Conor Sheary scored 2:35 into overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins past the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in Game 2 at Consol Energy Center on Wednesday night.
Game 2 meant the Sharks had a chance to split the series before heading back to San Jose, however, Team Teal missed out on a lot of opportunities throughout the game.
The Penguins used their speed to limit San Jose’s chances. They held the Sharks to six shots on goal in a scoreless first period.
Tomas Hertl hit three posts — two in the first period and one in the second.
Hertl had a chance to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead early in the second when he stripped Nick Bonino behind the net and fell while wrapping a shot around Penguins goalie Matt Murray that hit off the left post at 4:10.
The Sharks went 11:06 without a shot in the second period until Brent Burns put a wrist shot on Matt Murray with 1:08 left.
The Penguins scored first on a goal set up by a San Jose turnover. Phil Kessel took a pass from Nick Bonino and tipped the puck behind Martin Jones to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 8:20.
Carl Hagelin came close to extending the Penguins’ lead to 2-0 when on a 2-on-1 with Kessel late in the second. Hagelin kept the puck and his shot went off Jones and then hit the crossbar with 4:41 left.
The Penguins outshot the Sharks 23-11 and led 1-0 after two periods.
Sharks forward Chris Tierney almost tied the game when he shot off the crossbar 4:07 into the third.
After the puck bounced off Sharks goalie Martin Jones, San Jose tied the contest 1-1 at 15:55 on Justin Braun’s first goal of the playoffs. It all started when Logan Couture won the battle for a loose puck. Braun’s shot found the net through traffic for his first goal of the playoffs.
Joonas Donskoi had a great chance to win the game late in the third period, but his shot bounced off Murray.
The contest was extended to overtime, courtesy of Braun’s game-tying goal with 4:05 left in regulation.
The overtime was over quickly. Conor Sheary scored on a wrist shot from the deep slot at the 2:35 mark to give the Penguins a 2-1 win over the Sharks in Game 2. Matt Murray made 21 saves for Pittsburgh, while Martin Jones made 28 saves for San Jose.
The Penguins lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.
Notes:
Sharks forward Matt Nieto (upper body) returned after last playing May 9.
Penguins rookie forward Bryan Rust (upper body) played after being injured in the third period of Game 1, which Pittsburgh won 3-2.
Up Next: Game 3 will be held on Saturday at 5:00 pm PT on CBC, TVA.
