The Penguins go global with this lineup, including Arturs Silovs in net.

Sidney Crosby gets a nice welcome but Erik Karlsson is welcomed back to his country with an even bigger one. Crosby yields the ceremonial pre-game puck drop to Karlsson as well,

Very few whistles in the early going but not much in the way of scoring chances either. The Penguins get the first power play of the game after Ben Kindel gets interfered with. Nashville gets the best scoring chance when Erik Haula picks off Kris Letang but Silovs is there to make the big breakaway save.

Evgeni Malkin has a pair of very nice shots, Juuse Saros stops them both.

Kris Letang heads to the penalty box for punching a guy in the face with just over a minute to go, Pittsburgh makes it to intermission without doing any damage.

Shots are 8-8, indicative of an even game to start out. Both goalies were the best players on the ice in the early going.

Nashville’s Justin Barron is the next to the box for a high stick, leading to an uneventful Pittsburgh power play. Barron gets out of the box and walks right into a clear breakaway but Silovs makes another big stop.

Nashville keeps pushing, Filip Forsberg makes a very nice play to setup Ryan O’Reilly, but again Silovs is there.

Out of no where, the Pens score. It’s a weird one, Evgeni Malkin has the back of his skates all the way against the end boards behind Saros and flings the puck hard to the front. There isn’t even any Penguins around, but the puck ricochets and ends up in the net. A little Malkin magic finally gets the scoring going with 6:11 to play in the second period.

That’s it for the scoring, shots in the middle frame are 11-2 NSH, it’s Pittsburgh who gets on the board.

Luke Evangelista sneaks behind the Pens’ defense and gets a great look, blowing a shot by Silovs that hits the crossbar, bounces down and..hits post and stays out. Can’t get much closer than that.

Game keeps on going, still not too many shots in either way. Finally with about 1:15 left the Preds pull Saros for an extra skater.

Nashville takes their timeout to regroup for a 6v5 push. It works out immediately. Sidney Crosby wins the faceoff back but Forsberg steps in and takes it, quickly going to the backhand with a hard shot. 1-1 game with 1:10 to go.

Crosby-Rust-Karlsson starts, Nashville gains possession and Forsberg gets a great chance but Silovs makes a tremendous save.

He had made a few of them over the game but that would be the last. Steven Stamkos found room with no one in front of him and made a great shot to the top corner past Silovs to win the game. 2-1.

  • The Penguins are so much slower than they were 2, 3, 4 weeks ago due to having Kevin Hayes and Joona Koppanen in the lineup. A lot taller too, probably. For Dan Muse’s puck support, tight team, I’d think you’d rather have 2-3 Connor Dewar’s or Blake Lizotte’s rather than a couple of 6’5” lumbering giants, but hey, gotta take what you can get at this point with so many players on IR. At this point it seems like it’s limiting the third and fourth lines from generating shots.
  • With the luck and results Nashville is getting, it’s fitting they would be up 10-1 in the shot department of the second period, Malkin creates a scoring play where a scoring play absolutely should not have been able to be made, and then the Preds are losing. When it’s not going right, it’s not going right. Despite playing a great period, Nashville falls behind. That can be the life of a game predicated around some crazy bounces and luck, none of them are going the Preds’ way these days. The ending to come back and win was the only difference from how things have mostly gone for them.
  • This was hardly the most painful goal Nashville’s given up to a Penguin player from banking it in behind the net to break a 0-0 tie though, so you gotta give ‘em that at least.
  • No surprise that a lot of the Swedish players had extra jump in their steps today. Forsberg was good all game and not about to let his team go down without a fight. Haula was visible for the Preds. Karlsson was dancing around and making all sorts of moves.
  • Muse’s usage has been interesting at times, putting a Rust-Crosby-Malkin line out for d-zone draw in a 5v6 situation is another. Forsberg scored on Malkin’s side, which maybe there was nothing more that anyone could have done but then again maybe someone used to playing wing could have played it differently. There’s some reward to the risk about scoring an empty net goal by gaining control of the puck but you gotta gain control of the puck first.
  • Two straight blown third period leads for the Pens. Really they were lucky to even be ahead in the third period at all in this game with an anemic offense and some great goaltending. That’s now 5-2-1 on the season for the Pens when leading after two, which will be bottom-five in the league in points percentage. Only a few games for now but based on recent games, leads not being safe are becoming a storyline to track.
  • It certainly wasn’t the goalie’s responsibility though. Silovs earned the Pens a point and easily was their best and most consistent player of the day.

As far as global series goes, this definitely was a game played in it. The Pens will look to make a lasting memory on Sunday morning back home to wrap up their European games.