NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It had been a while since the Penguins played here, but they were quickly reminded of why the locals like to call this place Smashville.
The Nashville Predators pounded them for three periods Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena. Sidney Crosby, a tough guy to topple, had to pick himself up off the ice a few times. Jake Guentzel will probably still be feeling one particular Mattias Ekholm hit Wednesday. John Marino got hit more times than a tackling dummy.
To their credit, the Penguins played through that punishment. But they had a hard time getting near Nashville’s All-Star goalie. And two mental miscues cost them in a 4-1 loss at Bridgestone Arena that snapped a two-game winning streak.
The Penguins entered Tuesday with the NHL’s best road record and were 8-1-1 in their last 10 road games, allowing two goals or fewer in seven of them.
The Penguins had life in their legs in the first period and limited Predators chances until the final seconds. Teddy Blueger lost a defensive-zone draw and the Penguins, hoping to get saved by the bell, scrambled and flopped in front of DeSmith. Ekholm finished off a tic-tac-toe play with only 1.5 seconds on the clock.
Last-minute goals like that, especially after a good period, can be deflating. But the Penguins came out strong again in the second. Staring at an empty net, Kris Letang rang the crossbar on a power play. Moments later, Guentzel tied it.
On his previous shift, Guentzel got drilled by Ekholm and slowly drifted back to the bench. For about two minutes, he hunched over in pain. But his next time over the boards, he beat Juuse Saros on a set play off of a Crosby faceoff win.
The Predators soon pulled away, though, with two goals 83 seconds apart.
Tanner Jeannot tipped one in a minute and a half after Guentzel’s goal. Then Eeli Tolvanen beat DeSmith on a breakaway that occurred after new defensive partners Kris Letang and Mike Matheson nearly collided at Nashville’s blue line.
It was that kind of night for Letang, who made a marvelous pass to set up Guentzel but was out of position on Ekholm’s goal and gave up two breakaways. He also took a needless penalty in the third period as the Penguins tried to rally back.
The 34-year-old defenseman was worthy of Norris Trophy consideration in the first half of the season. But he has been up and down since February started.
Midway through the third period, Kasperi Kapanen pulled away from the pack on a breakaway, a rarity for him the last few months. But Saros, a potential Vezina pick, shut down the speedy winger. Kapanen still has not scored since Jan. 23.
After the Predators added an empty-netter, Saros stuffed Blueger in front in the final minute. The 5-foot-11 dynamo finished the game with 35 saves.
DeSmith wasn’t bad down at the other end but on Tuesday couldn’t come up with the timely saves that he had provided the Penguins these last few weeks.
DeSmith was between the pipes for the first time in 11 days. In his last start, back on March 4, he made 39 saves to steal a point at Carolina. After that performance, he was 3-0-2 with a .933 save percentage in his last six appearances.
The Predators finished the game with 36 hits – 22 more than the Penguins.
Tuesday was the first time the Penguins played the Predators since late 2019.
Crosby had a health scare in the first period. He took an awkward tumble behind the Nashville net then Ekholm accidentally stepped on Crosby in the left elbow area. The captain looked to be in discomfort as he headed to the dressing room and the sleeve of his jersey was sliced. But he returned a few minutes later.
The Penguins will continue their three-game road trip Thursday in St. Louis.
