As the Stanley Cup Final shifts to San Jose, the Sharks look to avoid an insurmountable hole, while the Penguins hope to take a commanding lead at the SAP Center on Saturday night.
Pittsburgh is looking to put a stranglehold on the series by taking a 3-0 lead. San Jose, meanwhile, hopes a return to home ice will help it notch its first Stanley Cup Final win in franchise history and cut its deficit to 2-1.
Penguins rookie Conor Sheary scored his fourth goal of the playoffs and second of the series 2:35 into overtime to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 victory in Game 2 and a 2-0 series lead. Phil Kessel also scored his team-leading 10th goal for the Penguins to up his point total to a club-best 19.
"It's surreal," Sheary said via NHL.com. "Important moment. Most important, we got a win and we're up 2-0 right now. It's a good momentum shift for us."
Justin Braun scored a timely goal for the Sharks in Game 2 at 15:55 of the third period to tie the game at 1 and force overtime, but San Jose continued to struggle in the extra frame this playoff run.
Joe Pavelski (13) and Logan Couture (26) lead the Sharks and the playoffs in goals and points respectively, but netiher has found the back of the net yet this series. With San Jose set to host its first Stanley Cup Final game in history, perhaps a shift to the SAP Center will help them out.
Couture had some interesting comments about Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who won the face-off that led to the game-winning goal by Sheary in Game 2.
"He times them and [the referees] don't kick him out for some reason," Couture said, according to ESPN. "Probably because of who he is."
The Sharks had some tough puck luck in Game 2, hitting the post on multiple occasions. Still, it's hard to ignore the Penguins' dominant shot advantage through the first two games. Pittsburgh has 71 shots compared to San Jose's 47, including a 41-26 advantage in Game 1.
This could be a completely different series if not for Martin Jones, who has stood on his head in making 28 saves on 30 shots in Game 2. Jones is 12-8 in his first playoff run as a starter with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
Pittsburgh knows full-well about great goaltending. Rookie Matt Murray who yielded just one goal on 22 shots in Game 2. Murray is 13-4 with a 2.13 GAA and a .926 save percentage in the postseason.
Game Details & Live Stream
Matchup: Penguins at Sharks Stanley Cup Final Game 3
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, Calif.
Radio: Pittsburgh (105.9 WXDX); San Jose (KFOX 98.5);
Series: 2-0 Penguins.
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.
