A Ferrari can’t race if it’s stuck in the garage.
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Yet the Sharks clearly played with the puck more in Game 3 than they had in the first two games, forcing the Penguins to block a whopping 38 shots, a seeming throwback to when coach Mike Sullivan was John Tortorella’s assistant with the Rangers. But if you’re the Sharks, you want to hit when you have the chance and especially when it leads to possession. With the Sharks winning Game 3 on Saturday that means that no matter what happens the rest of the way, they will not be swept.
“It just takes a bounce or a goal or some sort of momentum to kind of get that confidence going, and I think when you have the chances, usually that confidence is there”. It’s okay if the Norris Trophy finalist fires a healthy amount of shots, but he needs to be in better scoring positions or find a way to get his lethal shot through to the net. None of us on the internet are goaltending experts to judge what the best play is (in hindsight) but the goalie’s job is to keep the puck out of the net. I just waved at it and got a little piece of it.. This would, logically, be a point of frustration for him. “But it’s definitely been an issue, and a credit to them for [the] job they’ve done so far on that”. “That’s our goal. That’s their goal”.
“We’re playing against good defensemen”, Malkin said. Just as they did in the third period when they came up empty on a four-minute power play, the Sharks kept plugging, understanding that another overtime loss wouldn’t just set a record but also effectively end their Stanley Cup aspirations. The question, now, is whether the Sharks can do the same – and whether it’ll be enough even if they do. “You expect a really desperate hockey team”. They are the faster team, they are the more aggressive team, and they are going to get their opportunities. They’re a good team.
“We’re creating some chances”, Pavelski said.
While they may be a bit under-the-radar, they are just as paramount to their team’s success.
The Sharks now have a chance to assure it will return to San Jose on Monday for Game 4.
The Penguins have seen this before. The Penguins won Game 3 in each of the first three rounds, including twice on the road….
Obviously, this is an in important game, however more so for the Sharks than the Penguins. It may seem obvious which players to zero in on in the fourth contest between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks, but there are a few extra players who should garner attention. “And we need to continue to do that”.
Just as the Sharks can neutralize the Penguins’ speed by banging around in their zone, the Penguins can neutralize the Sharks’ physicality by breaking out crisply, moving the puck quickly and skating. The Sharks, for what it’s worth, still haven’t played a second of any game in this series with the lead. But the Sharks have been closing the gap on the ice, and each game has been close on the scoreboard.
The slapper beat Pittsburgh goalie Matt Murray between the leg pad and the glove and tied a game that the Sharks would eventually win 3-2 in overtime.
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“I think both teams are going to raise their level next game”, DeBoer said Sunday.
