There are some who look at the length of the NHL regular season and think it to be ridiculous that each team plays 82 games just to figure out who gets home ice advantage in the playoffs. The Stanley Cup Final is proving that those rankings are incredibly important, as both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators are holding serve in their own buildings. The Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, prompting many to think that the Final might be over before it really begins, but the Predators headed back home and took care of business in their own building, winning both games in rather convincing style.
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The momentum is now very much in the favor of Nashville, but they now need to find a way to win at least one of the remaining 2 games in Pittsburgh, assuming that this series goes the distance. They will get their first chance to do just that on Thursday night when they head into the hostile environment of PPG Paints Arena for Game 5.Here’s A Closer Look At The Predators At Penguins NHL Expert Predictions Game 5
When: Thursday, June 8 at 8 PM EST Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh TV: NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS Live Stream: NHL.TV NHL Odds: Pittsburgh Penguins -1½ (+200)Why bet on the Nashville Predators
The Predators came into the playoffs as an underdog, but it quickly became clear that they might just have the defense and goaltending to take them on a deep run. That is exactly how things have played out, and while the Predators rolled out to a 4-1 win in Game 5, it was not as easy as the score might suggest. Time and again, the Penguins got behind the defense, but could do nothing to solve Pekka Rinne, who made save after save to secure the win. There was always a feeling that Rinne might steal a game or two in this series, and he picked the perfect time to do it in Game 4.
