Chipped Ice A.M.: With hockey fever infecting Nashville, raucous atmosphere awaits Penguins

Editor's note: Visit triblive.com for the Chipped Ice A.M. report every morning the Penguins play or practice throughout their series with the Predators.

A warning to Penguins fans who might be thinking about making the 560-mile drive to Nashville for the next two games of the Stanley Cup Final: Make sure to check out the ticket situation and your checking account balance before hitting the road.

The cheapest seat for Game 3 on Saturday night was going for $1,030 on the secondary market as of Friday morning. Sellers are asking for more than $4,000 for some prime seating locations in the lower bowl.

Cup Fever has hit Music City hard.

The Nashville media buzzes over whispers about who will be the next country superstar to perform the national anthem at Predators games. The hot rumor, incidentally, is that Martina McBride will perform before Game 3 Saturday night, joining a list that already includes Carrie Underwood, Lady Antelbellum, Little Big Town, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Kelly Clarkson and Trisha Yearwood.

The entertainment district that surrounds Bridgestone Arena teems with fans, even those who haven't purchased expensive tickets. Alan Jackson, for instance, will play a free concert before Saturday night's game.

Nashville has been a successful hockey market for a while now, shrugging off talk of relocation to Hamilton in 2007 to average more than 16,000 fans per game at the 17,000-seat building for each of the last six seasons. Now, though, the excitement level is reaching new heights.

"It's going to be electric," said center Matt Cullen, who played two seasons with the Predators before joining the Penguins. "That's a pretty passionate fan base. You see watching the games, when we're on the road or wherever, you see the energy in the building. It's loud. And they feed off of it. It's going to be a challenge, and we're going to have to be ready."

The Predators have used their home-ice effectively in the playoffs, going 7-1 with their only loss coming to Anaheim in overtime. The Penguins, meanwhile, are a thoroughly average 5-4 on the road in the postseason.

The Predators could use a morale boost. They've outshot and generally outplayed the Penguins for long stretches of the first two games of the series, only to come up empty.

"Seeing how it's progressed from round to round, and to be in the finals at this point, to see the excitement around the city, the excitement of our fan base, I'm sure it's going to be a great atmosphere," coach Peter Laviolette said. "I know our guys enjoy playing at home. We've had good success here. Those are all positive things for our team."

From a matchup perspective, neither team is likely to change the way its personnel is deployed much now that Laviolette will have the last change for the next two games.

Sidney Crosby's line was out against the defense pair of Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis for most of the first two games. Evgeni Malkin's line saw a lot of P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm.

Those look like matchups the Predators would prefer, but since coach Mike Sullivan hasn't done much to avoid them in his home games, it's evident that he's OK with them too.

More than managing matchups, the challenge for the Penguins probably lies more in managing momentum in a raucous road venue.

Evgeni Malkin saw a lot of P.K. Subban during the first two games of the series. Photo by Chaz Palla

"It's all how you handle it," Cullen said. "I think if you handle (road games) the right way, regardless of which side you're on, it can make it fun. That's the best part of the playoffs, the energy and electricity in every building, home or away.

"I think if you can find a way to just thrive on it and enjoy it and make the most of it — we're just going to focus on what we have here and continue to work towards our best game. We haven't seen our best game yet, and we need to continue going in that direction."

As for fans who might be scared away by the rich ticket prices, Predators general manager David Poile has a message: It's worth it.

"You should put this on your bucket list if you don't have it," Poile said. "Right now we are the No. 1 entertainment city in the United States for music and now hockey. Our building is the loudest. These are all clichés, but it's all true. Our building is fabulous. The entertainment package that we have, both on the ice with our team and off the ice with everything that goes into a game presentation at Bridgestone Arena, is second to none.

"I'm not working for the chamber of commerce, but I'm telling you, you and your friends would never regret a visit to Nashville to see a game."

•••

THE SERIES: Penguins lead, 2-0

LAST GAME: A three-goal Penguins outburst in the first four minutes of the third period doomed the Predators to a 4-1 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

NEXT GAME: Coach Peter Laviolette has refused to name a starting goaltender for Game 3 at 8 p.m. Saturday. It would be a shock if it weren't Pekka Rinne, despite his struggles in the first two games of the series.

A NOTE: Jake Guentzel scored the game-winning goal in each of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's just the second player to do so since 1967 expansion. The other was Mario Lemieux in 1992.

A QUOTE: "It's an exciting place to play. I think we have to embrace the energy that's going to be in the city and in the building." — coach Mike Sullivan

A NUMBER: 3 — consecutive games with a point for Conor Sheary, a career postseason high