The Stanley Cup Final will continue on Saturday night in San Jose with Game 3 taking place at 8 p.m. The Sharks face an uphill battle for the rest of the series after two late losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Games 1 and 2.
In Monday's Game 1, the Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary. The Sharks responded with two goals in the second by Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau to even things up with 20 minutes to play.
With 2:32 remaining in the third, a turnover by the Sharks allowed the Penguins to cycle the puck in front to a wide open Nick Bonino, who finished with the game-winning goal.
In Game 2, the Penguins again struck for the first goal, but it took until the 8:20 mark of the second for either team to solve the opposing netminder. Phil Kessel picked up the goal, his 10th of the playoffs, to put Pittsburgh in front.
The Sharks put the pressure on in the third and finally found the equalizer with 4:05 to play in regulation as Justin Braun's shot went off the post and in.
The game went to overtime where just 2:35 in, Sheary rifled his second goal of the Final over the shoulder of Martin Jones to give the Penguins a 2-0 series lead as the series shifts to San Jose.
The determining factor to this point in the series has easily been speed. The Sharks have struggled to keep up with the Penguins over the course of a game and it has particularly cost them in late-game situations. The Sharks have certainly remained competitive, thanks to some stellar play from Jones, but the damage is already done with two losses to open the series.
In addition, you can see frustration setting in. Logan Couture accused Sidney Crosby of cheating on faceoffs after Game 2. The body language of Joe Thornton simply isn't good, as you see a team that is seeing their hopes of a championship unravel. They need to find composure to make this a close series again.
On the other side, the Penguins are very relaxed and composed. Forget the star players, rookies Rust, Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl and Matt Murray look like seasoned veterans in this series and have throughout the playoff run. There is really nothing that has phased this team. Perhaps that is because Mike Sullivan has done such a great job behind the bench in composing this team to stay with a gameplan and take the ebbs and flows of the game in stride.
Game 3 is Saturday night and Game 4 is Monday night. If necessary, the series will head back to Pittsburgh on Thursday night for Game 5.
Notes
- Prior to the Stanley Cup Final beginning on Monday, commissioner Gary Bettman announced that there was no timetable on expansion to Las Vegas or Quebec City. That said, the owners will meet and discuss possible expansion to both locations and are likely to have an announcement by the NHL Awards on June 22.
- The Florida Panthers unveiled a new design for the 2016-17 season that featured a new logo and jerseys. The look of the franchise got a complete overhaul. You can take a first look at the jerseys and logo via the Panthers website.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
