Sharks Get the Break They Need to Revive Hope Against Penguins in Cup Final

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Fifteen minutes after Joonas Donskoi turned and fired the San Jose Sharks back into this Stanley Cup Final, hoots and hollers could still be heard around the SAP Center concourses.

Sharks fans had already sweated through nearly four hours of heart-stopping hockey, but many just didn't want to leave. After waiting 25 years for the first Cup Final home game in team history, who could blame them?

With as much fun as they had, Sharks fans want to come back to this building ASAP.

It's a series again, folks. Despite getting clobbered in the shots-on-goal department again—and despite there being several times when it looked like the younger, faster Pittsburgh Penguins had them done in—the Sharks slipped the noose and took a 3-2 overtime victory on Donskoi's tough-angle, turnaround wrister that somehow found an opening behind rookie Pens goalie Matt Murray.

Game 4 happens Monday night in San Jose, perhaps providing just enough time for Sharks fans to get the vocal cords in good working order again.

"The fans were a big help for us," said Sharks coach Pete DeBoer, whose team had been 0-4 in playoff overtime games and trails 2-1 in the series. "It was a grind of a game out there. You could tell these people had been waiting a long time."

The Penguins outshot the Sharks 42-26, although San Jose had 38 shot attempts blocked—12 of which were against defenseman Brent Burns. Pittsburgh has yet to play from behind in the series and has relentlessly pressured Sharks puck-carriers, creating numerous turnovers—many of which have led to high-quality scoring chances.

But a combination of too many near-misses, goal posts and Martin Jones have kept the Penguins from opening big leads that seem there for the taking. Unless the Sharks find a way to possess the puck more and play for longer in the Pittsburgh end, this could still be a short series.

But it won't be a sweep thanks to Donskoi's heroics.

Burns, who played a team-high 29 minutes and 33 seconds, was one of the first to mob Donskoi, a 24-year-old Finn who played the last few years in his home country.

"I think I have had a lot of scoring chances through the whole Finals," Donskoi said. "This was good time to get it in."

Both teams appeared to have won the game a few minutes earlier in OT. Joe Thornton, still looking for his first goal of the series, had the puck alone in the right circle, the game on his stick. Murray made the clutch save, however, and moments later, Evgeni Malkin had a chance alone in front after a Sharks giveaway—one of 25 officially credited to them on the night.

Malkin just missed, so the game played on.

The Russian was on the ice for the losing goal and trailed Donskoi the whole way as he circled from behind the net into the left circle. Malkin checked Donskoi as well as one can expect, but Donskoi lifted a shot just under the crossbar. Murray can't be faulted much on the play. It was just a great shot, especially for a rookie in OT. History has shown that's a tough thing for youngsters to do.

But the one shot that likely will trouble Murray's sleep Saturday night is the long slap shot from Joel Ward that slipped past him with 11:12 left in regulation, tying the game 2-2. Ward doesn't score often from distance, doing most of his offensive work close to the net. But with time becoming a factor and the Sharks desperate to get anything through the rampart-like Pens defense, Ward let one rip from just inside the center blue line.

"I just buried the head, took a slapper and was fortunate it went in," Ward said. "This group's always upbeat. Basically, it was just chilled and relaxed [before OT]. We just had to come out and play our game."

Ward's goal came just as a double-minor high-sticking penalty to Pittsburgh's Nick Bonino expired. If Murray made that save, the Sharks would have come away with nothing and the building would've been much quieter.

"That was our opportunity," DeBoer said. "The door kind of opened up there. We haven't had a lot of power plays. We got one. We needed to cash in there."

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of Murray: "I thought Matt was solid. He made some big saves for us. He gave us a chance to win tonight."

Jones, who made 40 saves, looked jittery early on, allowing a Ben Lovejoy goal 5:29 into the contest. He got better as the game went on, though, and he'll need to stay sharp moving forward, as the Penguins' offensive pressure has been strong throughout.

Ward, whose reputation for scoring clutch playoff goals keeps growing, credited visualization techniques for some of his success.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

"I don't know," Ward said. "I just visualize. I've watched other sports. I've watched other guys and always tried to emulate, listen to their quotes.

"I got one from Paul Pierce. I watched him in the playoffs the last couple seasons. People always knocked him down a little bit in the regular season, but in the playoffs he always stepped up. Just athletes like that that step up at different times—I try to pick up little things.

"I just visualize, think going out there and having fun. It's just fun. Just enjoying the moment. I think the atmosphere of the games and the crowds, that really speaks for itself."

About an hour after the last puck went in, the building finally went quiet. But in about 48 hours, it's going to get awfully loud again.

Adrian Dater covers the NHL for Bleacher Report.