Sunday 5 June 2016

Rapid Reaction: San Jose Sharks 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (OT)



SAN JOSE -- The San Jose Sharks posted a 3-2 overtime win against thePittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night at SAP Center. The Penguins lead this best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 at 8 p.m. ET here on Monday

How it happened: Joonas Donskoi's goal at 7:18 of OT gave the Sharks the victory. San Jose is now 8-2 on home ice this postseason. The Penguins received goals from defenseman Ben Lovejoy and forward Patric Hornqvist, while goaltender Matt Murray finished with 23 saves. It was the Sharks' best game of the series. Defenseman Justin Braun and forward Joel Ward provided the other goals for San Jose. Goaltender Martin Jones was outstanding, finishing with 40 saves.

With the game tied at 1-1, the Sharks' Logan Couture rang one off the post midway through the second period. Had he scored, it would have given the Sharks their first lead of the series. Despite playing its best period of the series, San Jose still trailed by a goal after the second. Lovejoy provided his second point of the game when he assisted on Hornqvist's eighth goal of the postseason at 19:07 of the second. Pittsburgh, however, knew it needed to stay out of the box and not allow San Jose's potent power play an opportunity to strike. That's exactly what happened when the Penguins' Nick Bonino was given a four-minute, double-minor penalty for high-sticking Joe Thornton. As the penalty was about to expire, Ward's shot from the high slot beat Murray on a bad goal at 8:48 of the third. For the second consecutive game, the victor triumphed in overtime.

What it means: The Sharks are back in this series with a crucial Game 4 on home ice. The Penguins still need only two wins to hoist the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in franchise history and first since 2009.

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