Matt Murray found himself at the center of attention of Predators fans on Saturday night. Nashville’s boisterous hockey fans were unrelenting, with their chants directed at the Penguins goalie.
The home team scored five goals and won Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final to get back into the series, prompting a celebratory atmosphere inside Bridgestone Arena -- and outside, too.
They sure let Murray have it.
Chants of “Mur-ray! Mur-ray! Mur-ray!” followed by “You suck!” and finally followed up by “It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!” echoed from the faithful in Cellblock 303 and throughout the arena following Nashville goals Saturday.
Nashville fans are ruthless...and REALLY loud.#StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/R12Y0Ql8z7
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) June 4, 2017
“I think it’s great. I just think the atmosphere is great. There’s a lot of energy in the building. I think our players really enjoy it. I think they embrace the moment,” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan.
“This is the best time of year to play. It’s exciting hockey. It’s two great hockey cities. Their fan support is behind them in each city. I think it’s really neat how these cities are supportive of their respective teams.”
The chant that really seemed to connect with Predators coach Peter Laviolette? Penguins player introductions from the arena P.A. announcer immediately followed by fans bellowing out “sucks!” to their unflinching target.
One of those targets was Sullivan, as fans yelled out “You suck, too!” when he was introduced behind the bench.
“I like ‘em all. I think they’re great. I’ll be honest, I never heard the introduction to the lineup,” said Laviolette.
“That’s the first time I heard that. I like the way the Pittsburgh lineup got introduced last night. But the reason why I’m saying it is I never heard it before. So that one actually surprised me. But pretty amazing.
“I’ve said before, it’s a little bit similar to (a) European soccer match where everybody is on the same page and knows exactly what to do and when to do it.”