Penguins Singe Sharks in Opener

It can’t be this easy.

Those were my thoughts as I watched our Penguins bury the San Jose Sharks beneath an avalanche of first-period shots last night during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

My instincts were spot-on.

With all the subtlety of a Clubber Lang left hook, the Sharks struck back during a rocky second period before the Pens finally regained their sea legs to eke out a thrilling 3-2 victory on Nick Bonino’s sensational net-front goal with 2:33 left.

“We saw a lot of their strengths, especially in the second, with how good they are at getting pucks to the net and holding on to pucks down low,” said Pens captain Sidney Crosby. “They play pretty fast. Just two teams who want to get to the exact same game. I thought we did a really good job in the first and third of doing that.”

Following a few probing thrusts, the Penguins shifted into their patented chip-and-chase game. Leading the way was Crosby, who set at least a half-dozen glorious chances in motion during the first ten minutes.

“They came out flying,” San Jose center Logan Couture said. “It looked like we were stuck in mud.”

Stunned into a stupor by the Pens’ blazing speed and a case of opening-game jitters, the Sharks were little more than bystanders as the black and gold tallied a pair of quick-strike goals 62 seconds apart.

Bryan Rust, hero of the recent Game 7 triumph over Tampa Bay, pounced on a loose puck in the slot and beat Martin Jones at 12:46. It was his sixth goal of the postseason—a new record for Pens rookies.

Scarcely a minute later, Crosby shed Sharks defenseman Justin Braun with a brilliant change of direction and found Conor Sheary with a pretty cross-ice feed. Using linemate Patric Hornqvist and defender Marc-Edouard Vlasic as screens, the diminutive Penguins winger ripped the puck home high to the stick side.

If not for a series of stand-your-ground stops by Jones (38 saves), the locals may well have busted the game wide open. As it was, the Pens had to content themselves with a 2-0 lead…and a staggering 15-4 edge in shots on goal.

The second period? As Crosby noted…all Sharks. Indeed, it seemed the teams had swapped uniforms at the intermission. Or the Consol Energy Center ice had permanently tilted toward Fifth Avenue.

Following an early San Jose salvo, Melker Karlsson smartly lured Pens defenseman Ian Cole into a hooking infraction. Still, the home team came within a dozen seconds of killing the penalty when Tomas Hertl took a deft pass from Joonas Donskoi down low and banked the puck in off of Olli Maatta.

The goal shook the locals. Unable to respond, the black and gold teetered on the verge of inertia while the Sharks imposed their will. They proceeded to pile up a 13-8 advantage in second-period shots on goal—a margin that didn’t fully reflect their dominance.

Cycling the puck to perfection, the visitors knotted the score at 18:12 on a power wraparound by Patrick Marleau following a Brent Burns blast from the point.

Seemingly out of answers and out of gas, the Pens limped to the dressing room.

Whatever coach Mike Sullivan and his staff said between periods took. Our boys played with renewed vigor in the final frame, unleashing 18 shots.

Still, with Jones and Penguins counterpart Matt Murray matching each other save for big save, overtime appeared imminent.

Cue Bonino. In his inimitable, no-frills style, lucky No. 13 slipped undetected into open space behind Paul Martin and fielded a crisp, hard pass from Kris Letang. Bonino coolly corralled the puck, then launched it over Jones’ blocker pad for the game winner.

“It wasn’t my hardest shot by any means,” the bearded center confessed. “I just found a way to flip it over him.”

We’ll gladly take it, Bones.

One down. Three to go.

Rust Hurt

Rust absorbed a shoulder-to-head hit from the 220-pound Marleau at 4:47 of the third period. The speedy Pens’ winger skated one more shift after being attended to by trainer Chris Stewart.

The Notre Dame grad is listed as day-to-day.

Marleau, issued a minor penalty on the play, will not face further disciplinary action.