Stanley Cup Final: Jake Guentzel goal leads Penguins to Game 1 win over Predators

The Penguins fought off Nashville’s late surge with a third-period goal of their own.

Jake Guentzel prevented overtime in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final by scoring a late winner for the Pittsburgh Penguins to bury the Nashville Predators. The Pens responded quickly to the wake-up call of Nashville’s three-goal comeback, adding an empty-netter to secure their victory. The game ended 5-3 for the home team, who now lead the series 1-0.

Guentzel blazed into the offensive zone all alone with less than four minutes to play, and snapped a short-side shot over Pekka Rinne’s left shoulder. The goal was his 10th of the 2017 playoffs, more than anyone else in the NHL.

Nick Bonino scored the empty-netter (his second goal of the game) a short while later at 18:58 to effectively kill it off for Pittsburgh. Nashville made a last-ditch effort to get back into it, but Matt Murray continually shut the door to hang on for the Penguins.

Murray shone for the Pens all night, who finished with just 12 shots all game. They failed to record a single shot in the second period, and managed just four in the third (the first of which was Guentzel’s goal).

Pittsburgh jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first frame of this game, scoring a flurry of goals in the latter half of the first period. They slacked off after that, though,  and fell into bad habits while they allowed the Predators back into the game. Frederick Gaudreau’s third-period equalizer woke up Pittsburgh, who settled it before overtime.

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The Penguins now lead this Stanley Cup Final 1-0, with Game 2 set to go on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. They’ll try to draw even closer to their second consecutive Cup, which they’re now just three wins away from. The Preds, on the other hand, will be looking to even things up in their first-ever Final appearance.