SAN JOSE – Game 4 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks is a pivotal matchup in the Stanley Cup finals. They are faced with either winning tonight and tying up this series at two and a legitimate chance to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, or losing and falling behind 3-1, which would be a near-insurmountable task to come back from against this Penguins team.
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It ended a thrilling overtime period in which both goaltenders pulled off some sharp reflex saves, with the San Jose crowd delighted with its first taste of a Stanley Cup Final game.
Sidney Crosby, for one night at least, was contained.
The one place where those players haven’t showed up so far is on the goal-scoring sheet.
“I said right at the beginning of the series, it’s which team can impose their game on the other team for the longest stretch”, DeBoer said. “It’s not necessarily that the big guns have scored the huge goals for both teams”. That box was checked on Saturday in a 3-2 overtime win in Game 3, in which San Jose had 79 shot attempts to the Penguins’ 76.
Those looking to attend Game 4 on Monday night will be greeted with considerably cheaper ticket prices when searching the secondary market. The first 3 games of this series have been decided by 1 goal and it has the potential to become a classic. He had 3.85 shots per game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the conference final, but has managed only eight shots in three games (2.67) against the Sharks.
“I don’t think the game is that simple”, DeBoer said.
“Once we get in, move the puck quick … obviously, the ice is not the greatest”, defenseman Kris Letang said. “I’m just trying to do my part”. This series has the makings of going seven and while the Pens have been the better of the two teams through three games I think San Jose has a statement effort here and get another victory.
Braun, who scored San Jose’s only goal in Game 2, recorded goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
The Sharks played 21 of their first 34 games on the road, and they had to deal with injuries to players such as Logan Couture. “The margin for error is small”. “Just make sure you’re competing and give yourself a chance to create and ultimately produce”.
“There’s been a lot of plays where it’s been nearly there and they get a stick on it”, said Pavelski. “They play so close and so tight, it’s tough to shoot sometimes”. The Sharks will need solid play from Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and their important players. Still the NHL’s leading goal scorer in the playoffs with 13, the Sharks captain has just four shots through three games. That’s not an easy role to play. “(I was) just going to hold on to it for a split second. He has all year for us. Whether they can replicate this and give themselves enough time to get in front of the net while raining shots from the point will continue to matter. Matt Murray was the opposite.
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Fear the Fin has a nice breakdown of the goal (if you can stomach it), here’s Murray in the RVH positioning at the moment of the shot. “It just that end result hasn’t been there, that shot hasn’t finalized”. “We’re trying”, he said, his double-negative and sense of humor drawing laughter from the assembled media.
