LDN - Sports

Predators frustrated but confidence not shaken

[June 02, 2017] By Frank Pingue

(Reuters) - The Nashville Predators are frustrated at coming up empty after outplaying the Pittsburgh Penguins for most of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final but remain confident in their ability to turn things around.

The Penguins have been outshot in each game and converted only one power play opportunity but their ability to turn some brief defensive lapses into quick goals has allowed them to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"It's frustrating in the sense that we haven't gotten on the board with a win yet," Predators coach Peter Laviolette told reporters on Thursday.

"But we've got to continue to try and get better with what we do. We can't just look at the numbers and say, 'Yeah, we're winning all the numbers, but the scoreboard.'"

Nashville were oozing confidence at the start of the week given an impressive playoff run in which they beat two division winners in Chicago and Anaheim, and a 99-point St. Louis team to reach their first Stanley Cup Final.

But in Monday's opener, Pittsburgh scored three goals in a four-minute flurry late in the first period for a 3-0 lead and then went 37 minutes without getting a shot on goal before hanging on for a 5-3 victory.

Two nights later, the Penguins used a three-minute stretch at the start of the third period to turn a tight Game Two into a runaway win.

While such misfortune in the closing stages of a grueling season could sap a team's drive, Laviolette said his players are hungry as ever and lifted by a return to home ice.

"We've put in a lot of time to build ourselves as a team that is ready to play, is ready to win, and confident about our ability to do that," said Laviolette.

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Peter Laviolette during the second period in game two of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Don Wright-USA TODAY Sports

"You would think at the possibility of leaving Pittsburgh without a win, that might shake the confidence. I can tell you that it doesn't. I just met with the guys. I can see it in their eyes."

The series resumes on Saturday in Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, one of the NHL's loudest venues and where the Predators have lost just once in eight home games this post-season.

"It's going to be a tremendous lift. The environment has been really good since I've been here," said Laviolette.

"I know our guys enjoy playing at home. We've had good success here."

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Larry Fine)

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