The 2015-16 Stanley Cup Final is set to continue when the Sharks and Penguins take the ice at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh for Game 2 on Wednesday.
Pittsburgh is looking to take a swift 2-0 lead by shoring up its home ice, while San Jose looks to tie the set up before it shifts to California for the first time on Saturday.
The Penguins got big productions from their rookies to down the Sharks, 3-2, in Game 1. First-year players Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust gave Pittsburgh an early 2-0 lead with first period goals. It was Rust's six tally of the postseason, setting a franchise record for a rookie, and Sheary's third.
After Tomas Hertl (six) and Patrick Marleau (five) tied it up in the second, Nick Bonino found the twine for his fourth of the playoffs at 17:27 of the third period in what held up as the game-winner.
Rust (upper-body), who has four goals in the last three games, is a game-time decision for Game 2 after a hit from Marleau in the third period Monday.
"I'm just seeing how things go," Rust said via NHL.com. "I'm just going to take it through the afternoon and see how I feel come game time."
While Rust may come out for Pittsburgh, San Jose forward Matt Nieto is expected back in the lineup for the first time in 11 games after dealing with an upper-body injury of his own.
"It's kind of hard to prepare for a game," Nieto said via NHL.com, "but at this stage of the playoffs and it being the Stanley Cup Final, adrenaline kind of takes over."
Logan Couture picked up his 17th assist of the playoffs in the Game 1 loss for San Jose, upping his league-leading point total to 25. Joe Pavelski was held pointless in his first career Stanley Cup Final game, but enters Game 2 with a club-best 13 goals for San Jose.
Phil Kessel was also held off the score sheet, but he enters Game 2 with a Penguins-best nine goals and 18 points, while his linemate, Bonino, has a team-leading 12 helpers.
In net, Martin Jones will look to even out the series for the Sharks after yielding three goals on 41 shots in what was a strong outing despite the loss. Jones, 26, is 12-7 in the playoffs with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.
The Penguins will counter with 21-year-old rookie Matt Murray, who stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced in Game 1 to improve to 12-4 with a 2.20 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
Game Details & Live Stream
Matchup: Sharks at Penguins Stanley Cup Final Game 2
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Radio: San Jose (KFOX 98.5); Pittsburgh (105.9 WXDX)
Predictions: Our predictions for this series can be viewed here.
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds for this game can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here.
