Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Preview: 5 keys for Sharks, Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks play Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night at CONSOL Energy Center, with the Penguins up 1-0 after their 3-2 win on Monday. 

What have they learned about each other? What do the Sharks have to do to knot up the series?

Here are five key factors for Game 2:

1. The Start And The Second

The Sharks had an epically bad opening period in Game 1, which they’ve attributed to nerves and the Penguins’ own adrenaline-filled push. Whatever the case, the 15-4 shot advantage for Pittsburgh is something the Sharks can’t see repeated.

“We need to use our feet, use our legs and not stand around like we did for the first 18 minutes,” said defenseman Brendan Dillon.

Conversely, the Penguins were dominated in the second period as the Sharks found their structure, relocated their swagger and scored two goals to tie it.

“We stopped making plays. We tried to make the home run play instead of trying to get pucks out. It’s something we can rectify,” said defenseman Brian Dumoulin.

2. The Rust Fallout

Rookie Bryan Rust took the options skate for the Penguins on Tuesday, but is a game-time decision, according to coach Mike Sullivan, after leaving Game 1 with an upper-body injury thanks to a Patrick Marleau hit.

The rookie had four goals in his last three games for the Penguins, including the opening tally in Final.

Will there be any comeuppance for Marleau, who wasn’t disciplined by the NHL for the hit?

3. Goalie Knowledge

Matt Murray and Martin Jones are now both known commodities after Game 1.

For Jones, the Penguins saw some of the aggressive challenging from the Sharks goalie, and saw Conor Sheary take advantage of it with patience on his Game 1 goal.

“He comes out hard. So if you hold onto it for another second, you might open him up a bit,” said winger Carl Hagelin.

As for Murray, the Sharks have no doubt seen a bit more on the rookie than other teams have during his playoff run. In particular, watch for more attempts to get Murray moving inside his crease. He doesn’t push off particularly well, as we saw on that Patrick Marleau wraparound.

4. The Neutral Zone

This might be where Game 2 will be won or lost.

The Penguins struggled in the second period when they tried to make plays in front of the Sharks’ defenders, who found their structure again and forced plenty of turnovers.

“If they want to jam the neutral zone, we have get puck behind them. When we try to make plays in front of their ‘D,’ that’s when they go the other way,” said center Nick Bonino.

Conversely, the Sharks saw that the Penguins’ speed was at its best when they forced neutral zone turnovers.

“You can’t turn the puck over against them in the neutral zone. They’re quick. They’ll make you pay,” said forward Logan Couture.

One of the keys for the Sharks is not allowing the Penguins to victimize them between the bluelines, as they have other opponents through three rounds.

“We saw Tampa do it occasionally, where they turned it over. If anyone dissected our Game 1, we had plenty of turnovers in that area as well,” said winger Tommy Wingels. “The good thing about it is that we can clean it up.”

5. The Sharks’ Rebound

The San Jose Sharks are 5-1 after losses in the postseason.

“We’re a mature group. I think sometimes we need a reminder on how we want to play, and you saw that in the first period,” said Wingels. “We know what we need to do.”

Dillon said the Sharks are adept at understanding what goes wrong in losses.

“Realizing the mistakes we made, and sharpening it right away,” he said.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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