Jake Guentzel scores twice as Penguins rout Nashville for 2-0 series lead

It's become a specialty of the Penguins during their Stanley Cup playoff run this spring.

Breaking goaltenders.

Jake Guentzel, Scott Wilson and Evgeni Malkin torched Pekka Rinne in the first four minutes of the third period, breaking open a close game and leading the Penguins to a 4-1 victory in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night.

The Penguins have won the first two games of the series. Game 3 is set for Saturday night in Nashville.

"We need to play smart next game. It's not over," Malkin said. "We understand Nashville's a great team."

Rinne was the odds-on favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP heading into the final series. He was pulled after stopping 21 of 25 shots in Game 2. He allowed four goals on 11 shots in the opener.

His save percentage for the series is .778.

In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Penguins took Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky, the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie this year, and Washington's Braden Holtby, who won the award last season, and made them look ordinary.

"I think that's the worst thing you can do, think about who's in net and whether they're up for awards or not," Wilson said. "I think we've done a pretty good job of frustrating those really good goalies."

The victimization of Rinne on Wednesday started in earnest 10 seconds into the third period. He kicked a rebound of a Bryan Rust shot from the right wing to Guentzel in the slot for his second goal of the game and 12th goal of the playoffs.

In NHL history, only one rookie — Minnesota's Dino Ciccarelli with 14 in 1981 — has scored more goals in one postseason.

"He's amazing," Malkin said. "Some games, he plays quiet. You don't see him, but at the right time, he's here. He's a great shooter guy. ... He's very smart. If he has a small chance, he scores."

The surge continued with two goals in 15 seconds a few minutes later. A puck banked in off defender Vern Fiddler on a two-on-one rush by Phil Kessel and Wilson at 3:13. Malkin scored on an odd-man rush with Kessel at 3:28.

"We score one, we not stop," Malkin said. "We want to score more. First shift in third period we score. We want more. It's our game. Never stop."

The early part of the game was dominated by officiating, with five minor penalties called and a hit from behind on Matt Cullen by Matt Irwin that went unpenalized.

The Penguins scored four seconds after a power play ended when Rinne failed to seal the post and Guentzel backhanded in the rebound of a Conor Sheary shot.

The Predators took a 1-0 lead about four minutes earlier when Pontus Aberg beat Olli Maatta with a one-on-one move up the left wing and lifted a shot over a fallen Matt Murray.

The Penguins goalie was at his busiest in the final 39 seconds of the period, stopping everything during a seven-shot Predators flurry. Murray also was stout when the Predators started to turn up the heat in the second period, stopping all 14 shots he faced.

The Predators had a 32-19 advantage in shots after two periods.

"I wouldn't say we stole a game," Sheary said. "I thought we played pretty well. I don't think the shot clock was indicative of how the game was played."

Tempers flared after the Penguins took a three-goal lead, with one post-whistle scrum culminating in a fight between Malkin and Nashville's P.K. Subban with less than eight minutes left.

Malkin now leads the league in postseason scoring with 26 points and penalty minutes with 47.

"I don't like that, that fight," Malkin said. "We hold each other for one minute. I don't want to fight with Subban. I talk to (Mattias) Ekholm. He's like cross-checking me after the whistle. I'm upset, and I come to him and Subban's jumping me. It's fine. I forget that. I'm ready for next game."

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.