Stanley Cup Finals: Sharks vs. Penguins Game 2 recap, full highlights

The Pittsburgh Penguins won a gritty game in overtime to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The San Jose Sharks will have to wait a little longer to get their first Stanley Cup Finals win in franchise history. After being dominated throughout the first two periods, they fought back to tie the game, only to lose to Conor Sheary and the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime.

The Sharks came into Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in full desperation mode. A 2-0 series deficit would’ve been the worst case scenario for the Sharks, as they would have to go back home with a steep hill to climb.

But it was the Penguins who came out guns blazing. At one point in the first period, Phil Kessel had as many shots (3) as the Sharks themselves. But despite Pittsburgh’s dominant start to the game, the two teams went into the first intermission scoreless.

After Nick Bonino won Game 1 for the Penguins, the HBK Line struck again to break the deadlock. Carl Hagelin forced the turnover, then Phil Kessel finished off a give-and-go with Bonino to take the 1-0 lead. It was Kessel’s first goal since Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, and his 10th of the playoffs. He’s the team’s leading scorer, and could very well be the frontrunner for the Conn Smythe Award. 

After the second period, the shots were 23-11 for the Penguins, and at one point, the Sharks went a full 11 minutes without a shot on goal. They were fortunate to only be down by a goal after two.

But the Sharks couldn’t be faulted for lack of effort. They had lots of clean looks at goal, but hit the post an inordinate amount of times. The Penguins weren’t exempt from this, however, as Kessel hit the post on a great chance to put his team up 2-0.

All of San Jose’s hard work finally paid off when an icing by Hagelin resulted in a face-off in Pittsburgh’s zone and a point shot by Justin Braun tying the game with four minutes left in the third. It was the defenseman’s second career goal, and it sent the game to overtime.

The playoffs are all about digging deep and finding a way to win ugly games, and the Sharks should be given lots of credit for staying in this game when it looked like they were down and out.

Heading into this game, Pittsburgh’s record in playoff overtime was 3-1 while San Jose’s was 0-3. That should’ve been a clear indication that the Penguins would win. And while rookies played a big part in Pittsburgh’s Game 1 win, it was Conor Sheary who stepped up again and scored the overtime winner to give the Pens a 2-0 stranglehold.

Three Stars

Martin Jones

He came up with some big saves to keep his team in the game. There’s no way the game goes to overtime without him.

Phil Kessel

He now has 23 goals in 42 career playoff games. He’s very good at hockey.

Conor Sheary

He may be a rookie, but he’s had two huge goals in this series. This one was good for an overtime winner.

Highlights

"Double digits for Kessel. Hit 10th puts the @Penguins on the board first in Game 2. #StanleyCuphttps://t.co/VWjAf0enYQ— #StanleyCup Final (@NHL) June 2, 2016"

"Braun, clutch.Overtime, forced. #StanleyCuphttps://t.co/nNG0GgL0Ov— #StanleyCup Final (@NHL) June 2, 2016"

Next Game

The series now shifts to San Jose for the next two games. The puck will drop at 8:00 PM ET on Saturday, June 4, and will air on NBC Sports Network.

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