the San Jose Sharks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 at the SAP Center on Thursday night. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
It was a good thing that NBCSN decided to pick this game up nationally, because people from coast-to-coast witnessed quite a hockey game between two of the top teams in the league as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 at the SAP Center on Thursday night.
Four goals were scored in the third period as the pace was fast and furious. The Sharks, however, had the last laugh as Joe Thornton’s knuckler found its way past Penguins goalie Jeff Zatkoff, which was the eventual game-winner.
The Sharks outshot the Penguins 47-22 and controlled play for much of the second and third periods, but it was the Penguins who staked out an early lead. Olli Maatta beat Antti Niemi on a rebound and Chris Kunitz netted a power play goal to give the Penguins a 2-0 advantage in the first period. San Jose got on the board in the second period thanks to some hard work by the fourth line, as Adam Burish screened Zatkoff, which led to Justin Braun’s shot from the point going in.
Despite having four power plays and two in the second period, the Sharks failed t0 convert on the man advantage. But they did have a shorthanded goal in the third period by Patrick Marleau, who beat Evgeni Malkin 1-on-1 and backhanded a shot past Zatkoff to tie the game 2-2. This was just the start of a frantic third period, as the Penguins responded by scoring on the same power play, with Maatta scoring his second goal of the night. But less than two minutes later, after some hard work on the boards by Thornton, Joe Pavelski found Brent Burns open in front, and Burns one-timed it into the net to the tie the game again. It was Thornton himself who netted the game-winner at 14:21 of the third, and Burns sealed the deal with an empty-net goal.
Tale of the Tape
Sharks:
- Shots on goal: 47
- Power play: o-for-4
- Hits: 30
- Giveaways: 15
- Takeaways: 18
- Faceoffs won: 29
Penguins:
- Shots on goal: 22
- Power play: 2-for-4
- Hits: 14
- Giveaways: 16
- Takeaways: 8
- Faceoffs won: 30
Good to Know
Goal and assist were obviously huge but Thornton just dominated Crosby all night. Worst game I've ever seen #87 play.
— Fear the Fin (@fearthefin) March 7, 2014
What’s on Tap
The Sharks will welcome in the Montreal Canadiens to the Tank on Saturday night.