Sharks vs. Penguins: Game 5 Score and Reaction from 2016 Stanley Cup Final

The San Jose Sharks are still swimming in the Stanley Cup Final thanks to goaltender Martin Jones and an early offensive flurry in Thursday's Game 5.   

San Jose came into Consol Energy Center with its back against the wall and emerged with a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh missed the opportunity to clinch the Cup on its home ice, but it leads the series 3-2 and will have a chance to win it in San Jose on Sunday.

Jones was a brick wall in front of the net for the Sharks for the majority of the game and saved 44 of Pittsburgh's 46 shots for a save percentage of 95.7. San Jose managed only 22 shots on the other end, but Penguins goaltender Matt Murray let three of them by in the first period before the visitors added another on an empty net in the third.

That the Sharks emerged with the win in enemy territory should come as no surprise considering they led the NHL in road wins this season with 28.

Brent Burns, Logan Couture, Melker Karlsson and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks, while Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin scored Pittsburgh's two goals, both of which came in the first period.

The opening sequence of Thursday's contest was pure chaos, as the Sharks scored two goals in the first three minutes, and the Penguins answered with two of their own within the next three minutes. Suddenly, it was 2-2 with 14:54 remaining in the first period, and the Sharks' initial spurt was seemingly for naught.

Burns scored the first goal for San Jose, while Couture scored the second. Malkin answered with the Penguins' first, and Hagelin buried the home team's second a mere 22 seconds later. Elias Sports Bureau said it was the fastest combined four goals in Stanley Cup Final history (via NHL Public Relations). 

Andy Glockner of The Cauldron reacted to the poor early play from the goaltenders:

While there was plenty of action to choose from, it was Pittsburgh's first goal that stood out because it stopped the proverbial bleeding and temporarily flipped the momentum. Malkin got credit for the goal, but it was Phil Kessel who assisted, which prompted Dan Rosen of NHL.com to write: "What a tremendous pass by Kessel to Malkin through the middle, tape to tape. Man is he good."

The Penguins shared their initial breakthrough:

Naturally, the scoring wasn't done in the first period. Karlsson found the net for San Jose with 5:13 left in the first off a perfectly placed backhanded pass from Couture, via the NHL:

San Jose took the 3-2 lead into intermission, but Kevin Kurz of CSNBayArea.com said that the "key for [the] Sharks to hold this lead would be playing better in their own end. Pens getting far too many good looks there" after Pittsburgh notched 15 shots to the Sharks' seven in the opening 20 minutes. 

Both defenses played better in the second period, as penalty kills from both sides kept the score at 3-2. The goaltenders also settled in, and Jones made an incredible pad save on Nick Bonino's shot after what appeared to be a wide-open rebound attempt with just less than five minutes left in the second, via NHL on NBC:

Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star wrote that Jones was "the difference" to that point since Pittsburgh had an overwhelming 29 shots to San Jose's 13. That shot advantage for the home team expanded to 32-15 by the end of the second period, but Jones maintained the narrow 3-2 lead heading into intermission. 

Will Graves of the Associated Press said that the "way [the] Pens are creating pressure, another goal seems an almost certainty. Murray staying sharp [with] so much action at the other end a bigger [question]."

The Penguins offense continued to keep the action away from Murray, but Jones stopped chances from Kessel and Sidney Crosby, among others, in the first six minutes of the third. James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail reacted to the brilliant performance from the San Jose goaltender:

Murray also had an impressive save of his own off a one-timer right in front of the net from Patrick Marleau, but he and the defense were put to the test when the Sharks earned a power play with 5:56 remaining in the game. Hagelin was called for hooking, and San Jose had the chance to go on the attack after it seemed as if it was killing a penalty throughout the majority of the third period.

However, the Sharks didn't muster anything, and Ray Ratto of CSNBayArea.com joked that San Jose was "deftly killing this power play."

The Sharks silenced the jokes and the home crowd when Pavelski took advantage of the open net and scored with 1:20 remaining in the game. Somehow, they survived the onslaught of shots from the Penguins offense and essentially clinched the victory.

The Penguins emptied the net again for the closing seconds, but as was the case all game, they couldn't get past Jones. 

What's Next?

Game 6 is Sunday in San Jose at the SAP Center.

These two teams split the first two in San Jose this series, with the Sharks' win in Game 3 coming in overtime. Even though the Penguins lost Thursday, they have the security blanket of a potential Game 7 in their home arena looming Wednesday and can play relatively loose in Game 6. 

As for the Sharks, don't assume they will win Game 6 just because they are at home. They were 18-20-3 at home this season, and it is difficult to envision them surviving another game in which the Penguins outshoot them by 24. 

Jones will have to be on top of his game once again for the Sharks to force a Game 7.

Postgame Reaction

Talk naturally turned to Jones’ performance after the game, and Sharks center Joe Thornton said, per Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News: “He has been the backbone of our team. Just a spectacular performance by him tonight.”

Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic was asked which of Jones’ saves was his favorite, and he said, “My favorite was all 44,” via the Sharks.

Defender Justin Braun summarized the proceedings when he said of Jones, “He pretty much bailed us out tonight,” per Will Graves of the Associated Press.

On the other side, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said, per Pens Inside Scoop: “We knew this wouldn’t be easy. [Two] really good teams playing against each other. Elimination games [are] always the most difficult.” 

He also looked at the silver lining when discussing how his team responded to the early deficit, per Pens Inside Scoop: “Our team as whole was unsettled at [the] first part of [the] game, but we settled in fast. I liked that we battled back as quick as we did.”

Winger Bryan Rust said of the loss, “Sometimes you think you deserve to win, but it’s all about who scores more goals,” per Pens Inside Scoop.

Even with Thursday's loss, the Penguins have to score more goals than the Sharks only one more time to win their first Cup since the 2008-09 season.