If the San Jose Sharks are going to comeback in the Stanley Cup Final it is going to probably need to be on the strength of their goalie, Martin Jones.
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The 24-year-old Finnish forward sped away from Pittsburgh checker Evgeni Malkin at the side of the net, then spun quickly and beat goaltender Martin Jones with a high shot to cut the Penguins lead in the best-of-seven National Hockey League championship series to 2-1.
He stopped a sliding puck with his left skate for a ideal ricochet to his stick before snapping a shot past Penguins goalie Matt Murray, who didn’t move until the puck was in the back of the net at the 9:34 mark to tie the game. Many waited 25 years for their first taste of Stanley Cup Final action and angst began to set in as San Jose fell behind 2-0 in the series. A Sharks win in Game 4, to state the obvious, not only evens the series, but guarantees it’ll return to home for a Game 6. He has six goals this postseason, but none in the first three games of the series and had 12 of his shot attempts blocked in Game 3. 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.
A loss in overtime would have put the Sharks on the brink of elimination.
“He doesn’t talk much”, Brent Burns said. I personally like to be able to watch it live, but given the circumstances we were all down there and it’s fun to be around the other guys who aren’t playing, watching and cheering together.
The result from Game 4 will certainly influence whether the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals is a long series or a short one. It is already the second time in this series he has had to face at least 40 shots in a single game. Hertl got hurt late in Game 2 in Pittsburgh and missed the following game in San Jose. “We didn’t get enough good plays from some guys at the bottom”. It’s not a good goal by any means, but I thought I made a couple good saves after that. The Penguins rookie goaltender didn’t see the shot, only glancing over his left shoulder when the puck was entering the goal.
After going through the entire regular season and two-plus rounds of the playoffs without losing a game they led at the second intermission, Game 3 was their second defeat in such a situation during the past two rounds.
In their first home Stanley Cup Final game ever, the Sharks had given the fans inside the SAP Center a reason to explode.
Braun tied it up at 9:34 on a one-timer that completely fooled Murray.
DeBoer had called timeout just before the goal so he could keep it first line on the ice.
“It’s big”, said Thornton.
However, the numbers still don’t favor the Sharks: Of the 49 teams that have taken a 2-0 series lead since the final went to the best-of-seven format in 1939, 44 have won the Cup. “So it’s a good feeling”.
Sidney Crosby says not to worry about Malkin. Crosby and linemates, Conor Sheary and Patric Hornqvist, were contained by the Sharks defensive pair of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Braun, and held without a shot in the opening period.
Ben Lovejoy gave Pittsburgh the lead 5:29 into the game before Justin Braun fired past Penguins goalie Matt Murray to draw the sides level later in the first period.
It remains to be seen if Sullivan starts to work that pairing a little more in Game 4, but it definitely seems like something to seriously consider in a bid to get Malkin on the board.
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“There’s always something you could’ve done differently”, Murray said on Sunday. Matt Murray stopped 23 shots for the Penguins. But then as Bonino was just about jump back out, Kris Letang failed to get the puck deep in the man advantage’s waning seconds, and it went back the other way. “Maybe tomorrow. I’m trying my best”.
