Stanley Cup Final Schedule 2017: Predators vs. Penguins Game 2 TV Info, Pick

The Stanley Cup Final got off to one of the strangest starts Monday when the Pittsburgh Penguins escaped with a 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators despite being outplayed and outshot throughout the game.

The Penguins scored their five goals on just 12 shots, and it's clear that the Preds need goalie Pekka Rinne to have a bounce-back game Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena.

That seems quite likely because Rinne has been the Predators' best player throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs, and he is certainly capable of putting together an excellent performance. Rinne comes into Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final with a 1.83 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage.

In addition to holding the Penguins to the lowest shot total in a Stanley Cup Final game for any team that was victorious, the Preds kept their hosts from registering a shot on goal from the start of the second period until Jake Guentzel scored the go-ahead goal with less than four minutes to play in the final period.

Their strong territorial play and defensive work allowed Nashville to crawl out of a 3-0 hole and tie the game in the third period. Once the Preds tied the score, it seemed they had all the momentum and it would be just a matter of time before they scored the winning goal. Guentzel's wicked shot to the upper portion of the net prevented that from happening.

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Predators head coach Peter Laviolette knows that his team can compete on even terms with the defending Stanley Cup champions, but his team must tighten things up if they are going to even up the series before they return home Saturday night to the Bridgestone Arena for Game 3 of the series.

"We know we can play better ourselves still," Laviolette said, per Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com. "It's one of those situations where if it was good, it wasn't good enough. We've got to get wins. We have to find a way to cut out one of those goals or create one more scoring chance. Such a game of inches right now."

Look for Nashville to attack right from the start in Game 2, with the hope of getting the early lead and dictating the pace rather than being forced to play come-from-behind hockey.

Look for Nashville's attacking blue liners to help the forwards out once again and press the issue. Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi, P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm have provided consistent offense from the back end, and that is not likely to stop in the Stanley Cup Final. Those four players have combined for 42 points in 17 postseason games.

Center Filip Forsberg leads the Predators with 17 points, and he has been getting help from Colton Sissons (11 points) and Viktor Arvidsson (10 points).

The Penguins may not have been at their best in Game 1, but they still came out with the victory and they are fully capable of playing much better in Game 2. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are two of the best centers in the world, and both are capable of taking over any game, including one in Stanley Cup Final

Those two have combined for 47 points in the postseason, while Guentzel leads all postseason scorers with 10 goals.

The Penguins and Predators will face off at 8 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised by NBCSN. The Penguins are minus-141 favorites to win Game 2, according to OddsShark. That means a bettor would have to risk $141 to win $100 by placing his money on Pittsburgh. The Preds are plus-128 underdogs.

For the series, the Penguins are minus-240 favorites heading into Game 2, while the Predators are plus-200 underdogs.

Prediction

The Preds were victimized by some poor luck in the opener, considering the wide edge they had in possession and territorial play. However, the Penguins took advantage of their opportunities, and they are not apologizing to anyone for "stealing" Game 1.

Pittsburgh should play much better in Game 2, and this should be a tight and exciting game. This should be back-and-forth throughout, with neither team having more than a one-goal lead at any point.

However, the Penguins are the defending champions for a reason, and they will get the job done late in the third period or overtime, and they will take a 2-0 edge when the series resumes Saturday night in Nashville.