PITTSBURGH -- The goals that came so easily to the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final -- the ones that arrived in bunches and seemed to signal an emphatic end to Pekka Rinne's spectacular playoff run -- have disappeared.
Across six periods in Nashville, the NHL's highest-scoring team managed to beat Rinne just twice as the Predators rallied to tie the series. Yet Penguins coach Mike Sullivan hardly seems frustrated heading into Game 5 on Thursday night back home in Pittsburgh.
Sullivan is 7-0 in series with the Penguins, and the way he sees it, his team's inability to solve Rinne in Games 3 and 4 had little to do with lack of effort or opportunities. It had everything to do with a remarkable performance by the 34-year-old goaltender.
Where do you want to start? With Rinne's no-look left pad stop on Jake Guentzel early in the second period of a tie game on Monday night? Maybe the one about a minute later when Rinne denied Chris Kunitz on a breakaway? Or maybe the diving blocker stop on Guentzel just before the midway point, the one that preserved Nashville's lead on the way to a 4-1 victory?
Sullivan understands it's easy to look at the result and be discouraged. That's not his job. The coach who has made "play the right way" part of the franchise's lexicon is more focused on the process. The Penguins didn't produce much in Games 1 and 2 and somehow won going away. They "got to their game" (another of Sullivan's favorite mantras) repeatedly in Game 4 only to lose.
It's hockey. It happens.
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"We believe that we have some guys that are due to score some goals here," Sullivan said Tuesday. "They've had some high-quality chances, and the puck hasn't gone in the net for the last couple of games. We believe if we continue to try to do the right things out there, we'll score."
Predators: Dog sets tone for team's attacking style
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The instant one of the Pittsburgh Penguins passes the puck to a teammate, one of the Nashville Predators closes in, taking away any time or space to operate.
The junkyard dog approach to hockey for the Stanley Cup Final debutants has a history: It is the Predators' on-ice version of Stanley, the blue mutt with a bone clenched between his teeth. He's the team mascot whose picture is stuck on the Predators' locker-room door, now with two bandages commemorating playoff-ending injuries first to forward Kevin Fiala, then center Ryan Johansen. The dog, its name tag hanging from a spiked collar, bares his teeth in photos on three walls inside, too.
Stanley is the symbol of how coach Peter Laviolette wanted his Predators to play this season. They responded with an attacking, never-stop approach that has helped Nashville go from the last team into the NHL playoffs to one that is two wins from a championship. The Predators are tied 2-2 with the Penguins with Game 5 coming up Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
"We definitely know what our identity is," defenseman P.K. Subban said. "It's kind of the dog-on-a-bone mentality. And we want to dictate the pace of the game, and we want to attack you in all three zones as a five-man unit and be tough to play against. And I think everybody on our team can skate, move the puck and make plays."
Senators: Brassard undergoes shoulder surgery
OTTAWA, Ontario -- Ottawa Senators center Derick Brassard has undergone surgery for a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement that the surgery, performed Tuesday in Cleveland, went as planned, and Brassard will begin a rehabilitation program immediately.
Dorion said that the expected recovery period is four to five months and he is hopeful Brassard will be ready for the start of the regular season.
Brassard, 29, scored 14 goals and added 25 assists for 39 points in 81 regular-season games during his first year with Ottawa. He had four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 19 playoff games.
Red Wings: Glendening out 3-4 months after ankle surgery
DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings center Luke Glendening has had surgery on his left ankle and is expected to be out three to four months.
The team made the announcement Tuesday, a day after he had a procedure for his broken ankle and torn tendons.
Glendening missed the last seven games of the regular season, finishing with three goals and 11 assists. He has 24 goals and 60 points since making his NHL debut with Detroit during the 2013-14 season.
