The visitors struck first, but on this night, that just wasn’t going to fly.

Five different goal-scorers converted for the Nashville Predators as they won their first Stanley Cup Final game in franchise history with a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Three. The result cuts Pittsburgh’s series lead in half, pulling Nashville to within one game of tying the Final after a blowout win at Bridgestone Arena.

It was a complete effort from the Preds, similar to the ones they’ve shown in Games One and Two of the final, minus the defensive lapses that cost Nashville in Pittsburgh. After giving up the first one on Saturday, it was all Predators.

“I thought we played some really good hockey in Pittsburgh for the first two games and didn’t get the bounces that we wanted,” Preds defenseman P.K. Subban said. “We have to give them credit because they found ways to win games. For us falling back 1-0, I thought we did a good job of sticking to the plan. We were playing great from the start, and we did a really good job of battling back into this game. I thought we played a full 60 minutes today.”

A raucous Nashville crowd rose to ear-splitting levels to start the game, but it was the visitors who took advantage early. Jake Guentzel scored his fourth goal of the series just 2:46 into Game Three to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

But then, the second period began. Nashville tallied on three occasions in the middle frame, first courtesy of Roman Josi with a strike on the power play to even the score. Just 42 seconds later, it was Frederick Gaudreau who wristed a shot past the glove of Matt Murray to give the Preds their first lead of the night, and before the stanza was out, it was the former Penguin, James Neal, who poked a puck home with 22 seconds remaining for a two-goal advantage after two periods.

Craig Smith made it 4-1 on a breakaway when he deposited his first of the playoffs, and Mattias Ekholm joined in on the party with his first, a power-play goal to finish out the scoring, the 18th and 19th players to convert for the Predators in the postseason.

Goaltender Pekka Rinne bounced back in Game Three, stopping 27 Pittsburgh shots through 60 minutes, including a marvelous save in the second period on a rebound chance in the slot. That gave another boost to the Nashville crowd after they had already been sent into a frenzy with a 2-0 lead, and after Neal made it 3-1, it was all but sealed.

“It was the same Pekka that everyone’s been talking about for a long time now,” defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “Our belief in him never waivers in this room, and he was unbelievable. That was a huge save in the second that could have been a momentum change. Even that breakaway at the end, the game is 5-1 with a couple of minutes left and he makes another big save. He was lights out again for us.”

Never a Doubt:

Subban was rather confident his club would return home for a smashing success in Game Three after falling behind 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.

He just had that feeling.

Nashville couldn’t have shone brighter as they hosted their first Cup Final game in franchise history, treating themselves and their fans to a 5-1 victory over Pittsburgh, a game couldn’t have gone much better for a club hosting an event never before seen in their city.

It started in warmups with thousands of fans already in the building, waving their rally towels and chanting. In warmups.

“With 15,000 people cheering us on in warm ups… the atmosphere is unbelievable,” Ellis said. “Before the game during the intros, they were doing their thing and it’s an incredible feeling playing in front of the fans.”

From there – with the exception of an early blemish – the Preds rolled in their home barn to a lopsided victory, including the 11th different game-winning goal scorer in Gaudreau, and a pair of firsts, with Smith and Ekholm becoming the 18th and 19th Nashville goal scorers of the playoffs.

Then, there was Rinne, the backbone Head Coach Peter Laviolette and the Preds know he always will be.

“There’s never been a doubt in him at all, whatsoever,” Ekholm said. “Just the way he played tonight was, what a big way to come back. I don’t think he’s been bad at all this series, I just think we haven’t helped him out a lot. Tonight, I thought we got no shots from their top guys, kept them to the outside and limit their quality chances. We know when he sees the puck and there are no tips or rebounds, he’s going to save them all.”

Game Three wasn’t going to bring Nashville even with the Penguins – they’ll need another win on Monday to do that – but it’s a great start.

“[We have] a belief in each other that we can win a hockey game if we need to win a hockey game,” Neal said. “I think coming home, obviously wasn’t the start we were looking for with going down two games in Pittsburgh, but it’s a place we feel confident in coming home. We got the job done. It’s a great win for our team. We’ll build off that.”

Notes:

Forwards Harry Zolnierczyk and P.A. Parenteau entered the Nashville lineup for Game Three in favor of Cody McLeod and Vernon Fiddler.

Frederick Gaudreau became the 11th Preds player to score a game-winning goal in these playoffs, making Nashville the eighth team with 11 different game-winning goal scorers in postseason since 1963, with the previous seven winning the Stanley Cup.

Roman Josi equaled a franchise record set earlier in the postseason by P.K. Subban, when he registered the second-ever, three-point game by a defenseman in the playoffs.

Game Four of the Stanley Cup Final comes Monday night in Nashville before the series shifts back to Pittsburgh for Gave Five on Thursday evening in the Steel City.

Pete Weber’s Post Game Report

The Braves had been winless in all four previous rubber games this season, but that streak ended on Sunday as Reds rookie starter Amir Garrett struggled in his return from the disabled list. Atlanta jumped out to a big early lead before emerging with a 13-8 victory over Cincinnati to take two of three in the series. Ender Inciarte led the way with a 5-for-5 game and a career-high five RBIs.

Three home runs against Garrett staked the Braves to a 9-2 lead through three innings. Danny Santana hit a two-run shot to left field in the top of the second inning. With one out in the third inning, Matt Adams went deep with his third homer in two days, this time a solo shot. Inciarte slugged a three-run homer with two outs in the third to chase Garrett.
“It’s good to have an offensive day because there is no lead that is safe here,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I’ve just been a part of too many weird games in this ballpark. So, it was good that we just kept adding on.”
In 2 2/3 innings — the shortest outing of his nine-start big league career — Garrett allowed nine runs (eight earned) with seven hits, three walks and one strikeout. Jake Buchanan worked long relief for a career-high 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs. He also notched his first big league hit, an RBI single in the fourth inning.
“They were swinging early a little bit and had some runs. I knew I was in there to eat innings and help save the bullpen and help some of those guys get some rest,” Buchanan said. “I’ve been starting so I’m stretched out and it wasn’t a big deal to throw that many innings.”
The Braves’ offensive barrage supported a poor performance by their starter, Julio Teheran, who pitched five innings with seven earned runs, 11 hits, two walks, four strikeouts and two home runs. A two-run homer by Arismendy Alcantara with one out in the fifth — his first of the season — got Cincinnati within striking distance by making it 11-7. Against reliever Jason Motte in the sixth, Zack Cozart hit his second homer of the afternoon to close the deficit to three runs. But Atlanta added two runs in the top of the ninth against Blake Wood to stay comfortable.
“[Teheran] got just a little flat,” Snitker said. “When he made mistakes, they made him pay. You can’t make mistakes here. He just wasn’t real sharp like he had been. Fortunately, we scored enough runs today to cover it up.”
The Braves had a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Cozart lifted a Teheran 1-2 pitch and pulled it inside the left-field foul pole for a 2-1 Reds lead. Cozart returned in the fourth with a line drive that a diving Inciarte completely missed, allowing the ball to roll to the center-field fence for a two-run triple that made it a 9-5 game. In the sixth against Motte, a solo homer to center field gave him a career-high-tying five RBIs. His career-high streak of reaching base safely extended to 26 games.
Santana hasn’t been the stuff of legend at the plate for the Braves since his May 8 trade from the Twins. In his seventh start for his new team and entering batting .114, Santana was 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs. He gave the Braves the lead for good in the second inning when he slugged a 3-2 Garrett fastball that was nearly over his head and sent it into the left-field seats for a two-run homer and a 3-2 lead. It was his second homer of 2017, but his first with the Braves.
Bartolo Colon will take the mound when Atlanta welcomes Philadelphia to SunTrust Park for the opener of a four-game series Monday at 6:35 p.m. CT. Colon’s performance will influence how much longer he remains in Atlanta’s rotation.

The Nashville Sounds blanked the Iowa Cubs 6-0 Sunday afternoon to clinch the four-game set. Paul Blackburn had his sinker ball working all afternoon for the Sounds en route to seven shutout innings.

Blackburn kept the ball down all afternoon long as he induced 15 compared to two fly outs to go along with four punch outs en route to seven shutout innings. He was highly efficient as well, needing just 83 to get through said seven innings. The right-hander sat down 14 straight I-Cubs from the third to the seventh. The streak was broken when Jaimer Candelario blooped a single into shallow center field with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Blackburn surrendered just a pair of singles in his outing.

Blackburn found himself in a pinch in the opening inning with the bases loaded and one out but he induced a ground ball from Victor Caratini. Shortstop Melvin Mercedes and second baseman Joey Wendle turned a slick double play to end the threat and keep the I-Cubs off the scoreboard.

Iowa starter, Williams Perez, cruised through the first three innings as he faced the minimum despite a pair of walks. Jaycob Brugman recorded the first Sounds hit of the game in the fourth inning when he hit a little flare for a double down the left field line. Nashville would not get another hit until the sixth when Mercedes singled to lead off the inning. Mercedes came around to score when Matt Chapman laced a double into the alley in right center field to break the deadlock.

Nashville added a run in the seventh as they loaded the bases with no outs. Mercedes flied out to deep center field to bring home Ryan Lavarnway and double the Sounds lead. Then in the eighth inning they broke the game open by posting a three spot on the scoreboard. Lavarnway ripped a double to left center to score Jaff Decker to make it 3-0. Matt McBride then drilled his second home run of the season to extend the Sounds lead to 5-0. In the ninth inning Chapman put an exclamation point on the Sounds victory with a solo blast of his own.

For the Sounds pitching staff it was the sixth shutout of the season.

The Sounds open up a four-game series on Monday against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Right-hander Daniel Gossett (3-2, 3.19) starts for Nashville against right-hander Josh Staumont (3-4, 3.88) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

For the second straight day, the Braves and Reds battled it out in extra innings. But unlike Friday night, Atlanta got the upper hand Saturday at Great American Ball Park, as Matt Adams’ solo home run in the top of the 12th — his second homer on the day — gave the Braves a 6-5 win and evened the series.

Adams had been batting .222 since he was traded from the Cardinals to Atlanta on May 20 and had a .100 average in his previous five games before a 3-for-6, two-homer, five-RBI performance Saturday. One of the homers was a grand slam.

The Braves held a 5-1 advantage heading into the bottom of the sixth, but watched that lead quickly evaporate as the Reds strung together six solid at-bats. A Jose Peraza hit-by-pitch, Devin Mesoraco single and Patrick Kivlehan walk set up a bases-loaded scenario for Arismendy Alcantara — who had replaced Billy Hamilton in center in the previous half inning. Alcantara singled in a run. Then Zack Cozart walked to bring in another. And finally Joey Votto lifted a two-run single into shallow center to tie the game.

“We kind of gave that sixth inning away,” Braves starting pitcher R.A. Dickey said. “That had no business working out like that. It was great to see our guys fight and fight and fight. They pushed back, and we held our ground and ended up getting the big hit when we had to. It was a testament to fortitude today for a lot of guys.”
The rally chased Dickey, whose only blemish to that point had been a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth by former Braves top prospect Peraza. The right-hander — who was one of three Atlanta pitchers to give up 20 runs or more in the month of May — lasted 5 1/3 innings while giving up six hits and five earned runs.

“I feel like all through the lineup we go up there and try to have quality at-bats, and then all of a sudden you string a couple runs here, couple runs there and you’re back in the game,” said Cozart. “It’s a good sign when you don’t just give up and try to get through nine innings and lose 5-1. You battle back, and you never know what can happen.”
Cincinnati’s push to tie the game also saved starter Scott Feldman from picking up the loss, which would have been his first since May 19. Atlanta pushed across five runs against the Reds’ righty on the day — four of which came on the grand slam by Adams in the top of the fifth.

After tying the game in the sixth, Reds relievers pitched seven innings of three-hit baseball. But Cincinnati’s offense couldn’t capitalize late, finishing the game 3-for-17 with RISP and stranding 15 baserunners. They left runners in scoring position in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings.
“You get guys in scoring position, you always want to come up with the hit that wins the game,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “But Atlanta’s trying to win, too. And they made some plays and they made some pitches … And we did a pretty good job in some tough situations as well, and it just came down to that solo homer giving them the lead and not being able to do anything with [Braves reliever] Jim Johnson in that last inning.”
After Brandon Phillips reached on an error, Nick Markakis walked and Matt Kemp singled to left in the top of the fifth, Adams stepped to the dish with the bases loaded and one out. On a 2-1 pitch from Feldman, he launched the ball over the wall in center field for a grand slam — the first of his career and the Braves’ first since May 16, 2015 — to give Atlanta a 4-1 lead. The slam left Adams’ bat at 106.4 mph and traveled 426 feet, according to Statcast™.
“This is just a park where I see the ball well,” Adams said. “That helps, too, with the confidence. When you’re in the box, you’re feeling comfortable and knowing you’re going to see the ball well. They’ve got a tough pitching staff. I was just trying to get a ball out over the plate and put some barrels on some balls.”
After falling behind 5-1 an inning earlier, Cincinnati climbed all the way back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. After Scooter Gennett flied out to right to begin the frame, six straight Reds reached base. The fifth — first baseman Joey Votto — hit a bloop single to center to score two runs and knot things at 5.

Julio Teheran will take the mound when Atlanta plays the finale of this three-game series Sunday at 12:10 p.m. CT. Teheran has produced a 1.42 ERA over five road starts.

The Nashville Sounds faltered Saturday night as they suffered a 5-1 setback at the paws of the Iowa Cubs. Matt Chapman’s 12th home run of the season was the lone highlight offensively for the Sounds who mustered just five hits on the night.

The I-Cubs struck first in the bottom of the second inning when Stephen Bruno drove home Victor Caratini on a dribbler up the middle. Iowa maintained a one run advantage until the top of the fourth inning when with two outs Chapman stepped to the plate. The Sounds third baseman deposited a 2-2 pitch well beyond the left field fence to knot the game up at one run apiece.

The game would not stay tied for long. After Corey Walter induced a double play, Caratini took him deep with a solo shot to retake the lead for the I-Cubs. Iowa added a pair of runs in the fifth inning as Ozzie Martinez knocked in a run with a base hit and came around to score himself on a perfectly executed safety squeeze up the first base line from Chesny Young.

The sixth inning was the closest the Sounds would come to scoring again. Renato Nunez singled and Joey Wendle reached on an error by third baseman, Jaimer Candelario but both were left stranded.

Walter came out to pitch the seventh inning but was unable to record an out in the frame as the I-Cubs loaded the bases against him and Simon Castro was left to clean up the pieces. Castro walked the first batter he faced to drive in the final run of the ball game but got the next two batters to fly out to right fielder Jaff Decker. Ali Solis attempted to score from third on a fly out by Mark Zagunis but he was gunned down at the plate by Decker.

The loss was the first at the Triple-A level for Walter who finished with 6.0 innings of work while allowing five runs on eight hits.

The Sounds wrap up the four-game series on Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa. Right-hander Paul Blackburn (3-5, 3.69) starts for Nashville against right-hander Williams Perez (0-5, 9.00) for Iowa. First pitch is scheduled for 1:08 p.m.