Penguins: Bonino’s Late Goal Lifts Pens in Game 1

The Pittsburgh Penguins took a 1-0 lead over the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Finals with a 3-2 victory in Pittsburgh on Monday night.

Much like the 12 Penguins playoff victories that preceded it, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals it was only a matter of when. Only matter of when the dam would break for an opponent attempting to hold the Pens at bay, a familiar story line this spring in Pittsburgh.

This time the opponent was the San Jose Sharks, who gave up nearly double the number of shots on goal that they generated but managed to remain deadlocked as the game approached its final minutes until Nick Bonino, a familiar Pacific Division foe from his days as a Vancouver Canuck, found the back of the net at 17:2 of the third period for what would be the game winner in a 3-2 opening game victory.

The Penguins came out blazing in the first. Bryan Rust, the hero of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, opened the scoring at 12:46 and Conor Sheary buried a magnificent setup from Sidney Crosby at 13:48 to give the Pens an early 2-0 lead, which they carried into the first intermission. Were it not for the stellar play of San Jose goaltender Martin Jones the Pens could very well have been up by even more, as they peppered the Sharks netminder throughout the period.

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The second frame was the exact opposite in terms of scoring, with Tomas Hertl finding an opening in Matt Murray’s pads to half the deficit just 3:02 into the frame and Patrick Marleau scoring on a dazzling wraparound at 18:12 to even the game. For as much offensive momentum as the Penguins generated in the first period the second twenty minutes was largely controlled by San Jose, the Sharks superior in shots and scoring opportunities.

Rust left the game briefly after taking a hit from Marleau, but returned to the ice for one shift before departing for the locker room again. No further update on Rust’s condition was available immediately after the game.

Next: No One Picking Pens to Win Cup

The two clubs will face off in Game 2 on Wednesday night at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh at 8 PM.