Penguins Beat Sharks 2-1 In OT To Take 2-0 Stanley Cup Finals Lead

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in overtime at their own Consol Energy Center on Wednesday night to gain a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final series.

Penguins Beat Sharks 2-1 In OT To Take 2-0 Stanley Cup Finals Lead

The next two games will be held in San Jose, with Game 3 set for Saturday.

Rookie Conor Sheary fired a high shot into the net at 2:35 of the extra session to give Pittsburgh the victory.

Just before winning the game-deciding overtime face-off, Sidney Crosby correctly predicted the face-off win, a perfect drop to Kris Letang, and that Sheary would be wide open for a pass.

“It usually doesn’t work out like that when you draw up a play or even talk about a play,” Sheary, 23, said. “I think they kind of lost me when I came off the wall. I had a lot of time to shoot.”

The Penguins have had a higher face-off win percentage than the Sharks (50.7% to 46.7%) in the postseason, and this was evident in Game 2. Crosby was 17-7 in the face-off circle on Wednesday. He beat the Sharks’ Joel Ward on the draw.

“He is inspiring for our group and I know the players recognize the effort he is putting in,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

Sullivan went on to praise Crosby’s work ethic. “His work ethic is unmatched,” the Pittsburgh coach said. “He has an insatiable appetite to get better and be the best.”

The Penguins are now 4-2 in overtime this spring, while the Sharks are 0-4.

Phil Kessel gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 8:20 of the second period for his 10th goal of the playoffs, and goalie Matt Murray made 21 saves.

Sharks defenseman Justin Braun tied the game on a shot from the point with 4:05 left in the third period. He used a screen from Ward to sneak the shot past Murray . Logan Couture fought behind the net to win the puck and feed it to Braun.

Couture accused Crosby after the game of cheating on face-offs. “He cheats,” the San Jose center told reporters after the game, via TSN.com. “He gets away with it. He’s Sidney Crosby. He times them, and they don’t kick him out for some reason, probably because of who he is.”

After the loss, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer stated a possible recovery strategy.

“There’s going to be ebbs and flows,” DeBoer said. “They’re going to take it over for some periods.  We’re going to take it over for some periods.  I thought we were better tonight. But we have to find a way to create some more five-on-five offense. They’re not taking penalties, so we’ve got to find a way to do this five-on-five or push them into taking some more penalties.”

PHOTO: PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 01: Martin Jones #31 of the San Jose Sharks makes a save against Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period in Game Two of the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Consol Energy Center on June 1, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)