Peter Laviolette is wary of poking the bear.

Days after his club held both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin without a shot - the first time that's ever happened in a playoff game - the Nashville Predators head coach wants to focus on the present and put that story to rest after the statistical rarity made headlines.

"There's being a lot made of it. If you go back and look, try to figure out the amount of plays that they figured into that created scoring chances, they're both excellent passers, they're both capable of scoring goals, obviously too," Laviolette told reporters at his press conference Monday.

"That being said, because you guys have beat the drum on it enough, they're probably going to shoot the puck from all over tonight."

The Predators, as a whole, have effectively limited Pittsburgh's high-flying offense through three games, but any team would be foolish to take Crosby and Malkin lightly following a sub-standard performance.

So far in the final, Malkin's recorded two points and Crosby has three, but considering they occupy the top two spots in the postseason scoring race, don't expect either player to remain cold very long.

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