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Late miscue costs Sharks SCF
Game 1
San Jose battles back from 2-0 deficit to
fall in final 3 minutes
The Sharks waited 25 years to make their first
appearance, but they kicked off their first showing with a bang in Game 1 vs.
the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rust and nerves got the best of San Jose, who dropped
the opener, but it was a battle to the end. San Jose battled back from a 2-0
deficit to tie the game, but a miscue late in regulation cost the Sharks, who
dropped a 3-2 decision to the Penguins.
Now we get to see what this
team is made of. There were plenty of positives to build off of, but now it's
up to the Sharks to make something of those positives.
San Jose had to
deal with a juggernaut in the 1st period. Pittsburgh used the team speed that
everyone has been touting to blitz the Sharks in the opening 20 minutes that
potted a pair of goals for the Penguins. The Penguins out shot the Sharks 15-4
in the 1st and had the Sharks on their heels from the get go.
Pittsburgh started to really push after the first 5 minutes. Penguins captain
Sidney Crosby missed from the doorstep on a play that forced Sharks goaltender
Martin Jones to make a big save. Patric Hornqvist was right behind Crosby and
almost jammed the follow up home.
Penguins goaltender Matt Murray
could have had a pedicure and lunch while he waited for the Sharks to throw any
rubber his way. The only pressure that Murray faced in the period was a Nick
Spaling shot from the slot at 6:30.
The Penguins drew first blood
12:46 in when the Sharks got caught with a pair of forwards deep in the
Pittsburgh zone and then defenseman Justin Braun decided to pinch on a play
that turned into a 3-on-2 rush up ice for home team. Rookie Bryan Rust
deposited a shot once the puck reached the opposite end of the ice. Martin
Jones was outnumbered thanks to Braun's ill-timed decision.
Conor
Sheary made it 2-0 Pittsburgh 62 seconds later when Braun over-skated the puck,
allowing Sidney Crosby to send a backhand pass through the slot to Conor
Sheary. The Penguins rookie used a Hornqvist screen to snap a shot past Martin
Jones from the right side. Sheary lifted his shot, catching the top left corner
of the net for the 2-0 lead.
Ian Cole was sent off for hooking 1:14
into the 2nd period, setting up the Sharks first power play of the evening.
Tomas Hertl made the Penguins pay, stuffing his 6th goal of the playoffs past
Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray with a shot from along side the right post.
The Sharks just missed tying the game three minutes later when Murray
was forced to defend a shot from the high slot. The puck bounced to the left
side when Sharks captain Joe Pavelski gathered it and tried to slip it home
from the side of the crease. Murray extended his left pad to deny Pavelski.
San Jose got the equalizer with 1:48 left in the period, when Patrick
Marleau grabbed a loose puck behind the net, then took two strides along the
end boards before wrapping a backhand chance around the left post. The puck
clipped Murray's right skate, deflecting into the Penguins goal for the 2-2
tie. The goal was Marleau's 5th of the playoffs.
Pavelski was whistled for a tripping penalty when
Brian Dumoulin stepped on the forward's stick before dropping to the ice.
Thornton and Evgeni Malkin were also sent off at the same whistle for mixing it
up with their sticks away from the Pavelski trip.
San Jose killed the
penalty, but then Marleau was sent off for an illegal check to the head of Rust
after the Sharks forward cut across the blueline and dropped hi shoulder as the
Penguins forward tried reaching for a puck.
Rust was required to move
to the NHL's quiet room, where he was examined and had to pass the league's
mandatory protocol for head injuries. He spent several minutes in the room
until he could pass several tests.
6:44 to play Pens with a rush that
finished with a chance that Jones denied.
With regulation ticking
away, the Sharks fell victim to the mistake that would cost them the game. With
the Penguins forcing the puck into the Sharks end, defenseman Brent Burns had
his stick swatted out of his hands. Burns tried to move the puck with his hand,
but ended up pushing it to Kris Letang. Without a stick, Burns was helpless as
Letang whipped the puck to the front of the net to former Sharks draft pick
Nick Bonino, who lifted a shot past Jones for the 3-2 lead.
Paul
Martin had coverage on the play, but he lost Bonino, and couldn't get his stick
or a body on Bonino.
The goal would prove to be the game winner, after
the Sharks failed to convert on a power play following a Ben Lovejoy hooking
penalty on Marleau with 2:09 to play. San Jose pulled Jones for the extra
attacker, but they couldn't organize a decent scoring chance.
It was a
tough way to lose, given the comeback and the overall performance sans the
first period. What it proved is that these two teams are pretty evenly matched,
and the Sharks aren't out of this series by any stretch of the imagination.
It's what they do with the next chance.
We'll see how this
plays out in 48 hours after Game 2 on Wednesday.
Game
Notes:
* As has been the trend all playoffs, the Sharks failed to
control the faceoff circle. Pittsburgh won 53% of all draws. Chris Tierney was
a dismal 3 of 11 from the dots.
* Tierney had an overall forgettable
experience. The forward was a -1, and did literally nothing else in his 14:31
of ice time. The Sharks 4th line was overmatched by the Penguins all night.
* Danius Zubrus once again led all skaters with 6 hits in the game.
Zubrus has been a beast for San Jose and has embraced his role as the guy that
needs to wear down the opposition with his physicality.
* Justin Braun
led the Sharks with 4 blocked shots.
* Brauns' tough night on the ice
in the 1st period was small potatoes compared to the personal issue the
defenseman had to deal with on Monday. Braun's father-in-law and former NHLer
Tom Lysiak passed away on Monday.
* Now the Sharks wait to see if
Marleau will be suspended for his hit on Rust. Given Marleau's history as a
perennial Lady Byng candidate, it would be surprising if the Sharks former
captain was forced to sit.
* Bonino and Hornqvist combined for 12 of
the Penguins 41 shots.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| PIT |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, PIT,
Rust 6 (Schultz, Kunitz), 12:46. 2, PIT, Sheary 3 (Crosby, Maata), 13:48. |
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| 2nd period - 1, SJ,
Hertl 6 (Donskoi, Burns), 3:02, (pp). 4, SJ, Marleau 5 (Burns, Couture), 18:12.
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| 3rd period - 5, PIT,
Bonino 4 (Letang, Hagelin), 17:27. |
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| 1st period - ZUbrus, SJ
(high sticking), 8:54. |
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| 2nd period - Cole, PIT
(hooking), 1:14; Pavelski, SJ (tripping), 18:52; Thornton, SJ (roughing),
18:52; Malkin, PIT (slashing), 18:52. |
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| 3rd period - Marleau, SJ
(illegal check to the head), 4:47; Lovejoy, PIT (hooking), 17:51. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Jones |
41 |
38 |
| PIT - Murray |
26 |
24 |
| PIT - empty net |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
4 |
13 |
9 |
26 |
| PIT |
15 |
8 |
18 |
41 |
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| Referees:
O'Halloran, O'Rourke. Linesmen: Amell, Murray. |
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