The Nashville Predators are a perfect 6-0 in their last six games coming off a loss. The Predators will try to bounce back from a loss in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final with a road win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Predators vs. Penguins 2017, Stanley Cup Game 2 odds: Nashville underdog again for Wednesday night
The Nashville Predators will be looking to avoid falling into an 0-2 series hole with a win in Pittsburgh against the Penguins as the Stanley Cup Final continues.
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Nashville is a +130 road underdog in Pittsburgh at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Penguins can take a 2-0 series lead with a win as a -150 favorite.
Nashville Predators
The Predators dominated most of Game 1 on the road. Despite having an early goal waived off due to the play being offside and then falling into a 3-0 hole in the first period, Nashville fought its way back into the game to tie it up at 3-3 and was applying heavy pressure to take the lead.
Unfortunately for the Predators, Pekka Rinne was not sharp at all, allowing four goals on 11 shots including the game-winner to Jake Guentzel on Pittsburgh’s first shot of the third period.
Rinne has bounced back well from his rare poor performances this postseason and will need to do so again if Nashville hopes to win Game 2. The Predators are 12-5 this postseason with a 5-3 record on the road, per the OddsShark NHL Database.
Betting Line / Total: Pittsburgh -150 / 5.5 Goals
Pittsburgh Penguins
Since the statistic of shots on goal started being recorded in 1960, no team has ever won a Stanley Cup Final game with less shots than Pittsburgh’s 12 in Game 1. After taking a 3-0 lead on a Nick Bonino shot that was deflected into the net by Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm in the first period, the Penguins went a remarkable 37 minutes without a shot on goal.
They broke that stretch with Guentzel’s game-winner and eventually sealed their 5-3 win with an empty-netter. The win brought Pittsburgh to 17-7 over its last 24 playoff home games.
Wednesday night’s total is set at 5.5 goals. The OVER is 4-0 in the last four games between Nashville and Pittsburgh.
The Penguins, now -250 favorites on the series prices, were perhaps guilty of being too content to just sit on their lead in Game 1, but the Predators also deserve their share of the credit for controlling the tempo most of the night. With the feeling-out process of the series opener out of the way, the rest of it should have a more steady flow.
Nashville Predators at Pittsburgh Penguins
When: Wednesday, May 31, 8 p.m. ET
Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.
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