Can Sharks come home again?

By Mark Purdy, Mercury News Columnist

http://www.mercurynews.com/sharks

June 6, 2016

San Jose Sharks' Justin Braun (61) and Martin Jones (31) can't stop a power-play goal by the Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (71) in the second period of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 6, 2016. (Getty Images)

SAN JOSE -- Monday night at SAP Center, there were no overtime miracles. There was no overtime.

There were no happy fans spilling into the San Jose streets after the game after a victory. There was no victory.

There was no problem finding happiness in the Pittsburgh Penguins' dressing room. There was no question they deserved to win, 3-1, and go back home for Thursday's next game with a stranglehold on the series.

And oddsmakers would say that because the Sharks trail by three games to one, they have almost no chance to win the Cup. There is no question the task will be difficult.

How many more times do you want to see the word "no" used in a sentence connected to the Stanley Cup Final and the Sharks?

Here's a final one and it might be the most stunning: There have been no goals by Joe Pavelski in the four games against Pittsburgh.

That's surprising because in the first three rounds of the Sharks' greatest playoff run ever, Pavelski scored 13 goals and drove opponents bonkers. Against the Penguins, he's just trying to create to get a single bonk. Or even a single point. Because he also does not have any assists in the four games. It's maddening.

And Pavelski, the team captain, is not running away from that.

"Right now, we're in the hole we're at," Pavelski said after Monday's game. "A goal or two probably changes the outcome. The way it's been going for most of the postseason, I feel like I should probably have a little bit more."

So should the Sharks.

Pavelski's lack of scoring is not the only reason the Sharks find themselves trailing in the series. It's not the only reason why, with another raucous crowd at SAP Center ready to lift them, they wasted an opportunity to even the series.

However, the Pavelski problem is a symbol of the Sharks' bigger problem. They can't score goals. After averaging more than 3.5 goals per game in their three previous playoff series, they have scored just seven goals in the four games against the Penguins.

Even worse, the Sharks can't take a lead to make the Penguins sweat.

The only time that the Sharks have had a lead in the four games was on the winning goal by Joonas Donskoi in overtime last Saturday night, which officially ended Game 3. But does anyone remember the last time that the Sharks had a lead during the run of play?

To refresh your memory, it was back on May 25, on the night that the Sharks clinched their Western Conference title against St. Louis. And the last time a Sharks player scored a go-ahead goal when they took a 1-0 lead in that game on a shot by . . . that's right, Pavelski. See how the circle of frustration all comes back around?

The crowd at the Shark Tank was prepared on Monday to roar and ride along with an early Sharks' jump. But the Penguins, as is their way, jumped in front instead. The Sharks made a shaky line change and left Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Cole wide open to seize a juicy rebound and slap it into the net for the 1-0 lead. Not even eight minutes into the game, the Penguins were ahead. Again.

"Shouldn't happen," said Sharks' forward Logan Couture of the sloppy coverage after the troubled line change.

And he was right. But here's also what shouldn't happen: The Sharks should not have so much trouble finding a way to counteract the mistake. The Sharks should be able to score enough goals to overcome such a mistake.

In fact, even after the Penguins took a 2-0 lead on a power play goal in the second period, the Sharks theoretically should have enough firepower to score three or four goals and win.

But it wasn't until the third period when they finally began to create those excellent chances to fire away — but then they failed to cash in when those chances arose.

Patrick Marleau had a one-on-one look at Pittsburgh rookie goalie Matt Murray and didn't bury the puck.

"I just missed my shot and he got a glove on it," Marleau said.

Marleau set up Pavelski with a great look at Murray . . . and couldn't convert.

"He read the shot," Pavelski said. "Got to pick a different spot with him."

Brent Burns, so awesome with his shot from up top in the early rounds, only got one to the net Monday . . . and Murray saved it. Same with shots by Couture and Joe Thornton.

"I thought there were goals out there," said Sharks coach Pete DeBoer. "I thought we had a chance to score at least a couple tonight. We had some really good looks. Their goalie made some saves, we didn't finish."

In the end, the beloved Los Tiburones outshot and outhit the Penguins and even won more faceoffs. But they didn't win. Because the shots taken by the Sharks weren't good enough to get past Penguins' rookie goalie Matt Murray.

What now? The first step is to get a lead in Pittsburgh on Thursday. said Pavelski.

If the Sharks don't, then the series could be over. And fans of the Sharks may have seen their last game at SAP Center this season. If there is a Game 6, it would be next Sunday at the Tank. But there may be no Game 6.

"It's disappointing when you don't win in front of fans like this," Couture said. "It's never fun to see fans leaving unhappy. You feel like you've let them down. We hope that we're back here. But we've got to focus on one game first."

Actually, first they've got to focus on getting ahead. Otherwise, they will get to face summer sooner than anyone thought.

Read Mark Purdy's blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/purdy. Contact him atmpurdy@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MercPurdy.

Believe it: Pittsburgh Penguins, not considered a favorite, are one win within winning the Stanley Cup

Scott BurnsideESPN Senior Writerhttp://espn.go.com/nhl/June 7, 2016

Pittsburgh Penguins' Eric Fehr scores a goal between San Jose Sharks' Justin Braun, left, and Brenden Dillon (4) during the third period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Monday, June 6, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. Pittsburgh won, 3-1. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- As the Pittsburgh Penguins packed up their gear at the SAP Center in San Jose, ready to head home, they did so knowing that another object was also being readied for the same trip: the Stanley Cup.

Over the next 72 hours, the Penguins will have a chance to reflect on the arrival of the coveted trophy in its familiar wheeled box in their city and the final step that lies ahead. And maybe they'll also consider the many steps that led them to this point, including Monday's 3-1 win here over the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals.

It was a win that gave them a 3-1 series lead and an opportunity to secure a championship Thursday night (8 ET) in Game 5.

It's a win that narrows the focus at the end of this long, meandering season and gives us pause to think of how a team that looked so unchampionship-like in October and November and even into December has become what might be viewed as a team of destiny.

"I mean, pretty surreal that we were out of the playoffs and everybody had kind of counted us out," said Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who bounced back from a subpar performance in a Game 3 loss to once again lead all skaters with 25:20 in ice time in Game 4, adding an assist on a second-period, power-play goal that would stand as the winner.

"It's been a huge journey," said defenseman Ian Cole, who opened the scoring with his first-ever postseason goal.

He became the 16th different Penguin to score a goal in these playoffs.

And really, that says so much about this team and how Pittsburgh remade itself from a disjointed, aimless group that began the season with three straight losses and ambled through November before general manager Jim Rutherford fired second-year head coach Mike Johnston and replaced him with Mike Sullivan, setting in motion a series of dominoes that would tumble their way to the edge of a Stanley Cup championship.

"No one was happy with the way [the season] started," Cole said. "We learned hard lessons. We grew as a team. We had some fantastic additions to our team. We just kind of grew together and knew we had to kind of come together as a team to be this successful, to get to where we wanted to get to, and we did that."

Game 4 was more of what has become a familiar refrain from the Penguins this spring: Expect the unexpected. Expect the group to be somehow more formidable than its often formidable individuals.

To wit: Cole scores and then Evgeni Malkin scores on the power play for just his second goal in the past 16 games. And finally Eric Fehr, an offseason addition who missed time early this season with an injury, snapping home a wonderfulCarl Hagelin feed to snuff out what looked like another late-game Sharks rally. Behind them, rookie goalie Matt Murray once again rebounds from a loss with a stellar effort, stopping 23 of 24 shots as the Penguins were outshot for the first time in 13 games.

"It's hard to believe," said longtime broadcast analyst Phil Bourque, who won two championships with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992.

"October, November, December just seems so long ago. And the trials and tribulations. All the question marks of what is wrong with this team, why aren't they winning? It seems like a hundred years ago."

So many miles traveled by this team and such a short distance yet to go, although "short" is very much a relative term.

"You've just got to understand that it's going to take our best and we're going to see their absolute best," explained captain Sidney Crosby, who has to be the clubhouse leader for the Conn Smythe Trophy should the Penguins close out the Sharks on Thursday.

"In saying that, you can't get caught looking ahead of things," Crosby added. "We've had a great approach all playoff long -- all season long -- in making sure we're staying in the moment here. That will be important here, now more than ever."

Matt Cullen understands this moment as well as any. Back in 2006, his Carolina Hurricanes took a 3-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers in the finals and it took all seven games before the 'Canes celebrated a Stanley Cup win.

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"We've earned ourselves a good opportunity here," said the 39-year-old, who has had a stellar finals series. "It's a different level of excitement. And I think that it's something that we've earned. But all it is, is an opportunity right now. It's up to us to take advantage of it.

"Now the work begins."

Maybe Cullen is right. We like to imagine moments like this as a kind of journey, but maybe it's more like a job, building some sort of structure or object. For the Penguins, construction began months ago, even if it seems like years and years.

"It's been a pretty special ride and our group has developed some pretty close bonds, and we've really come together here," Cullen said. "We've gone through a lot, and to turn it around the way we have and to stick with it through everything says a lot about our team. So it's been a special ride so far. We sure want to finish it off the right way."

Contrary to what some experts predicted, the Penguins' no-name defense is getting it done

Scott BurnsideESPN Senior Writerhttp://espn.go.com/nhl/June 6, 2016

San Jose Sharks' Melker Karlsson (68) battles for the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins' Brian Dumoulin (8) in first period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, June 4, 2016. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Pittsburgh Penguins' defense corps has been listening to two basic storylines for months.

It was either: The Penguins were doomed because their defense wasn't good enough.

Or, the Penguins might be OK in the playoffs in spite of their defense, which would otherwise doom any other team unlucky enough to have this group on its roster.

But the one storyline that has, until recently at least, rarely been given voice: Holy cow, this Penguins defense is good. And maybe not just good, but Stanley Cup good.

And say this about a blue-line corps that, outside of star Kris Letang, lacks the profile of pretty much any other playoff team this spring, these Penguins are extremely self-aware.

They know what people have been saying about them and they have excelled in spite of it. Or maybe because of it.

"I think that particular storyline is something that they've been saying from the start of the year," Penguins defenseman Ian Cole said in an interview. "We got [Phil] Kessel and they're like, 'Oh wow, they're all set but man, their D.' So I think everyone's aware of that."

It's easier to have this discussion, of course, when a team is just two wins away from a Stanley Cup championship, which is the case with the Penguins in spite of their 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks in Game 3 of the finals Saturday night. Game 4 is here Monday night, 8 ET.

In spite of the absence of top-four defender Trevor Daley, who broke his ankle late in the Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Penguins have been rock-solid defensively. They have limited opposing teams to 30 or fewer shots in six straight games and 10 of their past 12 playoff games.

They have allowed just nine goals in their past five games, including two elimination games against the Lightning in the conference finals. In 21 playoff games, they have allowed more than three goals just four times.

And if they keep up that level of play, well, it's hard to imagine this defense-by-committee isn't going to be invited in the next couple of weeks to a parade where no one will be talking about how unimpressive its members are.

"I've been surprised because I didn't realize how good they were," admitted former NHL goaltender and longtime national analyst Darren Eliot.

"I didn't know that Brian Dumoulin had maybe become the most improved player in the National Hockey League this year. Ben Lovejoy can skate," Eliot said. "So you can put players in a system and ask all of them to do the same thing as Kris Letang -- which means we all know that he'll jump up and join the rush, and that he can defend with his feet, that he can go back and retrieve pucks quickly. But when you make that a requirement of everybody and you have a mobile defense, you see what's possible and they're proving that."

Credit is due Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, of course, for implementing a game plan that seems especially tailored to this group of defenders, regardless of the external view of them.

"I think to their credit, you know, they believe in one another, they play hard for each other, and I think they believe in the team as a group," Sullivan said. "I think that's what has allowed us to kind of endure some of the injuries that we faced for the last four months."

There is little question the group -- which includes Lovejoy, who had a goal and an assist in Game 3; Olli Maatta, who has bounced back nicely after being a healthy scratch for three games in the conference finals; Justin Schultz, who was cast out by the Edmonton Oilers because of his perceived deficiencies; and Dumoulin, who has almost overnight become a top-four defender for the Penguins; and Letang, the true star of the group -- is extremely tight-knit.

"I don't know if it's necessarily the fact that we're trying to prove people wrong," Cole said. "I think everybody's trying to go about their job and do it very, very well. And I think that everyone's really taken it upon themselves to raise their game, knowing that this talk is out there. And I think that you see that, just kind of what we've thought, that this is actually an asset to our team, that it's something that it actually helps our team and it's not something that's a hindrance or winning in spite of our D corps."

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Even the Sharks, who have broken down some of the best defensive groups in the NHL while advancing to their first-ever Stanley Cup finals, admitted surprise they hadn't been able to get to the Penguins' defenders. Instead, the blue-line group has made a science of quickly retrieving pucks, and if a smart play isn't available, it has become adept at flipping the pucks into spaces where the Penguins' speedy forwards can track down and take possession.

Now, no blue-line corps works in a vacuum, so credit must also go to a forward group that is committed to two-way play. Still, one longtime scout said he thinks we might be seeing an evolution of sorts in how teams construct their blue line.

"I think their 'D' are smart," the scout said. "They aren't all big and fast, but they can get to the puck and move it quickly. Looks like they are playing with a lot of confidence.

"Looks like the game is evolving right before our eyes. 'D' are getting smaller as game gets faster."

Interesting storyline, no? More interesting than the well-worn storyline asking exactly who these guys are.

Looking to rebound: Murray, offensive stars need to bounce back for Penguins

By Mark Madden

http://www.timesonline.com/sports

June 6, 2016

Pittsburgh Penguins Ben Lovejoy (12) shoots and scores an assist in the second period as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the San Jose Sharks in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, June 4, 2016. (sfbay.ca/)

If the Penguins score in overtime Saturday, the series is basically over. But San Jose scored, so the Stanley Cup is up for grabs. The only way to regroup? Refreshing Penguins notes. Engraved for the sake of permanence.

• The Penguins’ game is based on speed and attacking. But it was nonetheless ill-advised for Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang to initiate an offensive thrust at the end of what would have been a backbreaking four-minute penalty-kill as the midway point of the third period beckoned with the Penguins ahead, 2-1. If the Penguins get out of that situation, San Jose in a deep emotional hole. But the puck got turned over, and a Sharks three-on-two resulted in Joel Ward’s game-tying goal.
• Matt Murray absolutely has to stop Ward’s shot. The puck went through him. If Marc-Andre Fleury concedes that goal in that situation, the hoi polloi crucify him.
• Joonas Donskoi’s OT goal was a bit leaky, too. Murray was deep in his net and crouched too low. But that’s how Murray plays. Donskoi’s goal was like one netted by Washington’s Justin Williams in Game 6 of the second round. Evgeni Malkin lost Donskoi coming around the net, and Justin Schultz couldn’t close him down.
• Crosby and Malkin have combined for zero goals in the final, as have San Jose’s Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton. It’s become fashionable for big-money stars to not score by way of “playing the game the right way.” But anybody can do that. Cash should equate to production. Malkin’s $9.5 million salary certainly should equate to him burying his chance on the doorstep in OT.
• Thornton will shoot, but only as a last resort. The Penguins should defend Thornton accordingly.
• Crosby and Malkin each played under 21 minutes in a game that lasted over 72 minutes. That’s nonsensical. It’s the Stanley Cup Final. Crosby and Malkin should play a lot more. What could Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan possibly be thinking?
• San Jose coach Pete DeBoer can put three centers on one line – Couture, Pavelski and Thornton – and the result is possession and chances. Yet when Crosby and Malkin skate together, it almost never works, or even threatens.
• The bad ice at San Jose negated much of the Penguins’ precision, and the resulting slowness allowed the Sharks to play bigger. It will be more of the same in Game 4. The Penguins have to simplify and get more pucks to the net. That’s how they got both of their goals on Saturday.
• The Penguins out-hit the Sharks 47-17 in Game 3. But the Penguins don’t pay much heed to that stat, and shouldn’t. That’s not their team’s identity. Network analysts broke down Letang being knocked to the ice by Pavelski like it was the Zapruder film. But it had no impact whatsoever on the game.
• Defenseman Ben Lovejoy had a goal and assist Saturday. If the Penguins win, he’s a Pittsburgh legend. But the Penguins didn’t.
• Except when he’s scoring, Conor Sheary doesn’t do much. His size cripples him in puck battles. It’s hard to imagine him as a full-time top six moving forward.
• The Sharks have looked tired and outclassed for speed during much of the final. That wasn’t the case in Game 3. But playing OT won’t help Pavelski, Thornton, Brent Burns and Patrick Marleau, all over 30 and playing their 103rd game of the season.
• You couldn’t ask for a more exciting final: Two games decided in overtime, the other with 2:33 left in regulation. The Penguins and Sharks are an even match.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

Penguins let one slip away

BY ROB ROSSI 
http://triblive.com/sports/
June 5, 2016


Pittsburgh Penguins Matthew Murray (30)   stops a shot by San Jose Sharks Joonas Donskoi (27) in the second period as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the San Jose Sharks in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, June 4, 2016. (sfbay.ca/)

SAN JOSE, Calif.

Giveaways have a way of hurting even the best hockey teams.

In a Stanley Cup Final they were controlling, the Penguins just gave away a game that could hurt their quest to become hockey's best team.

And a giveaway is the only way to view their 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday night.

Which is not to suggest the Sharks were undeserving victors. Far from it, actually.

In fact, winger Joonas Donskoi's goal about 12 minutes into overtime felt anticlimactic. Felt inevitable, anyway.

Once the Sharks pulled even in the third period, Game 3 seemed sure to go their way.

Hockey works that way.

It's why the Penguins need to play sharper, smarter and more fundamentally sound hockey here Monday night. Up 2-1 in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final, they are still in prime position to make short work of winning the Cup.

But giving away a 2-0 series lead would give a lot of people good reason to worry that hockey's best team is the one that calls its home a “Shark Tank.”

Now look, the Sharks are a really good club.

They're well coached. They possess proud veterans who —­ like the Penguins' best players —­ are trying to exorcise some ghoulish postseason demons. Also, the Sharks may just have something the Penguins had to overcome in the Eastern Conference finals.

That would be a goalie performing at a higher level.

The battle of goalies not with their clubs a year ago is being won by Martin Jones. In Game 3, he turned aside 40 shots, including 26 of 27 shots in the first and third periods.

His rookie counterpart, the Penguins' Matt Murray, was nowhere near Jones' excellence. He finished with only 23 saves in the loss, and for the Final has allowed six goals on 74 shots.

A .919 save percentage from Murray might be enough for the Penguins to finish off the Sharks. But only might.

The Penguins are doing awfully well by Murray, having all but closed off the Sharks' shooting lanes. They blocked 38 shots in Game 3.

Coach Mike Sullivan said Murray — clearly his preferred goalie — “made some big saves” and “gave us a chance to win.” And were he speaking on the postseason as a whole, Sullivan would be telling the truth.

When it comes to Game 3, however, Murray didn't make a couple of leads hold up. Sure, those leads were 1-0 and 2-1, but they were leads nonetheless.

When clubs are as close in talent and intent as are the Penguins and Sharks, leads must be held. Already, the Penguins have given up a couple late. They were fortunate to win one of those games.

They won't win many more like that.

Murray needed to make the stop on winger Joel Ward's slap shot that evened Game 3. It was a shot that cannot get past the goalie of a championship squad.

If the Penguins are to become that squad, Murray has to be their goalie. Sullivan already played his Flower card. Barring an injury to Murray, it wouldn't be just to turn to former starter Marc-Andre Fleury now.

It would be wise for the Penguins' best players to be better in critical situations.

Sloppy stick work by center Nick Bonino provided the Sharks four minutes of power-play time with the Penguins clinging to a one-goal lead in the third period. The penalty kill bailed him out… until one of many regrettable decisions by defenseman Kris Letang led to Ward's scoring chance.

Letang knows better than to chase a scoring chance (so, too, does captain Sidney Crosby) at the end of a long penalty kill. Dumping the puck made sense at what would have been the most inspired kill of an inspiring season.

But Letang has made a Conn Smythe-run by going for it.

He went for it, and that risk went against the Penguins.

The series might follow suit unless center Evgeni Malkin can figure out how to score a goal. He hasn't marked since Game 4 of the East finals, and his first of only two shots wasn't recorded until eight minutes were left in regulation in Game 3.

Malkin can do more.

Letang can play better.

Murray can at least match Jones' performance.

The Penguins can still fatally hook the Sharks on Monday night.

But if they don't, this tight Final will feel like the loss in Game 3 — like it was given away.

Rob Rossi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at rrossi@tribweb.com or via Twitter@RobRossi_Trib.

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Supporting cast comes through in OT victory for Sharks 

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Plus/Minus: Lovejoy shines, but team falters

By Brian Metzer

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

June 5, 2016

Pittsburgh Penguins Eric Fehr (16) blocks a shot by San Jose Sharks Brenden Dillon (4) as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the San Jose Sharks in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, June 4, 2016. (sfbay.ca/)

Plus -- Feeling the Lovejoy

Defenseman Ben Lovejoy had appeared in 388 NHL games entering Game 3 on Saturday night in San Jose. That total counts regular season and playoff games over an eight-year career in which he collected eight two-point games. After his performance in the Penguins 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks he now has nine, as he scored an unassisted first period goal and assisted on Patric Hornqvist’s second period marker. Both goals were the result of his quickly getting shots back to the Sharks net. He is always looking to put pucks on goal and into traffic and he’s getting rewarded for it. He finished the game with two points, two shots on goal, four blocked shots, one takeaway and a plus-two rating over 26:02 minutes of ice time.

Minus – Failure to capitalize

The Penguins got a power play very early in the first period when Joel Ward was whistled for high-sticking Conor Sheary just 2:58 minutes into the game. They lost the initial faceoff and the Sharks sent the puck deep into the Penguins’ zone. From there, they spent the next 1:30 trying to get into the Shark’s zone. Once they finally established possession in the zone, they weren’t able to generate much of anything. They moved the puck around a bit and put just one shot on goal. They have now gone 0-for-6 on the power play in the series and 1-for-17 dating back to Game 5 against the Lightning.

Plus – Shot Finnish-er

Olli Maatta has looked a lot more like himself since returning to the lineup late in the Eastern Conference Final and his shot blocking skills shined on Saturday night. He blocked six shots through regulation, added an assist and posted a plus-2 rating. He put three shots on goal and had one hit. It wasn’t all roses -- he was also credited with three giveaways.

Minus – Too many blocks

The Penguins blocked 36 shots through regulation and two more in overtime. Some might say that is great work by a five-man unit keeping pucks from getting to their goaltender. That is true to an extent, but it also tells a different story -- the Penguins were penned up in their own zone for long stretches of time. Players and teams that block a ton of shots aren’t playing in the offensive zone often. It is still a great number, but it’s a deceptive one.

Minus – Struggling below the goal line

For all the great work that Matt Murray did during Game 3, he was stung for two goals that he’d likely want another crack at. The first came at 8:48 of the third period when he was forced to face a Joel Ward shot off the rush after his teammates bungled a play at the other end of the ice, but he saw the shot and it went right through him. Then came overtime, where he was spectacular, until Joonas Donskoi carried the puck out from behind the net, created a shooting angle and fired a shot short side over Murray’s shoulder. It was very reminiscent of goals that beat him earlier in the playoffs, specifically one scored by Justin Williams of the Capitals. He needs to stay his feet and hug his post in those situations; unfortunately, he’s concerned about the wrap around attempt and stays squat and low. The Sharks will be looking for that play moving forward, as well as continuing to fire towards his glove hand, which might be a second or two slow in getting up on shots.