think we've put in a lot of time to build ourselves as a team that is ready to play, is ready to win, and confident about our ability to do that. So you would think … leaving Pittsburgh without a win, that might shake the confidence. I can tell you that it doesn't. I just met with the guys. I can see it in their eyes.”

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