The Latest: Penguins rout Predators 6-0 to take 3-2 Cup lead
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Latest on Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final (all times local):
10:55 p.m.
Six different players scored and Sidney Crosby had three assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins chased Pekka Rinne and blew out the Nashville Predators 6-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the series and move one win away from a second consecutive title.
Justin Schultz, Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin, Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel and Ron Hainsey scored for the defending champions, who got 24 saves from goaltender Matt Murray. Rinne got the hook after allowing three goals on nine shots in the first period, and Nashville backup Juuse Saros didn't fare much better, giving up three goals in relief.
Crosby put on a dominant performance from his first shift, aside from a scuffle with Predators defenseman P.K. Subban and an incident where he threw a water bottle onto the ice. After combining for zero points in Games 3 and 4, Malkin had a goal and an assist and Kessel a goal and two assists. The final score tied for the seventh-biggest blowout in Cup Final history.
Game 6 is Sunday night in Nashville.
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9:53 p.m.
Ron Hainsey has made it 6-0 Penguins over the Predators late in the second period of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The veteran defenseman who hadn't appeared in the playoffs until this spring scored into a wide-open net after a pass from Conn Smythe Trophy candidate Evgeni Malkin that went through the legs of Nashville's P.K. Subban. Hainsey's second goal of the playoffs came 16:40 into the period.
Predators backup goaltender Juuse Saros has allowed three goals on 10 shots after replacing Pekka Rinne, who allowed three goals on nine shots before getting the hook.
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9:47 p.m.
The absence of Ryan Ellis has added injury to an insulting night for the Predators in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Penguins.
The valuable Nashville defenseman left the ice in pain early the second period and has not returned. Ellis has skated only two shifts in the second, a big loss for the Predators as they trail 5-0 and are well on their way to falling behind 3-2 in the series.
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9:36 p.m.
Sidney Crosby has avoided two penalties in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Crosby didn't get an extra roughing penalty for slamming P.K. Subban's head on the ice in the first period and officials missed the Penguins captain throwing a water bottle onto the ice during the second period as Pittsburgh opened a 5-0 lead.
Crosby looked to be upset that there wasn't a penalty called on Nashville and sent a water bottle flying . Phil Kessel scored not long after that.
Crosby chatted with an official from the bench, appearing to indicate he didn't mean to throw the bottle.
The series is tied 2-2. Game 6 is Sunday in Nashville.
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9:31 p.m.
Evgeni Malkin was right and the rout is on: The Penguins lead the Predators 5-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final after a second-period goal by Phil Kessel.
Malkin said Kessel would score, and the right winger did it 8:02 into the period. Pittsburgh has two goals on seven shots against Nashville backup Juuse Saros, who replaced Pekka Rinne at the start of the period.
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9:20 p.m.
Pittsburgh is threatening to turn Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final into a rout.
Conor Sheary scored 1:19 into the second period to make it 4-0 over Nashville. He scored on Pittsburgh's first shot against backup Juuse Saros, who replaced Pekka Rinne at the intermission. Rinne has a 5.41 goals-against average and .766 save percentage in parts of three road games this series. He allowed three goals on nine shots in the first period.
It's Saros' second appearance of the series after coming in late in Game 2.
The series is tied 2-2. Game 6 is Sunday in Nashville.
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9 p.m.
It's all Penguins after the first period of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. They lead the Predators 3-0 after 20 minutes.
Evgeni Malkin scored with 10.2 seconds left, another three-goal period for Pittsburgh at home after doing so in Game 1. Malkin's 10th goal of the playoffs came with the teams skating 4-on-4.
Justin Schultz scored on the power play 1:31 in and Bryan Rust added another at even strength less than six minutes later.
The Penguins have again gotten to Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne. After allowing just two goals in 119:25 of ice time during wins in Games 3 and 4 at home, Rinne allowed three in the first 6:43 of Game 5 on the road and another late when Malkin beat him.
Penguins goaltender Matt Murray, who has not lost three consecutive games in his NHL career, has stopped all nine shots he's faced.
Nashville scored three times in the second period of Game 1 to even things up before losing 5-3. The series is tied 2-2. Game 6 is Sunday in Nashville.
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8:39 p.m.
Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne might be having flashbacks after allowing two goals on the first six Penguins shots, falling behind 2-0 early in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Rinne allowed three first-period goals in a span of 4:11 in Game 1. Pittsburgh's two goals came 5:12 apart early in Game 5, on the power play from Justin Schultz and at even strength from Bryan Rust.
Midway through the first period of Game 5, the Penguins have six shots to the Predators' four.
The series is tied 2-2. Game 6 is Sunday in Nashville.
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8:31 p.m.
It is 2-0 Pittsburgh less than seven minutes into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against Nashville.
Bryan Rust scored 6:43 into the first period, beating Pekka Rinne on a backhander while driving toward the net. It's his seventh goal of the playoffs.
Justin Schultz opened the scoring with a power-play goal just 1:31 into the game.
The series is tied 2-2. Game 6 is Sunday in Nashville.
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8:23 p.m.
Justin Schultz has given the Penguins a 1-0 lead on the Predators with a power-play goal just 1:31 into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Schultz's shot from the point went through the legs of Nashville forward Auston Wilson and goaltender Pekka Rinne.
A holding penalty on Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis 50 seconds in gave the Penguins the power play.
Moments earlier, a Predators fan had thrown a catfish on to the ice. The catfish have become the unofficial mascot of the series as Nashville fans have taken to throwing it like Detroit Red Wings fans with octopi.
It didn't help the Predators in the opening minutes as the Penguins controlled the play and drew the penalty.
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8:05 p.m.
Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is a can't-miss show and not just for Penguins and Predators fans in Pittsburgh.
The Predators say their watch party at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville was sold out almost an hour before puck drop, with thousands of fans inside . The team directed fans to watch the pivotal game in the 2-2 series on screens outside.
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7:45 p.m.
Penguins center Nick Bonino is not on the ice for warmups prior to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Predators and is and out again. It's the third consecutive game he has missed with a left foot or ankle injury.
Bonino took a shot from Nashville's P.K. Subban during Game 2. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan has called him a game-time decision since.
Colin Wilson is expected to play for the Predators after missing the first three games of the series.
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7:05 p.m.
All eyes are on goaltenders Pekka Rinne and Matt Murray going into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final as the Predators visit the Penguins.
Rinne returns to Pittsburgh, where he was shelled in the first two games of the series and is 0-5 with a 4.85 goals-against average and .833 save percentage over his NHL career. Murray, on the other hand, is coming off two consecutive losses and has never lost three in a row since entering the NHL.
After back-to-back losses, Murray is 5-0 with a 1.77 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.
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6:30 p.m.
Two consecutive victories don't give coach Peter Laviolette belief that his Nashville Predators have momentum against the Pittsburgh Penguins going into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. But he does believe they have an advantage with the series down to a best-of-three and two of the games of the road.
"If you've got a team that has momentum and a team that's got desperation, for me anyway, the scarier team is the one that's got desperation," Laviolette said. "They still have home ice. Desperation should probably still fall on our side here where we know we've got to win a game in Pittsburgh. We know we've got to win one road game and then a home game to boot."
The Predators outscored the Penguins 9-1 in the past two games. They also have a 123-91 shot lead in the Cup Final.
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4:40 p.m.
Colin Wilson could be back in the Nashville Predators' lineup for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Wilson took part in the team's morning skate at PPG Paints Arena and came off before P.A. Parenteau, who said he would not play. Wilson missed the first four games of the series with an unspecified lower-body injury.
The 27-year-old forward scored 12 goals in the regular season for Nashville.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan confirmed that Matt Murray would remain in goal and said that center Nick Bonino was a game-time decision. Bonino has missed the past two games after taking a shot to the left foot or ankle.
The series was tied 2-2.
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