Pittsburgh Penguins lose 2-1 OT Nashville Predators
STOCKHOLM — The Pittsburgh Penguins (9-5-4) had just 10 shots after two periods, and by the end of the second period, their game had fossilized like the Vasa, a 1600s Swedish warship that was similarly top-heavy but sank off the coast of Sweden on its maiden voyage.
Instead of sinking into the ice, the Penguins held their structure just enough, and goalie Arturs Silovs made a few big saves for 58 minutes and 50 seconds until the Nashville Predators put the dagger into the Penguins’ disconnected game.
“Silovs was great tonight. He kept us in it. We got a point because of him,” said Penguins coach Dan Muse.
That’s another lead that became a Penguins loss, though the Penguins have earned a point in two of their last three games (0-1-2).
Native Swede Filip Forsberg jumped on a loose puck after a faceoff in the Penguins zone. He scored after Nashville pulled goalie Juuse Saros to force overtime, then Nashville’s Steven Stamkos scored 43 seconds into OT for a 2-1 Nashville win.
The GMT +1 time zone meant the puck dropped at 8 p.m. in Stockholm, but it was a rare weekday afternoon game back home. It would seem the Penguins were enraptured with their pregame naps, save a few sharp rushes and pressure plays from Sidney Crosby’s line.
Evgeni Malkin scored in the second period, but perhaps fittingly, let Nashville do the work. Malkin’s centering pass, or sneaky bankshot, from below the goal line deflected off a couple of Nashville defenders and into the net at 13:49 of the second period.
It was the Penguins’ second and final shot of the second period. Malkin (3) and Anthony Mantha (2) comprised 50% of the Penguins’ shot total after 40 minutes.
Even the Penguins ‘ league-leading power play, which has been converting at over 35% this season, was uncharacteristically flat, failing to register a shot in two attempts.
Aside from Malkin’s tally, Silovs was the Penguins’ story. After defenseman Kris Letang misjudged a lobbed puck at center ice, Justin Barron had a 75-foot breakaway, but Silovs did the splits to take away each post as Barron deked to the forehand.
Through two periods, the Penguins forked over 10 giveaways, but were outdone by Nashville’s 13.
Shoveling more dirt on the Penguins’ performance, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, Nashville outchanced the Penguins 25-12 through 40 minutes, and registered 11 high-danger chances, compared to just three Penguins’ HDSC.
It appeared Nashville tied the game seven minutes into the third period, but Nashville’s Luke Evangelista’s shot hit the post. The Nashville bench began to celebrate as referees waived no goal and play continued.,
Nashville defenseman Nic Hague hit the crossbar with seven minutes remaining in the third period, too.
With just 12 shots after 50 minutes, the Penguins had a late push that both inflated their shot total and brought some offensive pressure.
Silovs made 28 saves on 29 shots in regulation. Saros stopped 16 of 17.
The teams will play again Sunday evening at Avicii Arena, the second and final game of the NHL’s Global Series. Attendance Friday was not a sellout, with about 12,766 fans in a building that holds 13,800. However, most of the fans were in their seats for warmups to see Sidney Crosby and Swedish native Erik Karlsson.
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