Rookie Jake Guentzel fired a shot by Nashville's Pekka Rinne with 3:17 left in regulation to put the Penguins ahead to stay in a flat-out weird 5-3 victory.

 

The Penguins were outshot 26-12 and went 37 minutes without managing to get one puck on Rinne, the best goalie in the playoffs and the main reason the Predators are on their sport's biggest stage for the first time. And yet it didn't matter.

 

When Guentzel ended an eight-game goalless drought and Nick Bonino picked up his second goal on an empty-netter , the Penguins were in control as they try to become the first team since Detroit in 1998 to win back-to-back Cups.

 

Conor Sheary scored his first of the playoffs and Evgeni Malkin collected his eighth . The Penguins won despite putting just 12 shots on goal. Matt Murray finished with 23 saves for the Penguins, who used the first coach's challenge in Final history to wipe out an early Nashville goal and held on despite their astonishing shot drought.

 

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.