Stanley Cup Final 2017: Predators vs. Penguins Game 2 Odds, Live-Stream Schedule

The 2017 Stanley Cup final is now underway, and Game 1 featured a little bit of everything.

The Nashville Predators had their first Stanley Cup final goal in franchise history chalked off due to a reviewed offside challenge, only to then score on themselves as part of a three-goal blitz to end the first period. The team then dominated a juggernaut Pittsburgh Penguins and tied the game before losing late.

If this contest is any indication of things to come, then the matchup could turn into a roller-coaster series for the ages. 

With that in mind, let's take a look at the schedule for Game 2, as well as odds and a preview of the pivotal tilt (odds courtesy of OddsShark.com).

Nashville at Pittsburgh Game 2 Schedule, Odds

When: Wednesday, May 31 at 8 p.m. ET

Viewing Info: NBCSN, Live Stream at NBC Sports Live

Odds: Pittsburgh 71/100, Nashville 127/100

Game 2 Preview

Nashville could not have asked for a better opportunity to steal Game 1 on the road, and the Predators blew it.

Despite outshooting Pittsburgh 26-12 and holding the defending Stanley Cup champions without a shot throughout the second period and more, the Predators failed to take an early series lead.

As ESPN's John Buccigross noted, this puts Nashville in a historically difficult position and makes Game 2 even more important:

All is certainly not lost for Nashville, as it dominated play against a championship-level team in a rowdy atmosphere. The Predators looked fresh in their skating, passing and puck possession, which allowed their dynamic defensemen to control the game.

However, Pittsburgh is unlikely to play this poorly again, which makes the loss even more painful for Nashville. With elite superstars Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin leading the charge, the Penguins will come out with much more fluidity offensively en route to greater shot production and extended time on the attack.

Goaltending will also need to improve if this series will end knotted up after Wednesday.

Pekka Rinne entered this matchup as the Conn Smythe favorite after easily leading the postseason in goals-against average and save percentage. In Game 1, he allowed four goals on 11 shots. Conor Sheary's goal off Chris Kunitz's perfect pass and Nashville's own goal were not Rinne's fault, but he could have stepped up on the other two.

Malkin scored with the Predators down two skaters, but Rinne had complete sight of the puck and the shot hit his glove on the way in. Jake Guentzel, as seen below, then squandered Nashville's momentum with a nice, but saveable wrister from the wing. Both of these are stops a guy like Rinne needs to make in a Stanley Cup final situation, but he came up short.

Still, Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette expressed full confidence that Rinne will bounce back on Wednesday, per NHL.com's Tom Gulitti: "We have no question about [Rinne] in net and what he's capable of, and he'll be the backbone of this team." 

On the other side, Matt Murray, while only being 23 years of age to Rinne's 34, showed much greater poise. He was excellent in Game 1, with several key saves as most of the contest was played in his end. Without him, Pittsburgh has no chance of finding a way to steal a win.

That knack for coming up with different ways to get victories is what separates this Penguins team from every other in the league. Even when it plays one of its worst overall postseason games in recent memory, Pittsburgh still makes the necessary plays to prevail.

Such experience, along with the loaded talent throughout the lineup, should make Game 1 a springboard for Pittsburgh to come out flying on Wednesday. For how good Nashville is defensively, its lack of offensive depth, which still resulted in just 26 shots despite total domination on Monday, is going to be a major issue in this series. Expect the Penguins to score enough to take a decisive two-goal lead.

The Predators will not be totally done, even though certain statistics may say otherwise. Nashville can get back in this series at home, where it has won 10 of its last 11 postseason games at Bridgestone Arena.

Statistics are courtesy of NHL.com.