Pittsburgh took Game 2 also. So now the Penguins play tonight up 2-0 is this championship series. That's the good news. The bad news for them is that this game will be played in "Smashville!" The Nashville fans will have their arena rocking tonight. The Predators will try to make this a "Homer" series where each home team manages to find a way to win the game played in front of their own fans.
Only don't forget Pittsburgh has an advantage in such a series. The Penguins can loose all three games that could possibly be played in Nashville and still win the cup. That's significant, especially as we don't know yet how Pittsburgh will respond and play in that environment. Tonight's game will tell us a lot about that. The Penguins will have to survive an initial rowdy fan base and a Preds team that will be feeding on their fans enthusiasm. Honestly I think Nashville takes this game and Game 4 will tell us a lot more about the Penguins in hostile territory.
Nashville needs to win on home ice. If they can win in their own barn, the daunting task before them is more manageable. At the very least, they need to win at least one in Pittsburgh. For every game they drop at home, the number of games they must win in Pittsburgh increases. Nashville cannot afford that!
Something to watch tonight will be how Nashville's All-Star goalie responds to the thrashing he took in Game 2. I expect that he'll be really good tonight.
What I'll be watching tonight, though, is #59 in White. Jake Guentzel has 3 goals in 2 games. At the rate he's going, my vote for Conn Smythe, the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, goes to "Jake from State Farm." Unfortunately I don't have a vote. But I hope that those who do are paying attention to this rising star. I in particular am thrilled with his performance, and that of his teammates, whom I have seen thrive in Wilkes-Barre.
Before the series began, I said I thought Nashville would win the cup, though I'm cheering for Pittsburgh. After 2 games, it appears that the experience factor is paying large dividends. This series could easily be tied. There have been large periods of time where Nashville had the momentum and the Penguins were struggling. Perhaps it would be best for both teams to imagine that this series really is tied. In the end, I think Pittsburgh claims the cup. But, Penguins fans, don't get crazy and think this is going to happen in a 4 game sweep. I think this series is going at least 6 games. These two teams are both too good to be dismissed quicker than that.
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