Predators rally but stumble near finish of Game 1 loss to Penguins

PITTSBURGH — Hockey has a randomness to it. Whether you find that appealing or infuriating depends on what side of the bounce you fall on.

If a team went 37 minutes without a shot and blew a three-goal lead within that period of time, you'd assume they'd lose. Then again, this is the NHL. Conventional wisdom has no place. 

The Predators, outside of a nearly 13-minute pocket in the first period, introduced themselves with panache on the sport's biggest stage in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.

So why did it feel so predictable that the Pittsburgh Penguins scored the decisive goal in a 5-3 victory on their first shot in almost two periods?

“Nothing surprises me in this game anymore, honestly,” said Predators forward Colton Sissons, whose power-play goal was part of the team's late-game surge. 

The lead-up to the Stanley Cup Final acted as a crash course in all things Nashville. Who are the Predators? Where did they come from? How did they get here?

►REXRODE:A few lost plays cost Predators in Game 1

Many answers apply, but resiliency is among the first that comes to mind. No deficit or season-ending injury has been too large to conquer, and Monday reinforced that. 

An overturned Predators goal in the first period, determined to be narrowly offside after a Penguins-initiated challenge, awakened Pittsburgh. The Penguins scored three goals in 4:11, the last of which ricocheted into the net off Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm's right knee.

"The impact of that moment and the chain of events that happened after that changed the course of the game," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. 

Nashville wasn't fazed by its first three-goal deficit this postseason. In the second period, the Predators became the first team in Stanley Cup Final history to hold an opponent without a shot on goal in a period since the league began tracking the statistic in 1957-58. 

►RELATED:Who threw the catfish on the ice in Pittsburgh?

Players were unaware of exactly how long they held their Pittsburgh counterparts without a shot, but they knew that they'd eventually be rewarded for their pushback. 

"We've shown some character throughout the playoffs, not giving up and always believing in ourselves no matter the scoreboard," Sissons said. "We were in a hole there 3-0. We just believed that we were going to come back, and we did it."

It fell incomplete, though. Penguins forward Jake Guentzel broke his team's drought with a quick-release wrist shot that flew over Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne's shoulder. 

"It was a challenging night," Rinne said. "Of course it's different when it's a night when you're facing a lot of shots. But at the end of the day, it's my job to make the save. At the end of the game, I'm disappointed I couldn't help my team."

The Predators experienced a few firsts Monday, including their first series deficit this postseason. They are prepared to respond Wednesday. 

►RELATED:Thousands head downtown to cheer on Predators

“We’ll stay up," Predators captain Mike Fisher said. "We’ve stayed positive regardless of situations because we know we’ve got to play a certain way, to play to our strengths and our identity.

"Whether we’re up or down, that doesn’t change how we play. I think you saw that tonight when we were down 3-0. This team just doesn’t give up."

Reach Adam Vingan at avingan@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamVingan.

PREDATORS vs. PENGUINS

Penguins lead Stanley Cup Final 1-0

All games start at 7 p.m. CT and broadcast on 102.5-FM

Game 1: Pittsburgh 5, Nashville 3

Wednesday: at Pittsburgh (NBC SN)

Saturday: at Nashville (NBC SN)

Monday: at Nashville (NBC)

x — June 8: at Pittsburgh (NBC)

x — June 11: at Nashville (NBC)

x — June 14: at Pittsburgh (NBC)

x — if necessary