The Sharks finally found out what it’s like to play with a lead, only to lose it nearly right away, but regain it and then hang on for dear life as Martin Jones nearly single-handedly forced a Game 6 in the Stanley Cup final.
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Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan stands behind Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby from left, during the third period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, June 9, 2016, in Pittsburgh.
A fast start at the Consol Energy Center helped the Sharks pull back to a 3-2 series deficit on Thursday.
The Sharks had not led for one second of the series – their Game 3 victory was in overtime – until the bearded guy from Duck Dynasty, Brent Burns, skated out from behind the net, turned and fired short side on Matt Murray, 64 seconds into the game. Aside from the empty-netter Joe Pavelski scored in the dying minutes, all of the scoring was done in that first period.
Jones made 44 saves in the winning effort, setting the Sharks’ franchise record for saves in a regulation game in postseason history. The Sharks would force a game six back in San Jose, thanks to a insane first period, a lackluster final forty minutes, questionable refereeing, and outstanding goaltending.
The TSN Hockey panel discusses how Logan Couture dictated the play all over the ice in Game 5, how Brent Burns imposed his physical will with a dominant performance, and how the Penguins can shake off the disappointing loss and focus on Game 6. “After that, we generated a lot of chances”.
The Sharks and the understated guy in net are heading back west for Game 6.
San Jose, however, would weather that storm and escape with a 3-2 first period lead when Melker Karlsson converted a nifty passing play, before Joe Pavelski closed the scoring in the third.
There was a Bryan Rust drive to the net stopped by the Sharks goaltender, a Malkin point shot on the power play that almost skipped through, a left pad save on Bonino following a Kessel shot attempt and rebound.
The city and team have worked together to put a massive big screen television outside an arena gate, and added a second viewing spot at a downtown shopping square about a mile away. But the time difference won’t stop them from catching a potential Stanley Cup win by the Penguins.
“We had to go pack our stuff together real quick”, Heaton said.
But the San Jose Sharks evidently didn’t get the memo.
In the first period, Murray gave up three goals on seven shots.
Couture set the rookie up in the high slot with a slick backhand pass, and the bang-bang nature of the play seemed to catch the rookie goaltender off guard. While the first period was certainly one of the most entertaining of these playoffs, Jones and his steady hand put on a clinic as the game wore on. Pittsburgh went on to win the game 8-2 and complete a four-game sweep of the Blackhawks.
That said, the Pens don’t look any less unsafe heading into Game 6. The Sharks regained the lead and finished the first period with a 3-2 advantage. “They were coming through the neutral zone pretty well”.
A Sharks victory would force Game 6 at San Jose on Sunday.
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Pittsburgh, having rallied from a 2-0 hole, poured on the pressure after evening the score, cheered on by a loud crowd of fans clad in black and yellow. It controlled 69.4 percent of the shot attempts at even strength and outshot the Sharks 46-22.
