How the Penguins shut down the Predators to win the Stanley Cup

It would be oh so simple to blame the officials for the Nashville Predators losing Game 6 and the Stanley Cup Final to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And that is a huge reason. The disallowed goal by Colton Sissons early in the game cost the Predators what would be a crucial first goal.

But Nashville had a golden chance to get it back in the third period when two Pittsburgh penalties gave them about 30 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play and another minute or so of a 5-on-4. You know now how that ended for Nashville: with nothing to show for it.

But why? What did the Predators do wrong to blow such a glorious opportunity? We dug back into the game to find an answer.

Not insignificant! And a little unlikely. Ryan Johansen was actually the Predators’ leading face-off man (54.3 percent) this postseason, but Fisher (51.3) wasn’t too shabby, either.

The problem was the guy across the dot: 40-year-old Matt Cullen, the third-best face-off man in the playoffs at 56.4 percent.

Technically, Nashville won the face-off for a split second. Before Filip Forsberg could reach the puck, Cullen hopped over Fisher and swung it back to Ron Hainsey behind the net. And there goes the clear and precious seconds off the clock.

Almost half of the 5-on-3 expires before Nashville can get back into the zone. And what they do there isn’t all that impressive, either.

Look, I know what I’m about to suggest might only be possible in NHL 17. I do not Play The Game™.

But when I watch the Predators’ zone entry and James Neal carrying the puck deep in the zone, I can’t help but notice a chance to change the angle of attack a bit.

That’s P.K. Subban (No. 76) trailing the play high behind Mike Fisher ( No. 12). The window is open just enough to try to land a saucer pass on P.K.’s stick high in the slot. From there, only Brian Dumoulin (No. 8) would be in position to block a shot. Or Subban could take it wide and spread out the defense even more. Too often teams on 5-on-3 advantages remain static, when ideally you want to spread those three defenders out as much as possible.

Changing attack angles on the rush is a good way to do that. I think Neal should’ve tried that here.

Instead, he curls around the net and the moment is lost.

I’m not too critical of the hot-potato point game here, though I know some people were on Twitter. Josi and Subban are elite players. I’m sure they’d have taken a shot if they thought it would go through. And that might’ve been a set play to draw defenders out of blocking positions.

And it almost worked. Dumoulin’s block actually caused more chaos than anything.

Nope, still not critical. Because, at this point, the play is out of Nashville’s hands. Once the puck careens off the end-boards, only puck luck and desperation will determine if it ends up in the back of the net.

As it happens, both happened.

Fisher whiffs twice, Ian Cole ties up his stick in time for Murray to find the puck just in time to rob Fisher’s rebound attempt at the doorstep. Play over. 5-on-3 over.

The rest of the 5-on-4 was an exercise in structured aggression by the Penguins, who chased down pucks along the boards and pressured away one-timers without getting so loose they left Murray unprotected. This sequence, in particular, is terrific.

Pressure away Josi’s shot, pressure a pass back to the point and then collapse back into shooting lanes. Perfect.

So what to conclude from this?

It’s not a sexy conclusion. We’re not going to point fingers at Nashville or over-praise the Penguins. Sure, the Predators could’ve been a little more aggressive. And Pittsburgh’s penalty kill structure and discipline was remarkable.

But when both special teams do their jobs admirably, you can’t help but decide a goal was never in the cards for the Predators. Without Johansen to win the draw or provide more threats, the Predators weren’t playing with a full deck of cards. And Murray was as dialed in as you’ll ever see this late in the postseason. The truth is that Nashville had more chances than this to score the first goal.

You can drive the net as hard as you want, leave everything on the ice, and still not get the one or two bounces that turn the game in your favor. Such is hockey.