Penguins take series lead in Stanley Cup

Jun 9, 2017 - 3:25 AM The night started with a catfish throw.

It ended with haymaker after haymaker - both literal and proverbial - from the ever-resilient Pittsburgh Penguins.

The defending champions provided an emphatic and repeated reminder of what makes them such a difficult out in a 6-0 demolition of the Nashville Predators in game five of the Stanley Cup Final to take a 3-2 lead.

Pittsburgh will have a chance to become the first franchise in 19 years to win back-to-back Cups when the series shifts back to Nashville for game six on Sunday night.

The Predators can't get back to Nashville fast enough.

Justin Schultz, Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin scored during a first-period barrage against Pekka Rinne that sent the Nashville goaltender to the bench for the rest of the night, all the good mojo he created during a pair of wins in games three and four gone.

Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel - just as linemate Malkin predicted - and 35-year-old playoff newbie Ron Hainsey also scored for the Penguins

Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby's night included three assists, a two-minute roughing penalty for trying to dribble Nashville defenceman PK Subban's head on the ice near the end of the first period and an flip of a water bottle onto the ice during play.

Matt Murray bounced back from so-so performances during Pittsburgh's lost weekend in Nashville to make 24 stops while also benefiting from a dominant performance by the guys in front of him.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, as he has for each of the last two springs when his team finds itself in a tight spot, pushed all the right buttons again.

He stuck with Murray, reunited Sheary with Crosby and Jake Guentzel, and stressed his team needed to play with urgency but not desperation after the Predators rallied to tie the series by outscoring the Penguins 9-2 during two wins in Nashville.

Source: AAP