Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Recap

Sheary Scores in Overtime, Penguins Lead Finals 2-0

         The Pittsburgh Penguins took a 2-0 lead in the best of 7 Stanley Cup Final series last night thanks to rookie Conor Sheary’s overtime heroics. Though San Jose played better and faster than they did in game 1, they still came up just short of a victory. We haven’t seen the Sharks at their best yet this series, but I have a feeling we’ll see that in game 3.

         Last night’s game would have been higher-scoring if not for the goal posts. The puck rang off the post 7 times, 4 by San Jose, 3 by Pittsburgh. Most notably, San Jose’s Tomas Hertl hit the post a total of 3 times. In a scoreless 1^st period, neither the goalies nor the iron could be beaten.

         There were no goals until Pittsburgh’s HBK line connected at 8:20 of the 2^nd. After some pressure in the Sharks zone, Carl Hagelin stole the puck from defenseman Brendan Dillon and passed it to Nick Bonino. Bonino then fed the puck across the net mouth in an attempt to get it to Phil Kessel. On its way to Kessel, the puck bounced towards the net when it hit the stick of the diving Roman Polak. Kessel then tapped the puck across the goal line to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

         For a majority of the game, both teams were very tight defensively. In addition, both teams seemed to become engaged in a physical battle, trading hit after monstrous hit. The second half of the game was this plus a little bit of probing for weaknesses. None of these weaknesses appeared to be exploited until the Sharks finally made use of their ferocious forecheck in the Penguins zone. Late in the game, Justin Braun found an opening and put the puck past a screened Matt Murray with 4:05 remaining in regulation.

         The Sharks nearly broke the tie in the final minute. They had 2 quality scoring chances in that timeframe, but Matt Murray, with the help of his defensemen, kept the score even. Heading into overtime, it was unclear how the rest of the series would unfold. The Penguins could either go up 2-0, or the Sharks could tie the series at 1 before going to San Jose. It wouldn’t take long for that to be determined. Conor Sheary quickly dispelled the possibility of a 1-1 series when he scored off a set faceoff play at 2:35.

         Sidney Crosby won the faceoff back to Kris Letang, who then passed the puck down low into the slot for Sheary to snipe a shot past Martin Jones. The Penguins had won the first 2 games, albeit by a slim margin. Though trailing the series 2 games to none, the Sharks were reportedly upbeat and confident after their game 2 loss. They’re by no means out of this series, and they have a chance to take back what’s theirs when the series shifts to the very loud “Shark Tank” for games 3 and 4. However, if they go down 3-0 in this series, it could be over quickly.