Predators in Game of the Stanley Cup Final to 5 take a 3-2 lead. Pittsburgh will have a chance to become the first franchise to win back-to-back Championships since Detroit in when the series shifts back to 1998 Nashville for Game 6 on Sunday night. Still lot of work "a to be done but the way we played tonight, if we can build off that momentum that s important Crosby said", "after collecting three" assists. We know we re going to be facing "a desperate team." One that can "t get back to the creature comforts of Smashville fast enough. The Penguins chased Pekka Rinne with a three-goal barrage in the first period and kept it going against backup Juuse Saros to push the Predators to the brink of elimination for the first time dur Ing their run to the final. "I don t know if anybody shakes" off a game like that that quickly Nashville coach Peter Laviolette "said." Nobody feels good leaving the building playing the way we did. cheap jerseys hockey All good mojo Rinne "the generated while helping Nashville rally L Predators in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final to take a 3-2 lead. Pittsburgh will have a chance to become the first franchise to win back-to-back championships since Detroit in 1998 when the series shifts back to Nashville for Game 6 on Sunday night. ”Still a lot of work to be done but the way we played tonight, if we can build off that momentum, that’s important,” Crosby said after collecting three assists. ”We know we’re going to be facing a desperate team.” One that can’t get back to the creature comforts of Smashville fast enough. The Penguins chased Pekka Rinne with a three-goal barrage in the first period and kept it going against backup Juuse Saros to push the Predators to the brink of elimination for the first time during their run to the final. ”I don’t know if anybody shakes off a game like that that quickly,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. ”Nobody feels good leaving the building playing the way we did.” All the good mojo Rinne generated while helping Nashville rally to tie the series at 2 vanished in a span of 20 minutes. Justin Schultz beat Rinne just 91 seconds in , Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin followed before the first period horn sounded, continuing Rinne’s baffling inability to play effectively in Pittsburgh during the series. Rinne has stopped just 34 of the 45 pucks that have come his way during seven forgettable periods at PPG Paints Arena. ”It was just one of those games where they were going and we were trying to find it and didn’t really get it going at any point,” Rinne said. Not that the Penguins gave them much of a chance. Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel – just as linemate Malkin predicted – and 35-year-old playoff newbie Ron Hainsey also scored for Pittsburgh. It was Crosby who sent the message – with his vision, his creativity and, oddly, his fists. The two-time MVP’s eventful night included becoming the franchise’s all-time leading scorer in the Stanley Cup Final, a two-minute roughing penalty for trying to dribble Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban’s head on the ice near the end of the first period and what he said was an inadvertent flip of a water bottle onto the ice during play. ”I think Sid really understands the opportunity that this team has and he’s not taking anything for granted,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. And apparently not taking any more stuff from Subban either. The two stars became tangled up behind the Nashville goal late in the first with Crosby on top. He attempted to extract himself but couldn’t, then unleashed a torrent of punches at Subban’s head. ”He was doing some sort of UFC move on my foot,” Crosby said. ”I don’t know what he was trying to do. … I don’t know what he was trying to do to my ankle. I was in some kind of lock there.” Subban, who claimed Crosby was complaining about Subban’s breath during a Game 3 run-in, just kind of sat there and took it. The exchange ended with both players heading to the dressing room with minor penalties. They watched on TV as Malkin’s wrist shot with 10 seconds left in the first gave Pittsburgh a 3-0 edge it never came close to giving up. ”That is, hands down, the best game that we’ve played in this series to this point,” Sullivan said. Saros hardly fared any better. Sheary took a pretty feed from Crosby and sent it by Saros 1:19 into the second to push Pittsburgh’s lead to four. Kessel ended a six-game goal. 
Drought 8:02 into the second. The score had been predicted by Malkin and it came just seconds after Crosby threw a water bottle onto the ice as the play went by Pittsburgh s bench a move ", he told referees was unintentional. When Hainsey who waited games before reaching the 907 regular-season playoffs for the first time this season, tapped in a pass from Malkin to make it 6-0, the stage was set for the Penguins to return to familiar territory. The franchise has won all four of its Cups on the road. A shot at a fifth awaits Sunday though it hardly be easy." ll "It" s a good game but it s still not "done". Malkin said. "We still need one more game one more win. The Predators are 9-1 at" home in the playoffs a place they will Need to be a haven once again if they want to extend their improbable Cup run back to Pittsburgh. The real hockey starts now "," Subban said. "You" re in the Cup final, this is what it all about. It 's' s about going back and forth. Matt Murray finished "NOTES: with 24 N drought 8:02 into the second. The score had been predicted by Malkin and it came just seconds after Crosby threw a water bottle onto the ice as the play went by Pittsburgh’s bench, a move he told referees was unintentional. Green Dallas Stars jerseys When Hainsey, who waited 907 regular-season games before reaching the playoffs for the first time this season, tapped in a pass from Malkin to make it 6-0, the stage was set for the Penguins to return to familiar territory. The franchise has won all four of its Cups on the road. A shot at a fifth awaits Sunday, though it’ll hardly be easy. ”It’s a good game but it’s still not done,” Malkin said. ”We still need one more game, one more win.” The Predators are 9-1 at home in the playoffs, a place they will need to be a haven once again if they want to extend their improbable Cup run back to Pittsburgh. ”The real hockey starts now,” Subban said. ”You’re in the Cup final, this is what it’s all about. It’s about going back and forth.” NOTES: Matt Murray finished with 24 saves. … Crosby now has 20 career points in the Stanley Cup Final, a new franchise record and one more than team owner Mario Lemieux. … Crosby also moved into a tie with Denis Potvin for 19th on the all-time career playoff scoring list. … The team that has won Game 5 in a 2-2 series has gone on to win the Cup 71 percent (17 of 24) of the time since 1939. … The teams combined for 100 penalty minutes (58 for Nashville, 42 for Pittsburgh). … Guentzel’s assist moved him into a tie with Dino Ciccarelli and Ville Leino for the most playoff points by a rookie in NHL history (21). … Penguins F Nick Bonino missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury. … Nashville F Colin Wilson made his series debut after missing the first four games with an undisclosed injury. Wilson skated on the fourth line with Frederick Gaudreau and Harry Zolnierczyk. — More AP NHL: http://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockeyNHL Expansion Draft: Montreal Canadiens Expansion Protection Strategy The Montreal Canadiens are the latest team to get their individual NHL Expansion Draft strategy explained. Check out division rival Florida’shere.The Montreal Canadiens will be exploring their NHL Expansion Draft strategy all throughout this month. They’ve been doing it probably since last June.Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien watches play from behind the bench (Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports)D Jan Rutta agrees to 1-year deal with Chicago Blackhawks CHICAGO (AP) The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to a one-year deal with Czech defenseman Jan Rutta. The 26-year-old Rutta set career highs with 24 assists and 32 points in 46 games with the Czech Extraliga’s Pirati Chomutov. He also played in this year’s world championship, finishing with a goal in eight games. General manager Stan Bowman says Rutta ”makes our defense more dynamic and he has shown he can contribute offensively as well.” The Blackhawks announced the deal Wednesday.Blowouts more common than close games in Stanley Cup Final Charles Barkley and hockey fans across the country have tuned in to watch the Stanley Cup Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, no matter the score – and the score hasn’t always been close. Barkley said the NHL playoffs were more entertaining than the NBA’s, and ratings are up considerably from a year ago when the Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks in six games. But Pittsburgh’s 6-0 win in. Game 5 was the second true blowout of the series and the fourth decided by three or more goals. Only three games were decided by three goals or more in the Final over the previous five years. The home team has won each of the first five games of the Final for just the 12th time since the NHL went to a best-of-seven series in the final round in and for the first 1939, time since 2011. Nashville won games by 4-1 and 5-1, but the Penguins victory on Thursday night to "take a 3-2 series lead was by far the most lopsided game of the Final. It was the fifth 6-goal beating in Cup Final history, meaning the game tied for the seventh-biggest blowout on record in this round. It wasn t the worst blowout of" this postseason, though there; were two 7-0 routs, including a Pittsburgh win over Ottawa in the Eastern Conference final. No matter how the ice has tilted one way or another, this Final has earned some extra attention for the Nashville hockey effect with catfish and country music artists, frod Game 5 was the second true blowout of the series and the fourth decided by three or more goals. Only three games were decided by three goals or more in the Final over the previous five years. The home team has won each of the first five games of the Final for just the 12th time since the NHL went to a best-of-seven series in the final round in 1939, and for the first time since 2011. Nashville won games by 4-1 and 5-1, but the Penguins’ victory on Thursday night to take a 3-2 series lead was by far the most lopsided game of the Final. It was the fifth 6-goal beating in Cup Final history, meaning the game tied for the seventh-biggest blowout on record in this round. It wasn’t the worst blowout of this postseason, though; there were two 7-0 routs, including a Pittsburgh win over Ottawa in the Eastern Conference final. No matter how the ice has tilted one way or another, this Final has earned some extra attention for the Nashville hockey effect with catfish and country music artists, from surprise anthem singers to Carrie Underwood, the wife of Predators captain Mike Fisher. Then there’s the attraction of the Penguins looking to become the first team to repeat as Cup champions since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. NBC Sports reported an average of 4.23 million viewers through the first four games of the final, up 24 percent from last year. ”The playoffs in hockey have been amazing,” said Barkley, who accepted commissioner Gary Bettman’s invitation to attend Game 4 in Nashville. ”I’m not breaking earth-shattering news: The NBA Playoffs have not been very good. The best thing about my job is when I’m in work for two straight months, like the NHL playoffs, I’m in a room with 20 televisions. I watch pretty much every single hockey game.” The Penguins and Predators have provided plenty of drama, from the roller-coaster play of Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne to the running feud between Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby and P.K. Subban. But there’s still at least one more chance for the teams to provide a one-goal game or maybe even some overtime, which had been on pace to break the all-time record for a single postseason through three rounds. — More AP NHL: http://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockeyCalgary Flames Make Bid in Alex Ovechkin Trade Breeze NHL Fans, Especially Washington Capitals Fans, Would All Probably Laugh Off the Rumor of Trading Washington’s Star, Alexander Ovechkin, But the Laughable Idea Might Have Some Ground. Rumors Say That the Calgary Flames Are the First Team to Make a Bid For Ovi.Alex Ovechkin is known, by everyone, as the star of the Washington Capitals. cheap Sharp jersey Ovechkin has always been regarded as one of the NHL’s best players and has been prized in Washington, but that isn’t enough to definitively rule out a trade.The Capitals have recently revealed that there is currently no player who is safe from being traded. Washington wants to win and the desire to take home the Stanley Cup outweighs the need for the star forward. Not to mention, despite Ovechkin’s star status, he has yet to bring the team the Stanley Cup, so, perhaps they might try winning it without him.Calgary Flames Make OfferIn the midst of the revelation that the Capitals would consider moving their star player, the Calgary Flames step in to make their first bid for the NHL great.According to theDelfi website, a Russian news site where the rumor was revealed, the Flames reportedly offered the Capitals d-man Oliver Kylington, center Sam Bennett and two first round.