Stanley Cup Final 2016: Sharks vs. Penguins Game 1 Result, Updated Schedule

After seeing their two-goal lead slip away in the second period, the Pittsburgh Penguins showed a renewed effort in the final 20 minutes in their Stanley Cup Final opener against the San Jose Sharks. That increased level of play paid off with 2:33 remaining when Nick Bonino flipped a short shot by San Jose goalie Martin Jones to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 victory.

The Sharks had rallied on goals by Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau in the second period, and their team speed and collective defensive effort left the crowd in the Consol Energy Center with an uneasy feeling that manifested itself in a relatively quiet building.

But that changed at the start of the third period, when the Penguins secured a couple of early scoring opportunities and started taking the game to the Sharks once again. While Jones was performing well in goal, the Sharks were no longer dictating the pace as they did in the middle period. Instead, they were chasing the game.

Game	Date	Location	Time (ET)	TV
Game 2	June 1	at Pittsburgh	8 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
Game 3	June 4	at San Jose	8 p.m.	NBC or NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
Game 4	June 6	at San Jose	8 p.m.	NBC or NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
Game 5*	June 9	at Pittsburgh	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, TVAS
Game 6*	June 12	at San Jose	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, TVAS
Game 7*	June 15	at Pittsburgh	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, TVAS

That's just the way the Penguins made them play in the first period as well. Pittsburgh dominated the first period, and head coach Mike Sullivan could have expected his team to build a sizable lead if not for the play of Jones. Pittsburgh kept pouring the pressure on San Jose, and they finally had a breakthrough when Bryan Rust knocked in a short shot after collecting the rebound of a Justin Schultz strike.

Rust, an unheralded player, has scored four goals in his last three games. Another role player, Conor Sheary, scored 62 seconds after Rust's opening goal. Both Rust and Sheary are rookies.

The Penguins outshot the Sharks 15-4 in the opening period.

The Sharks looked nothing like the team that had eliminated the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Final during the first period. Head coach Peter DeBoer admitted his side looked uncomfortable in the opening period during an interview with NBC's Pierre McGuire.

Hertl and Marleau found a way to beat Penguins goalie Matt Murray in the second period, though. Marleau's tying goal was a backhanded wraparound in which he demonstrated superb puck control and quickness as he beat Murray to the post, and his shot went off the goalie's skate and into the net.

Marleau was later involved in a controversial play as he leveled Rust with a hard hit that appeared to have some contact with the head. Sullivan said Rust is "day-to-day," and he clearly did not like the hit.

“It’s a blindside hit to the head,” he said, per Mike Halford of NBC Sports. “[Marleau] gets a penalty, and I’m sure the league will look at it.”

Bonino's game-winner came as defenseman Kris Letang followed the play deep in the San Jose zone and dug the puck out of the corner. He spotted Bonino about eight feet in front of Murray and zipped a hard pass that landed right on the tape of Bonino's stick. The winger secured the pass and shot it in nearly the same motion, beating Jones up high.

“[It was] not my hardest shot ever,” Bonino said after the game, per Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But it found a way in.”

San Jose defenseman Paul Martin, who played exceptionally well throughout the majority of the game, lost sight of Bonino on the play, and that gave the winger an extra split second to get his shot away.

The Sharks will have their opportunity to tie the series in Game 2 Wednesday night.