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Magic playoff run
ends
Sharks fall in Game 6 ending Stanley Cup
Finals
Time ran out for the Sharks on Sunday night.
Literally and figuratively. As the puck skidded down a sheet of bad ice, the
clock ticked to zero on the Sharks storybook playoff run, ending with the
Pittsburgh Penguins celebrating as they hoped to do. Another tight hockey game
ended in favor if Pittsburgh, which was all the Penguins needed to cap a 3-1
win over San Jose at SAP Center on Sunday. The Sharks offense failed them for a
fourth time in the series, ending a series that was probably more lopsided than
the game scores suggested.
The blitzkrieg that the Penguins fast-paced
offense was something the Sharks could never adjust to. It was that offense
that seemingly kept the puck in the Sharks zone all series long. On Sunday
night, that reality was punctuated by a 3rd period that saw the Sharks generate
a series low two shots on goal.
It was the most important period of
the Sharks season, but the Penguins defense stymied the Sharks. Not only was
Penguins goaltender Matt Murray not tested in that 3rd period, he may have
forgotten what a puck even feels like.
The Sharks were outgunned, and
the Penguins had nothing to de except wait out their overmatched opponent.
With the Sharks net abandoned, the Penguins floated the puck down ice
and began to celebrate. Time hadn't even fully expired when Penguin players
rushed off the bench, tossing gloves and sticks high in the air as they rushed
Murray, swarming him in a sea of white jerseys.
As is customary for
the losers, the Sharks solemnly gathered on the opposite end of the ice,
watching what might have been.
They huddled on the opposite end of the
ice waiting to extend their congratulations to an opponent that celebrated on
Sharks ice and took their time doing it. San Jose players had to wait an
agonizing eternity, forced to absorb the spoils of victory from the opposite
end of the battle field.
The traditional handshake was conducted at
center ice, then Sharks players paid one last tribute to the San Jose faithful
with raised sticks, before quickly departing the ice. It was the only thing the
Sharks did faster than the Penguins all series.
Game 6 was a tale of
two teams. One fighting to end things and get on to a celebration and the other
still trying to figure out their opponent. It was the Penguins that continued
to play the same confounding game that seemed to handcuff the Sharks all
series.
The Penguins capitalized on a Dainius Zubrus tripping penalty
in the opening period, grabbing a 1-0 lead on a Brian Dumoulin goal 8:16 into
the contest. Dumoulin fired a shot from the left point that somehow slipped
past Sharks goaltender Martin Jones.
Jones was the Sharks savior in Game 5, but Dumoulin's
shot found a seam under the netminder's blocker pad in what looked like a
routine play. It was a bad omen for the Sharks, who allowed the Penguins to
score the game's opening goal for the 5th time in the series.
The
Sharks lack of speed was showcased later in the period when Joel Ward found
himself on a breakaway midway through the period. Penguins forward Chris Kunitz
hustled back and waved a stick at the space in front of Ward, stick checking
the puck away from the Sharks forward.
Brent Burns missed on a point
blank shot on goal 4 minutes later, lifting a shot well over the Penguins goal,
to keep the Penguins lead in tact.
Jones denied a wave of shots late
in the period to keep the Sharks deficit at a single goal, making a series of
saves that came from all angles. He would top that with a kick save on Nick
Bonino 3 minutes into the 2nd period that would have sunk the Sharks into a
deeper hole.
Logan Couture, San Jose's lone offensive bright spot in
the series, knotted the game at 1-1 6:27 into the 2nd period with a shot from
just inside the left circle after he carried the puck into the Penguins zone.
It was one of the few scoring chances that San Jose had all night and even then
Couture was forced to get his shot off with a defender between he and the
Pittsburgh net.
The tie would be short lived and was indicative of the
Sharks defensive woes that would repeatedly bite them in the series. Once
again, defenseman Roman Polak coughed up a puck in his own zone, allowing
Sidney Crosby to pick his pocket along the left wing boards. Crosby circled
behind the Sharks net and fed Kris Letang on the right side for a quick shot
that bounced off Jones and into the net.
Jones attention was focused
on Crosby as he skated out of the left corner, and turned his head too late to
pick up the shot off Letang's stick. The goal came 89 seconds after Couture's
goal and put the Penguins right back on top.
In a showcase of captain
Joe Pavelski's woes throughout the series, the centerman finally was able to
get a shot off without a Penguins defenseman in his face and it beat Murray,
but it was 18 inches wide of the Sharks goal.
Evgeni Malkin missed on
what everyone in the building was a slam dunk goal with 5 minutes left in the
frame. Kunitz and Malkin setup a give-and-go that was one pass too many. Kunitz
had Jones beat, but never even looked at the open goal, intent on getting
Malkin the puck on the right side. The big Russian forward was a stride late,
tipping the puck wide of the net.
The 3rd period was once again all
Pittsburgh. Only Jones heroics kept the game close. Phil Kessel fell victim to
Jones larceny with another kick save on a one time chance from just outside the
left post early in the period.
A slashing penalty to Burns cut another
2 minutes off the clock, killing the Sharks chances.
Forced to pull
Jones late, Marc-Edouard Vlasic's shot attempt from the left point was blocked
by Crosby, who then dished it to Patric Hornqvist who streaked up the middle of
the ice. Burns tried to interfere with the Penguins forward, but it wasn't
enough as Hornqvist fired the puck into the empty net to seal the series.
Game Notes:
* The Sharks held a momentum of silence
before the game for the victims of the horrific mass shooting in Orlando less
than 24 hours earlier. The arena was eerily silent as public address announcer
Danny Miller asked those in attendance to honor those who were killed.
* Red Wings legend Gordie Howe was honored right before the start of the 2nd
period as players were warming up for the faceoff. All 10 skaters on the ice
stopped in their tracks and focused on the center ice video board to watch the
short tribute to Howe who died on Friday.
* San Jose capped it's 25th
season by having former players Scott Hannan, Mike Rathje, Evgeni Nabokov, Kyle
McLaren and Mike Ricci open the locker room door before the start of the game.
San Jose had local celebrities open the door throughout the playoffs, but with
Sunday's game being the last home game of the season regardless of the outcome,
the team elected to showcase players from their past to perform the pre-game
ritual.
* In another major statistical letdown, the Sharks lost 65% of
the draws in Game 6. Both Crosby and Nick Bonino were 13 of 17, accounting for
26 of the Penguins 35 faceoff wins. Logan Couture was a dismal 4 of 14 and Joe
Pavelski was 6 of 16.
* We'll find out tomorrow who was injured and
who wasn't. Pavelski was suffered from invisibility in the series, having
scored one goal in the 6 games, and that lone tally was an empty netter in Game
5. Tomas Hertl was seen hobbling around the arena with a soft cast around his
leg. Hertl is believed to have injured a knee, possibly his meniscus.
* Couture led the team with 4 shots on goal in Game 6. No other Shark had more
than 2 shots on goal.
* Brent Burns recorded a game-high 8 hits in the
contest.
* Boos rained down on NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman as he
presented the Conn Smythe trophy to Crosby, and then again when he presented
the Stanley Cup to the Penguins captain. Needless to say, Bettman is not
exaclty a favored personality in San Jose.
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What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| PIT |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| SJ |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
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| 1st period - 1, PIT,
Dumoulin 2 (Schultz, Kunitz), 8:16, (pp). |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Couture 10 (Karlsson, Burns), 6:27. 3, PIT, Letang 3 (Crosby, Sheary),
7:46. |
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| 3rd period - 4, PIT,
Hornqvist 9 (Crosby), 18:58, (en). |
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| 1st period - Zubrus, SJ
(tripping), 7:50. |
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| 3rd period - Sheary, PIT
(hooking), 5:26; Burns, SJ (slashing), 11:02; Fehr, PIT (high sticking),
19:50. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| PIT - Murray |
19 |
18 |
| SJ - Jones |
26 |
24 |
| SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| PIT |
9 |
11 |
7 |
27 |
| SJ |
4 |
13 |
2 |
19 |
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| Referees: McCauley,
Sutherland. Linesmen: Murphy, Racicot. |
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