Three Periods: An inside look at the Penguins-Predators series

FIRST

BALANCING ACT

In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, balance was back.

As the game progressed, Phil Kessel was dropped from his normal spot on the second line with center Evgeni Malkin to the third line with center Nick Bonino. All told, Kessel played about seven even-strength minutes with Malkin and five with Bonino.

It's easy to see why coach Mike Sullivan took this approach. Nashville's third defense pair of Matt Irwin with Yannick Weber, while not bad by any means, is significantly weaker than the top two pairs of Roman Josi with Ryan Ellis and P.K. Subban with Mattias Ekholm.

Splitting up Malkin and Kessel maximizes the shifts a Penguins star spends on the ice with a bottom-pair Nashville defenseman.

SECOND

BOUNCING BACK

The Penguins generally performed poorly despite a 5-3 victory in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. They are a team that is exceptionally good at bouncing back from bad games under Sullivan, going 13-2 after a playoff loss the last two seasons.

Therefore, it would be reasonable to predict a strong showing from the home team in Game 2 of the series Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena.

There's only one problem with that theory: Nashville was the team that actually lost the game, and the Predators are really good at bouncing back from losses too. They're 4-0 immediately following a defeat this postseason.

“Sometimes when you struggle, you have to work through things,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. “By overcoming struggles, you can gain confidence from that.”

THIRD

RINNE'S STRUGGLES

Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne, a five-time all-star and three-time Vezina Trophy finalist, has had a long and successful career. One thing he's never done, though, is start and win a game against the Penguins.

In his career, Rinne is 1-6-2 with a 3.63 goals-against average and .868 save percentage against the Penguins. His lone win came in a relief appearance in 2009.

Ugly as they are, the stats don't seem to have Laviolette fazed headed into Game 2, however.

“I think Pekka is a competitor. He's ready to go,” Laviolette said. “He was ready to go last game. He'll be ready next game as well.”