Can Nashville Get Back In This?

We are through two games of the Stanley Cup Finals and Pittsburgh has a commanding 2-0 lead over the Predators. This means Nashville would have to win four of the next five games to comeback and win the Stanley Cup. That is a very tall order against the defending champions. However, Nashville did win four straight over the Blackhawks in round one.

This series is about as hard to comprehend as any we've seen in this playoffs. The Predators outshot Pittsburgh 26-12 in game one. They even came back from a 3-0 deficit to tie it up in the third. However, the Penguins managed to win game one. Game two started out similarly. Pittsburgh showed more effort and had many more shots, but the Predators definitely had the better of the play. Heading into the third period it was tied at a goal a piece and felt as if Nashville was primed to breakthrough. Then out of nowhere Pittsburgh scores three goals on three shots in four minutes and the game was over.


Nashville needs to find an answer to Pittsburgh's feast or famine offense. The Predators have grossly outplayed Pittsburgh through 120 minutes, but have nothing to show for it. Everyone is scratching their heads and wondering what more they can do. The common thought after game one was they did not need to change anything. Just stick to their game and they will win. Well that did not work. Nashville needs to make some adjustments if they are going to have any chance at getting back into this series.

Nashville has a unique team. Their offense is driven through their high skilled defensemen. This is mostly because they do not have talented enough forwards to score. This has worked greatly for Nashville so far, but they have not played a team like Pittsburgh until now. The Penguins whole gameplan is to stretch the ice and trade chances with their opponent. That is a big problem for Nashville. With Nashville's defensemen pressing in the offensive zone, they can easily get caught pinching up and give the Penguins an odd man rush. It only takes two or three of those chances to blow a game wide open. That is precisely what happened in the third period of both games one and two. No team can afford to trade chances with Pittsburgh, that is why they are in the Stanley Cup Finals for a second straight season.

The Predators need to take a look at what Ottawa did in the conference finals. The Senators came within one shot of beating Pittsburgh. This was due to Ottawa playing as a team solely focused on defense and clogging the neutral zone. They never allowed Pittsburgh to get to their game. If the Predators have any hope of winning this series they need to do the exact same. If Nashville wants to shoot 40 shots/game and trade chances, they may not make it back to Pittsburgh for game five. If they want to be opportunistic and try to win games 2-1, then they have a chance. They have the team to do it. Great defense, good goaltending and two-way forwards is what Nashville has and what is necessary to operate a successful neutral zone trap.

The question is, are the Predators willing to step back and admit Pittsburgh is a better team? If they do it, then the whole team can buy-in to this new system. I just wonder if Peter Laviolette has the stomach to make this move. He is an aggressive coach with a team of aggressive players. For him, a neutral zone trap is bad hockey and admitting defeat. I do not see any other way Nashville gets back into this series.