Wednesday, June 08, 2016

Nicasio, Niese pitch Pirates to doubleheader sweep of Mets


By John Perrotto
https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/pit/
June 8, 2016

Nicasio, Niese pitch Pirates to doubleheader sweep of Mets

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielders Gregory Polanco, left, Andrew McCutchen, right, and Matt Joyce (17) celebrate a 3-1 win over the New York Mets in the second baseball game of a double header in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. The Pirates won the first game 3-1. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Juan Nicasio was pretty much a one-pitch pitcher, and the fastball was all he needed against the slumping New York Mets' offense.

Pitching Details

Nicasio retired his first 12 batters and got his second win in six starts, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Mets 3-1 on Tuesday night to complete a doubleheader sweep.
The Pirates also won the first game 3-1 behind seven scoreless innings from Jon Niese against his former team. Josh Harrison had three hits and Jordy Mercer hit his first home run at PNC Park since Aug. 31, 2014 in the first victory.
Nicasio (5-4) allowed a run on three hits and two walks over five innings. He had gone 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA in his previous five starts, and manager Clint Hurdle acknowledged last week that he was considering moving the right-hander to the bullpen.
''The rhythm was good the entire evening,'' Hurdle said. ''For a guy that threw 89 pitches, 75 or more were fastballs. He didn't throw very many sliders or very many changeups. He just threw the fastball. He had some swing-and-miss stuff. It was a strong outing.''
Jacob deGrom (3-2) is winless in his last seven starts after he allowed three runs in six innings with nine strikeouts and no walks in the second game. He has not won since April 30 against San Francisco despite allowing three earned runs or fewer six times.
The Pirates had lost five of six prior to the twinbill sweep - the doubleheader was necessitated because of a rainout on Monday night.
The Mets have lost seven of their last 10 games and scored just 24 runs in that span. They are missing third baseman David Wright, first baseman Lucas Duda and catcher Travis d'Arnaud because of injuries.
''One thing we have not really been doing is applying some of the stuff we're working on,'' Mets manager Terry Collins said. ''We're striking out too much. We need to make better contact.''
John Jaso, Jordy Mercer, Sean Rodriguez and Stewart had two hits each in the nightcap for the Pirates.
Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth, duplicating his first-game performance, for his 19th save in 20 opportunities.
View gallery
Nicasio, Niese pitch Pirates to doubleheader sweep …
San Jose Sharks' Joe Thornton takes in the second baseball game of a double header between the P …
In the opener, Niese (6-2) gave up four hits, walked two and struck out two. The lefty is 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA in his last five starts.
He was drafted by the Mets in 2005 and spent his entire career in the organization, including eight seasons in the major leagues, before being traded to the Pirates on Dec. 9 for Neil Walker.
''It was a little weird because it's the only organization I knew,'' Niese said. ''All those guys are great over there. I got along with all of them. I definitely miss them, but I'm enjoying my time here, too. I had a good game plan going on. I tried to live at the bottom of the strike zone.''
The Pirates snapped left-hander Steven Matz's seven-game winning streak.
Matz (7-2) allowed two runs and eight hits in five innings while losing for the first time since his season debut April 11 against the Miami Marlins. He struck out eight and walked two while losing on the road for the first time in nine career starts.
View gallery
Nicasio, Niese pitch Pirates to doubleheader sweep …
Pittsburgh Pirates' John Jaso drives in a run with a double off New York Mets starting pitcher J …
''He didn't command his fastball and you've got to command your fastball to make it work,'' Collins said. ''He was up in the zone, up in the zone. He couldn't get the fastball down.''
Walker, a Pittsburgh native, was a combined 2 for 8 in his first time facing the Pirates. He was their first-round draft pick in 2004, made his major league debut in 2009 and spent the last six seasons as the starting second baseman.
''It was long day, 18 innings, and emotional,'' Walker said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: CF Yoenis Cespedes started both games and went a combined 0 for 7. He sat out Saturday at Miami and was limited to a pinch-hitting appearance Sunday against the Marlins because of a sore hip.
Pirates: LF Starling Marte was removed for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning because of a bruised left ankle then sat out the second game. ... C Francisco Cervelli (bruised right foot) was back in the lineup after missing three straight games and David Freese (bruised right hand) started at first base after sitting out four games in a row. ... RHP Ryan Vogelsong rejoined the team a week after having surgery to repair facial fractures sustained May 23 when he was hit by a pitch from Colorado's Jordan Lyles.
UP NEXT
Mets: RHP Noah Syndergaard (6-2, 1.91 ERA) will start Wednesday night in the finale of the three-game series. He is 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA in his last five starts.
Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon will be called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to make his major league debut. He was the second overall pick in the 2010 draft but sat out the 2014 and 2015 seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery and a sports hernia.
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Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Mets’ Neil Walker Brings Solid Bat and Values From Pittsburgh




By TYLER KEPNER
Second baseman Neil Walker, who has thrived at the plate in his first season with the Mets, still has close ties with his native city. He remains a Penguins fan. Alex Goodlett for The New York Times
Neil Walker knew it would end. Pittsburgh had been part of him for 30 years, from the day he was born there, in 1985, to the day he was drafted by the Pirates, in 2004, right up until last December. He had one year left until free agency and had been unable to agree to a long-term contract with his hometown team.
“If you had a son, you’d want him to grow up like Neil — he was that guy in Pittsburgh,” said Don Kelly, the veteran utility player who is married to Walker’s sister. “He was the role model. There’s a business side of the game, and as a player, you understand it. But it’s tough.”
Just before the winter meetings, Walker was at home near Pittsburgh with Don Seymour, a family friend who had coached him in youth baseball. They talked about possible landing spots in a trade, and Seymour said he doubted the Mets would part with their second baseman, Daniel Murphy, who had starred in the playoffs. Even if they did, Seymour said, New York was bound to be a drastic change.
Walker was not so sure. The possibility of playing for the Mets, who had just reached the World Series, intrigued him. He had been to the postseason the past three years in Pittsburgh, without winning a series, and had heard good things about the Mets’ clubhouse.
“He said, ‘Hey, I’m going to be the same person whether I go to New York or L.A. or Minnesota,’ ” Seymour said. “He’s very comfortable in his own skin, he’s going to be himself, and his values are going to serve him well.”
The Mets — who open a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Monday — traded a spare starting pitcher, Jon Niese, for Walker last Dec. 9. Murphy left for the Washington Nationals and has continued his surge, but Walker has been just as valuable to the Mets. He is hitting .284, leads N.L. second basemen in homers with 13, and has thrived from both sides of the plate.
“The reports were he didn’t play much against lefties, didn’t hit lefties very well — he’s done nothing but hit lefties here,” Manager Terry Collins said, adding later, “He’s really been extra special for us.”
Walker batted .237 with no homers against left-handers last season. This season, he is hitting .341 off left-handers, with five homers. He concentrated in spring training on eliminating his toe tap as a right-handed hitter, planting his front foot more quickly and giving himself more time to stay back in his swing.
“The reason I was confident about it was that I had done it in the past, and I was a very good right-handed hitter in the minor leagues, in Triple-A and my first couple of years in the big leagues,” Walker said. “I may have gotten into some bad habits mechanically, and I didn’t make the adjustments necessary. It’s a big ballpark in Pittsburgh, and when I got up there, I was flying out a lot to left-center field. I was like, ‘I’m not going to have a lot of success doing this,’ so I kind of altered my approach to what made me a good right-handed hitter.”
Walker said his homer last Monday, the only run of a 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox, would have been an out at PNC Park.
“That’s my strength, from both sides,” Walker said. “I hit a lot of fly balls — a lot of long fly balls.”
Seymour was there when Walker, 12, hit homers from both sides of the plate in a game in Buffalo with his travel team. Soon enough, Walker was playing for U.S.A. Baseball, and the Pirates made him a first-round draft pick.
Walker went pro, while a friend — Seymour’s son, Clint — played at Eastern Kentucky. They stayed close, and for a while Clint Seymour found work at a bar near PNC Park. He moved to Charleston, S.C., and was training to be a financial adviser when he died in April 2014 of a head injury sustained in a street fight. Dalton Clarke of Mount Pleasant, S.C., was found guilty this April of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“Anybody that knows Clint knew how much heart he had, and that was something I try to emulate, as a friend of his, how passionate he was for baseball,” Walker said. “It kind of rubbed off on me as we grew older and we pushed each other as baseball players and as people. I guess part of my heart in baseball is also his heart, too, and I try to remind myself on a daily basis how fortunate I am to play this game at this level.”
Walker left the Pirates during a road trip and was with Don Seymour at the hospital when Clint was taken off life support. Before Walker returned to the team, he and Seymour had resolved to start a foundation in Clint’s memory, the Clint Seymour Play Ball Fund (clintplayball.com), which sponsors youth camps, hosts clinics and awards scholarships.
Seymour said the fund had given him a sense of purpose since his son’s death, and he emphasized the goal of using baseball to promote values like respect for others. Walker, in his way, embodied that with the Pirates, never tiring of community appearances or news media requests. The hometown-boy-makes-good angle was irresistible, and Walker dutifully obliged.
“I’ve had less on my plate here than I did in Pittsburgh, with the day-to-day things,” Walker said. “I’ve kind of been able to delve into just baseball here, come to the ballpark, prepare myself, and go play. And it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it in Pittsburgh, but it’s like with David Wright here — I was always answering questions, and I was fine with it, but it was every single day.”
Walker misses some things about Pittsburgh, like his mother’s home-cooked meals after Sunday day games, and living so close to his family. He has two brothers and a sister, and all live within five miles of one another in the Pittsburgh suburbs. His wife, Niki, is a native, too.
“We grew up there, we loved it, and I think we’ll end up always living there,” Walker said.
His trip home coincides with the Stanley Cup finals. Walker’s siblings (and Kelly, who now plays for the Miami Marlins’ Class AAA team) share season tickets to Penguins games, in the corner at Consol Energy Center. Walker’s Penguins toiletry bag has a prominent place in his Mets locker — the logo always faces out — and he is friends with several of the Penguins players, including Kris Letang, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis.
“He’s a huge, huge Penguins fan,” Kelly said. “Being from Pittsburgh, you don’t lose your roots.”
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Get ready, Pittsburgh: Stanley Cup is coming


BY ROB ROSSI
http://triblive.com/sports/
June 7, 2016

San Jose Sharks defenseman Justin Braun (61) battles Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby (87) for the puck in the first period of Game 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final on Monday, June 6, 2016 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, Calif. —They were named for an opera house that resembled an igloo. Their first general manager hated that name from the first day.
That opera house is now a parking lot.
Across the street from it Thursday night, the Penguins can hit a note unlike any Pittsburgh has heard in 56 years.
The Stanley Cup is coming to Consol Energy Center, and it doesn't have to leave anytime soon. One more win over the San Jose Sharks will hook the Penguins a fourth NHL championship.
But for there to be a 16th (and final) victory of the Stanley Cup playoffs, a hockey club first must earn a 15th win. That is precisely what the Penguins did Monday night. They absolutely earned a 3-1 win at SAP Center.
Their penalty kill — not exactly the calling card of clubs throughout franchise history — is what earned it. Late in the second period, with winger Bryan Rust serving a minor penalty for having hooked Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, the Penguins were presented their biggest challenge of this Final.
Coming into the series, the Sharks power play had proven to be menacing. Operating then at a 27 percent efficiency, that power play was probably the biggest threat to the Penguins. Although the Sharks had scored on just 1 of 7 power plays prior to their second-period opportunity, their struggles didn't change the situation in Game 4.
A goal would dramatically alter the pivotal contest of the Final.
Don't think the Penguins didn't know the deal, either.
“Especially when you're playing against a power play like theirs, you have to be at your best on the PK,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “You have to block shots. You have to sacrifice your body for the kill.”
So in front of Burns' powerful shot lunged centers Matt Cullen and Nick Bonino. In between their efforts, defenseman Brian Dumoulin smartly pinned against the neutral-zone boards Sharks playmaking center Joe Thornton, thus denying a clean entry. Finally, with Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic eyeing a backdoor set-up, his Penguins counterpart, Ben Lovejoy, expertly deflected the pass away from goalie Matt Murray's crease.
The Sharks went without a credited shot on the power play. The absence of a single shot leaves even the most dangerous of power plays with no chance to cut into a better opponent's lead.
And make no mistake, the Penguins are the better team.
“That was the difference in the game,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.
He wasn't wrong. He just didn't take the assessment to its logical conclusion.
That was the difference in the Final.
When forward Eric Fehr restored the Penguins' two-goal cushion late in the third period, the team's victory was cinched. However, it was the Penguins' perfect kill late in the second when the Sharks were bloodthirsty for life that should be remembered a long time after the Cup parade that's coming soon to Pittsburgh.
Of course, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan doesn't want anybody jumping to celebratory conclusions just yet. Though ahead, 3-1, in the best-of-seven Final, the Penguins have scored only three more goals than the Sharks.
The Final has been close. Still, only the Penguins are close to closing it out.
They are also closing in on a moment Pittsburghers have awaited since Bill Mazeroski batted the Pirates to a win in the 1960 World Series. The day of his historic Game 7 home run at Forbes Field (Oct. 13, 1960) marks the last time a Pittsburgh professional team won a world title in the Steel City.
Makes sense, then, that the next time would be a team trying to win a sterling silver chalice.
A key component of the NHL's famous 1967 expansion, the Penguins first belonged to a state senator and now are owned by their greatest player. They have been a franchise of multiple bankruptcies, many scoring titles and enough ups and downs to rival any of Kennywood's historic roller coasters.
Fittingly, they were written off before writing an unbelievable ending to this 49th season.
There is only one first left for the hockey club named after an opera house.
Which brings us to Thursday night — the 4,139th game for Pittsburgh's Penguins.
The Cup will be in the 'Burgh.
That is where it will spend the summer.
Rob Rossi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at rrossi@tribweb.com or via Twitter@RobRossi_Trib.
MORE PENGUINS/NHL
Malkin-led Penguins move 1 win from Cup 
Cole, Fehr tally goals to join list of unlikely Penguins heroes 
Sharks' depth not doing them any favors against Penguins
Penguins notebook: Draft prospects size up Stanley Cup finalists
Roenick: Penguins' Sullivan good but not enough to sell him on college
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Phil Kessel starring as the best player in a supporting role for Penguins


By: Ken Campbell on 


Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates with his teammates after scoring against the San Jose Sharks in the second period of Game Four of the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Final at SAP Center on June 6, 2016 in San Jose, California.
Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates with Sidney Crosby (87) and Phil Kessel (right) after scoring against the San Jose Sharks in the second period of Game Four of the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Final at SAP Center on June 6, 2016 in San Jose, California.


SAN JOSE – This is something that simply needs to be said. The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the verge of winning their fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history because of Phil Kessel. Now sit back and let that sink in for a minute. And if you’re a fan of the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs, please stay a safe distance from sharp objects.
Since the Penguins last won the Cup in 2009, they were beaten out in the playoffs six of seven years by a team that finished lower than they did in the standings. What they failed to grasp is that superstars get shut down in the playoffs, so you need very good support players to succeed. And in Kessel, they might have one of the most talented support players in the history of the game.
“For me, when I watch (Kessel) play, I say to myself, ‘He’s committed,’ ” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. “He’s committed to helping us win.”
Kessel’s two assists in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final were instrumental in the Penguins taking a stranglehold on the series and giving them the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup on home ice for the first time in franchise history when they take to the ice for Game 5 Thursday night. But it is more than that. Kessel has received a new lease on life in Pittsburgh and a complete rejuvenation under Sullivan, who has used him masterfully and put him in situations where he can succeed.
And he has succeeded. When it comes to Kessel’s transformation, we’ll let Sullivan tell it. These are words that, until Monday night, may never have been uttered by any coach of Phil Kessel at any level. Here goes:
“I didn’t do anything. For me, Phil deserves the credit for his contribution to helping this team win. Him and I have had conversations throughout the course of the season. We have a very transparent relationship. I try to challenge him in areas of his game where we think he can improve, get better, help our team win. Those are the types of conversations that I’ve had with him over the last four or five months.
“I think Phil has made a complete commitment to this team.  We don’t get to where we’re at if Phil doesn’t play the type of hockey that he’s played here throughout the course of this playoffs.  He has been one terrific player for us.  He scores big goals. His offense speaks for itself.  He’s dangerous on the power play.  He’s dangerous off the rush. But I think what his teammates admire and respect, what his coaching staff certainly does, is his commitment away from the puck and to play at both ends of the rink. He’s a complete player right now.  When he plays that way, he’s one of the more elite players in the league, in our opinion.”
Should the Penguins win the Stanley Cup, Sidney Crosby will likely win the Conn Smythe Trophy. But Kessel will undoubtedly get some support, as will goalie Matt Murray. But that likely won’t bother Kessel, who hates the limelight anyway – which was part of why he was such a poor fit in both Boston and Toronto. But is there anyone on hockey who, if you think back to a year ago, was less likely to be in the position he is today? Well, defenseman Justin Schultz comes to mind, but you get the idea.
And so it goes in the Stanley Cup final that has yet to live up to the hype from an entertainment standpoint. It’s probably more compelling than some of those tractor pulls we were forced to watch in the early 2000s, but from an entertainment standpoint, it has been less than compelling. It’s probably a little difficult to watch if you don’t have a rooting interest. This should not be confused with the quality of the players and coaching in this series. In fact, you could argue that the play is so turgid because the players are so good and they’re so well-coached. And bad ice. Yeah, for sure skating in glorified slush isn’t helping things along.
Should the Penguins put a bow on this puppy with a victory Thursday night, this Stanley Cup final will not go down as a classic. But it will go down as the one where Phil Kessel proved that he could do what everyone thought he could, albeit in entirely different circumstances. No way he does this in Toronto. No way he does this in Boston. He’s doing this because he’s not the star of the show.
Even though that’s exactly how he’s playing.
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Plus/Minus: Penguins shine on special teams, but need to stay on the attack


By Brian Metzer
http://www.timesonline.com/sports/
June 7, 2016

Phil Kessel #81 of the Pittsburgh Penguins takes possesion of the puck from Logan Couture #39 of the San Jose Sharks in Game Four of the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Final at SAP Center on June 6, 2016 in San Jose, California.

Phil Kessel #81 of the Pittsburgh Penguins takes possesion of the puck from Logan Couture #39 of the San Jose Sharks in Game Four of the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Final at SAP Center on June 6, 2016 in San Jose, California.


Plus – Power play breaks through
The Penguins talked about getting more aggressive on their power play after not being pleased with their effort in Game 3. They did that and managed to score on one of their two opportunities. They moved the puck quickly, created three shots on goal and got bodies to the net. That approach turned into a goal for Evgeni Malkin during the second period. It might not be perfect yet, but they were dangerous.
Minus – Conservative approach bites back
If there has been one constant during the Penguins’ run to the Stanley Cup final it is their insistence on playing a conservative style when leading in the third period. They carried a 2-0 lead into the third period on Monday night and spent large chunks of the final frame in their own zone. Yes the Sharks deserve credit for that for the push back that they showed in outshooting the Penguins 24-20, but the latter didn’t do much in the way of taking advantage of pucks that they cleared out of their zone. That approach resulted in the Sharks swarming their net often in the final period and turned into a goal for Melker Karlsson and several other glowing opportunities.
Plus – Geno Machino rides again
Evgeni Malkin was under the magnifying glass for much of the past 24 hours. He entered Game 4 without a point in the Stanley Cup Final and he hadn’t scored a goal in six games. He answered the tough questions on Sunday and then he answered the call on Monday night picking up the game winning goal and an assist in the Penguins 3-1 win. He finished the night with two points, two shots on goal and a hit. He may not look like the guy who won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2009, but this version of Malkin will help significantly moving forward.
Plus – Unsung Heroes
Neither Chris Kunitz nor Patric Hornqvist got on the board in terms of goals or assists on Monday but they were doing a lot of hard work for the Penguins. They combined for 11 hits and were constants in front of Sharks’ goaltender Martin Jones. Their collective performances are what is needed to win games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and specifically in the Final. Eric Fehr also stepped up in the game putting three shots on goal and scoring the backbreaking goal at 17:58 of the third period.
Plus – Killing with authority
The Sharks entered the Final with the most productive power play in the playoffs, scoring on 27 percent of their chances. They promptly went 1-for-2 with the extra man during Game 1, but the Penguins have shut them down ever since. The Penguins have now killed off six straight Sharks’ power plays, including two on Monday. They allowed just three shots on goal and never allowed the trio of Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton to become major factors on special teams. Pavelski did manage five shots in the game, but Burns and Thornton were held to two combined shots.
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Thanks to depth, Penguins closing in on Stanley Cup

June 7, 2016
Pittsburgh Penguins' Ian Cole (28) is congratulated after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 6, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. (Eric Risberg/AP)
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Not long before the regular season ended and the Pittsburgh Penguins began marching to within one victory of the Stanley Cup, coach Mike Sullivan ordered a significant locker-room shakeup by delegating Eric Fehr as the new pregame lineup presenter. It was an inspired choice. Popular among teammates for his dry humor, speaking in tones that defenseman Ian Cole describes as “a little growl there, a gravely announcer’s voice,” Fehr assumed the new gig with appropriate gusto. The ensuing results, meanwhile, ensured steady employment.
“I had a little hot streak at the end of the season,” the fourth-line forward said, “so it kept with me. I’m still the guy.”
NHL
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Penguins hold off Sharks to take 3-1 Cup Final lead

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No arguments there, especially not Monday night. Hours after bellowing out the starters with his usual bark before Game 4–in net, Big Murrrrr... –Fehr cranked the cushioning goal in the Penguins’ 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks, sending them back east with a commanding series lead of the same margin. In that moment, as the puck sailed past Martin Jones, the announcement was for everyone to hear: The Sharks are not chum yet, not by any stretch, but unless they become only the second of 33 NHL clubs ever to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the Cup Final, Pittsburgh will soon secure its fourth title in franchise history.
“Everyone’s aware of the situation,” Cole said. “Everyone’s aware that they’re going to be playing for their lives. I think if you’re not aware, you’re a fool. If you say it’s just another game, no big deal, as much as you want to say that, that’s not the case. It’s an elimination game in the Stanley Cup Final. Realizing that, accepting it, and continuing to play under the pressure is huge. So far I think we’ve handled all the elimination games very well, and I think given our track record this one should be a good time too.”
If the Penguins’ lips indeed smooch silver, Game 4 will merely serve as another indication of the depth that has tugged them here. There was Fehr, the bargain-bin Manitoban potato farmer and author of a children’s book about a bullying bulldozer, notching his third goal of the postseason and helping hold San Jose’s power play scoreless for the third straight game. There was goalie Matt Murray, withstanding a dozen third-period shots and moving within one victory shy of the NHL rookie record (15) in a single playoffs.
There was Cole, the third-pairing defenseman scoring for the first time in 104 games, an opening salvo fired when Phil Kessel’s rebound bounded off Jones’s leg pad into open space. “Maybe could’ve walked into it a little bit, but when you see the yawning cage you want to get it there as quick as you can and take advantage of him as he’s sliding over,” Cole said. “Saving a special one for a special game.”

NHL
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Three Stars: Malkin comes alive in Penguins’ Game 4 win

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​The eventual game-winner, though, belonged to Pittsburgh’s stars. On the power play after San Jose winger Melker Karlsoon was whistled for interfering Fehr in the aftermath of a faceoff, Kessel coaxed a wrist pass through traffic, right onto Malkin’s stick. The legitimacy of the man advantage was up for debate; later, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer agreed with a reporter’s assertion that Fehr “kind of flopped.” Kessel’s feed for Malkin’s first point of the series, however, was not. “My goal is like Phil give me empty net,” Malkin said. “It’s not great goal, but it’s just go to net and stay close to net and try to play around net, you know?”
And now, after Metallica shredded the National Anthem and SAP Center again thundered with the energy of a city seeing its first Cup Final in 25 years of existence, the Sharks hit the road looking to salvage hope. They have still not led in this entire series, battling from behind after Cole scored less than eight minutes into the opening period. A 24-20 advantage made them the first in 13 games to out-shoot Pittsburgh, sure, but the Penguins also blocked at least 20 pucks for the third time this series. A strong third period push resulted in Karlsson’s goal at 8:07, which brought San Jose within one, but it couldn’t climb from what Cole and Malkin dug early.
“We've been chasing the game the whole series by not scoring first,” DeBoer said. “That takes you out of your four-line rhythm. It affects all parts of your game. We've been on the other end of that in the playoffs where we've jumped out to the lead on some teams and made them change their game…That's the biggest thing we have to fix. We have to find a way to get on the board earlier in the game instead of chasing it all night.”
And if not? The next time Sullivan hands Fehr the starting lineup, that gravelly voice might just growl its last announcement of the season.
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