Stanley Cup Final Game 3 Recap

Donskoi Scores OT Winner, Sharks Win First Cup Final Game

         Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final was the first ever Cup Final home game for the San Jose Sharks. It was also their first ever Cup Final win, as Joonas Donskoi scored in overtime to make it a 2-1 series.

         At first, things didn’t look so good for the home team at SAP Center. Ben Lovejoy scored an early go-ahead goal for Pittsburgh at 5:29 when his shot from the point deflected off Roman Polak’s shin pad into the net behind Jones. The Sharks finally hit their stride when Justin Braun put the puck past a screened Matt Murray at 9:34. It was an important moment for Braun, who had recently attended the funeral of his father-in-law, Tom Lysiak.

         Though tied after the 1^st, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer would after the game say, “we were a little jittery at first”. But those nerves appeared to be settled down when San Jose held possession of the puck for a minute straight near the end of the 1^st period. The 2^nd period contained a bunch of great scoring opportunities for the Sharks. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t find an answer to Matt Murray and the posts. The Penguins regained the lead at 19:07 when Patric Hornqvist deflected another shot from Ben Lovejoy into the net.

         So far this season, the Penguins had only lost one game when leading after 2 periods. At the same time, the Sharks hoped to stop that trend. They were 20 minutes away from going down 3-0 in the series, a situation no hockey team wants to be in. San Jose was presented with a big opportunity when Nick Bonino took a double minor high-sticking penalty at 4:48. Just when it appeared the Penguins had successfully killed off both penalties, Joel Ward, who has come up big so many times in the playoffs, blasted a slap shot under Murray’s arm to tie the game.

         Both teams traded chances for the remainder of regulation, but nobody could come up with the winning goal. We would once again head to overtime. Who would be the hero in San Jose? The answer is Joonas Donskoi. Donskoi scored the winner at 12:18 of the first overtime from a sharp angle on a power move as he came out from behind the net. He snuck a shot under the bar past Murray, who was on his knees, and unable to catch the high shot. Donskoi became the sixth rookie in NHL history to score an overtime goal in the Finals.

         The Sharks had just earned their first ever Cup Final win in their first ever Cup Final home game. While they found a way to win a very important game, San Jose may have also found new life in the process. The complexity of the series has likely changed as well. On the other hand, Pittsburgh suffered their first loss in 2 weeks. During those 2 weeks, they had never trailed in a game. This makes them confident they can still have success against the Sharks in game 4 on Monday night.