Sharks win, Stanley Cup Final going back to Cali

PITTSBURGH — The Stanley Cup final is going back to California.

The San Jose Sharks avoided elimination in Game 5 on Thursday night, topping the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 at Consol Energy Center. Martin Jones made 44 saves and the Sharks scored three first period goals, including the eventual winner from Melker Karlsson.

“He’s (Jones) been doing it all year,” San Jose forward Joe Thornton said. “It’s just not tonight. He does it every game for us. He was just a stud for us.”

Brent Burns, Logan Couture, and Joe Pavelski, into an empty net, also scored for San Jose.

Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin found the back of the net for the Penguins, who outshot San Jose 46-22. Matt Murray turned aside 18-of-21 shots in a losing effort.

“We couldn’t seem to find that third goal,” said Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan. “But I give our players a lot of credit, we stayed with it throughout the course of the game. It was just one of those nights we couldn’t find that goal.”

Game 6 is set for Sunday night at SAP Center in San Jose with the Penguins still leading the best-of-seven series 3-2.

The Sharks are trying to join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as only the second team in NHL history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the final.

“Weren’t we counted out in the first round?” Sharks defencemanMarc-Edouard Vlasic said of a comeback before the game. “Nobody had us beating LA.”

The Sharks got the start they were after in Game 5.

Burns fired a shot short-side and high on Murray 64 seconds into the first as San Jose landed the first goal in the final for the first time. It was the Sharks’ first shot of the night and first goal of the series for Burns. The goal also looked remarkably similar to Joonas Donskoi’s overtime winner in Game 3.

San Jose continued to buzz and inched its lead to 2-0 less than two minutes later when a Justin Braun point shot was deflected by Couture, the leading scorer this post-season.

Sharks coach Pete DeBoer described scoring first as the biggest fix required of his team in Game 5.

Less than two minutes after the goal from Couture, Malkin struck with his second power-play goal in as many games. Fed initially from across the ice by Phil Kessel, Malkin operated inside the right circle, firing a shot off the left skate of Braun that beat Jones.

The attempt at Braun’s skate seemed to be intentional from the Penguins centre.

The score was tied at 2-2 just 22 seconds later when Hagelin deflected a Nick Bonino shot. Bonino thwarting an exit feed from Sharks defenceman Brenden Dillon before sending it on net.

The two teams, who combined to score four goals total in a tight-checking Game 4, posted four goals in just over five minutes of Thursday’s opening period.

Pittsburgh, having rallied from a 2-0 hole, poured on the pressure after evening the score, cheered on by a loud crowd of fans clad in black and yellow. The Penguins outshot the Sharks 12-1 in one stretch after the Sharks second goal, but it was the visitors striking next on the second of the series for Karlsson.

The only Shark to score in Game 3, Karlsson received a no-look, backhand pass from Couture, sneaking a wrist shot under the left arm of Murray. It was the third goal in five shots to beat Murray, who looked uneasy in the early-going.

Couture, meanwhile, capped a three-point period with a goal and two assists, besting his entire output (two assists) from the first four games.

Their lead remained intact during a second period solely because of Jones.

There was a Bryan Rust drive to the net stopped by the Sharks goaltender, a Malkin point shot on the power play that nearly skipped through, a left pad save on Bonino following a Kessel shot attempt and rebound.

Jones then shut down Patric Horqvist when he was sent in partially alone by Malkin, who enjoyed by far his best game of the series.

Murray, too, raised his game. He made a right pad stop on a Joel Ward slapshot early in the period and seemed to settle in after a rocky start.

Shots were 17-8 in favour of the Penguins in a one-sided second. The Sharks allowed only 20 shots total in the previous game, a 3-1 loss.

Jones continued his heroic night in the third, stopping Hornqvist and Sheary on prime early chances. The latter saw the five-foot-eight winger alone to the right of the crease, his shot sailing straight into the goaltender’s chest.

Pavelski sealed the Sharks win, landing his first goal and point of the series into an empty net.

Fans lined the streets around the arena before, during and after Thursday’s game. Some arrived in the early morning to get a good place. Others flooded the area closer to game-time, pitched on folding chairs with beer and pizza as they watched the action on large screens.

Pittsburgh has yet to claim a Stanley Cup on home ice, clinching its first three titles on the road.