Game 2 is Wednesday - the Predators will happily take a repeat of the lion's share of their Monday first-period play again Wednesday.
And though Jake Guentzel's goal with 3 minutes, 17 seconds left proved to be the victor, in effect it was the three goals in the first period that won the game for the Penguins and lost it for the Predators.
Guentzel might have been leading the playoffs in goals entering the night, but he hadn't scored since Game 6 against the Washington Capitals (eight games). The goal with 16.1 seconds remaining in the opening period was credited to Nick Bonino after he put the puck off Rinne and it went in off Ekholm's knee.
Pittsburgh Penguins' Jake Guentzel, front, watches a goal by teammate Evgeni Malkin in front of Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne during the first period in Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final, Monday, May 29, 2017, in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins, still without a shot since the first period, went on the power play later in the third, after a delay of game call on P.K. Subban for putting the puck over the glass.
"I think Jake's game has been really good", said Sullivan. "We had a good first, we had a awful second and we were bad in the third". "We've got to do a lot of the little things better".
Taking a page from the Detroit Red Wings' time-honored octopi-throwing tradition, Predators fans have made it a tradition to throw catfish on the ice in Nashville.
In the third period, the Preds added two goals, one from Colton Sissons and another from Frederick Guadreau to tie the game at 3-3. Rinne stopped seven shots.
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"There's a lot of aspects of his game other than just his ability to score goals that help our team win".
But Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan had faith in the rookie winger.
"We didn't do a great job of (shooting), but we made them count", Crosby said. But they allowed three goals in the first period for just the fourth time this season, and now they trail for the first time in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
But the Penguins had one last push as Jake Guentzel scored the game victor after the team went almost 37 minutes without a single shot on the goal.
The squishy mass went splat at the blue line - and thankfully nobody anxious about challenging whether it was offside.
Nashville barely had time to digest this before the entire game got away from them. A lengthy review indicated Forsberg's right skate was in the air as he brought the puck into a zone, a no-no.
The Predators had the game's first five shots on goal and the better of the play. Nashville was utterly dominant, holding the Penguins without a shot on net over 20 minutes.
Pittsburgh built a quick 3-0 lead thanks to a fortunate bounce and some quick thinking by Penguins video coordinator Andy Saucier.
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