Stanley Cup Final: Predators late rally comes up short vs. Penguins
The Predators made sure Pittsburgh fans can’t leave early for this one.
The Nashville Predators won’t die in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Two quick goals in the third period tied it at 3, as they completed the three-goal comeback against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Colton Sissons deflected a puck past Matt Murray in the third period to make it 3-2, ensuring a nail-biting finish to this game. Not long after, Frederick Gaudreau scored his first of the playoffs to tie it with just 6:31 left to go in the game.
Sissons, crashing hard to the net on the power-play, used his left knee to bounce Roman Josi’s cross-crease shot into the back of the net. The young Preds sophomore scored his sixth goal of the 2017 playoffs with just under 10 minutes left in the game, bringing Nashville within one at PPG Paints Arena.
https://twitter.com/SI_NHL/status/869383166821363713
The Preds then killed off a Penguins power-play after PK Subban put the puck over the glass, and rushed up-ice to make it an even game. Gaudreau barrelled into the offensive zone to bury Mike Fisher’s pass.
Freddy Gaudreau ties it up! 🚨 https://t.co/FIhthff5Hj pic.twitter.com/R7f5xELIdq
— SI NHL (@SI_NHL) May 30, 2017
Sissons’ goal was his sixth of the playoffs, after scoring a hat-trick in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final to lift the Preds past the Anaheim Ducks and into the Stanley Cup Final. Gaudreau, on the other hand, recorded his first career postseason point with the tying goal.
The Predators will now likely feel a little less angry about PK Subban’s disallowed goal in the first period. They made Pittsburgh pay dearly in the third period for a lengthy run of disinterested play. By the time Gaudreau scored for Nashville, the Pens hadn’t gotten a single shot on net in over half an hour.
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This game, which once seemed like a sure thing for Pittsburgh was hanging in the balance but Jake Guentzel gave the Penguins the lead in the closing minutes of the third period. An empty-net goal was scored a few moments later as the Penguins took a 1-0 series lead.