PITTSBURGH — San Jose Sharks coach Pete DeBoer’s unhappiness over his team’s shot total in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final came out as an all-encompassing condemnation.
“No, we weren’t happy with the number of shots,” DeBoer said. “We weren’t happy with the quality of shots. We weren’t happy with the guys who didn’t get shots. We didn’t do enough to win the game. We’ve got to fix that.”
The Penguins outshot the Sharks 41-26 in their 3-2 victory, and had twice as many scoring chances, 24-12. San Jose’s premium offensive stars Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau combined for six shots, the same number that Nick Bonino and Patric Hornqvist each had for Pittsburgh.
One reason why the Sharks couldn’t generate shots is because they spent too much time defending. Relying heavily on their speed, the Penguins move the puck out of their zone quickly, chipping it ahead, and allowing faster skaters to outrace the opposition to get it. That creates plenty of offensive zone time for the Penguins.
"It’s no different than (what we see) from most of the teams in the league,” DeBoer said. “There’s nothing there we haven’t seen before. It’s on us to execute better. It’s on us to impose our game on them for longer stretches.”
Game 1 marked only the fifth time in 19 playoff games that the Sharks had given up more than 30 shots, and two of those games went into overtime.
"Most of the time if we just play our games, we get good results,” Sharks winger Joel Ward said.
What that means is the Sharks have sharper entries into the offensive zone and more puck possession for longer intervals. The Sharks’ power play is always dangerous, but they have to be sharper in five-on-five situations. That’s when the Penguins seem to be playing more confidently.
Staying out of the penalty box will be a major emphasis for the Penguins heading into Wednesday’s Game 2.
"We don’t want to take penalties as a rule,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "But it hurts when our penalty killers that we rely on are in the penalty box.”
DeBoer may add forward Matt Nieto to the lineup for Game 2 to give the team more speed.
The Penguins were awaiting word on forward Bryan Rust’s injury status. He was injured on a hit by Marleau. Rust has scored four goals in the past three games.
While trying to deal with their series issues, the Sharks also are consoling teammate Justin Braun whose father-in-law, Tom Lysiak, a former NHL player, died after a battle with leukemia.
"I’m sure he is having a difficult time with it,” Sharks center Logan Couture said. “He came to the rink like a pro, and played as hard as he could. He did a great job. I feel for him, and I feel for his wife.”
