Sharks baffled by slow start in Game 1 loss to Penguins

PITTSBURGH – The San Jose Sharks had 2,102 regular-season and playoff games to prepare for their first Stanley Cup Final appearance.

And they weren’t ready.

Defenseman Brent Burns called it the Sharks’ “holy [crap] we’re here’ moment. A first period absolutely dominated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. A first period that saw them control puck possession, shot totals and on the scoreboard, building a 2-0 lead.

“We started so slow. I don’t know if it was the long break. It wasn’t pretty in the first period. Nobody can skate. It was slow for us. We played the whole first period in the D-zone, and that’s not out game,” said forward Tomas Hertl.

The Sharks would rally in the second to tie the game, only to lose late in the third period on a Nick Bonino goal, 3-2. But it was the horrific start and getting skated out of the building in the first 20 minutes that was the talk of the dressing room.

Were they nervous?

“Eh, possibly,” said forward Logan Couture. “They came out flying. We looked like we were stuck in mud. Maybe that was it. But this time of year, the games are too big to have a start like that.”

The Penguins’ speed has been their calling card this postseason, and the Sharks saw it firsthand in the opening frame.

We stood around and watched a little bit.  Didn't get up to speed, didn't get up to pace,” said coach Pete DeBoer. “We had some spurts here and there. But they played their game for longer stretches than we did tonight. That's what happens. You don't deserve to win when you don't outplay the other team.”

So what happened?

The Penguins swarmed every Sharks player. They preach taking away time and space, and that’s what they did, to the tune of 15 shots on goal to the Sharks’ four. San Jose coughed the puck up with regularity because of that pressure.

“We want to make a few plays a little bit too early in the game, and that was a big part of turning it over,” said captain Joe Pavelski.

“We turned way too many pucks over. Felt like we were giving it away. Giving it right back to them all night. O-zone, D-zone, neutral zone especially. They had a lot of rushes off pucks off of our sticks,” said Couture.

If this sounds familiar for the Sharks, let’s take you back to Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, when the St. Louis Blues outplayed the Sharks in the first period and eventually won a one-goal game. “That’s what was talked about in the first. Come out, have a second period. It felt like the same game, but we didn’t finish it off tonight,” said forward Joe Thornton.

“It's the first game of the series. It reminds me a lot of St. Louis, Game 1. I know we're going to get better. Our execution's got to get better. Part of it was some of the pressure they put on, but part of it was self-inflicted,” said DeBoer.

And it did get better. The Sharks controlled play for stretches of the second period and into the third. They had some things to build on for Game 2. And they’re 5-1 in these playoffs after a loss.

“What you’re going to see is momentum changes. What’s what you saw tonight. They started with it. We took it back. They took it back with that third goal. That’s the game. And it was a good game tonight,” said Thornton.

“We’ll respond. We’ve done it all postseason. We’ll forget about this in 10 minutes and be ready for Game 2."

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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