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- Tampa Bay Lightning Win Stanley Cup
Sheary’s OT goal sends Penguins to 2-0 Cup final lead over Sharks
- Updated: June 1, 2016
The Pittsburgh Penguins are just two wins away from the title after beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night.
Conor Sheary rifled a wrist shot over the shoulder of Martin Jones just 2:35 into overtime to seal the victory for the Penguins.
Phil Kessel scored his team-high 10th goal of the postseason at 8:20 of the second period. An aggressive forecheck by Carl Hagelin forced Roman Polak to rush a pass attempt to his partner, Brenden Dillon. The puck was picked off by Game 1 hero Nick Bonino, who sent the puck to Kessel for an easy open-side tap-in to give Pittsburgh the lead.
Justin Braun tied the game for the Sharks at 15:55 of the third when his seeing-eye slapper from the top of the circle darted through a forest of bodies and banked in off the post. The goal, his first of the postseason, was assisted by Logan Couture and Joel Ward.
Pittsburgh netminder Matt Murray stopped 21 of 22 shots to record the victory. Jones was outstanding at the other end of the ice, making 28 stops to keep the Sharks close. With the loss, he falls to 0-4 in overtime this spring.
As in Game 1, Pittsburgh controlled much of the play, out-attempting the Sharks by a wide margin and dictating the pace with their speed and relentless pressure on the puck.
“I think that’s the identity of our team,” Sheary said. “I think a lot of guys have bought into that system. I think when we do that, play in people’s face, we overwhelm teams. It’s been working out well for us.”
Sidney Crosby followed up a strong performance in the opener with a star turn in Game 2. “He’s a threat every time he’s on the ice,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of Crosby, who set up Sheary’s clincher with a key face-off win. “He’s playing the game the right way. He plays a complete game, the full sheet. He’s great on the puck battles. I think he’s inspiring for our group. He’s doing everything in his power to help this team win right now.”
San Jose’s top line of Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl was again held in check, combining for just four shots in the game. The trio is pointless at even strength in the series.
The 2-0 series lead is significant. The Pens become the 50th team in NHL history to win the first two games of a Cup final; 44 of the previous 49 have gone on to win the series. The Sharks have gone down by that margin 10 times in their playoff history. They’ve yet to come back from the deficit.
The 2011 Boston Bruins were the last team to go down 0-2 in the final and rebound to win the Cup.
Game 3 is Saturday night in San Jose.
