Written by Allan Muir at SI.com
The San Jose Sharks picked the perfect moment to win their first overtime game of the playoffs.
Joonas Donskoi curled out from behind the net and rifled a wrister that slid just under the crossbar at 12:18 of OT to lead the Sharks to a 3-2 win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday.
The Sharks had been 0-4 in extra time. The win prevented them from becoming the first team to go 0-5 in Stanley Cup playoff history.
More importantly, it cut Pittsburgh’s series lead to two games to one.
“It’s huge,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said of Donskoi’s goal. “It’s the first time we’ve had the lead in this series. Now we have to find a way to get out in front going forward. We’ve been playing from behind too often in the series.”
Some jittery play from San Jose goaltender Martin Jones allowed the Penguins to open the scoring for the third consecutive game. His miscue on a dump-in led to Ben Lovejoy gaining control at the blueline. His shot from the point bounced off the leg of Sharks defenseman Roman Polak and slipped by Jones just 5:29 into the first.
Justin Braun got San Jose back on even footing at 9:34 of the frame, kicking an errant Joe Thornton pass off his skate and onto his stick for a shot that sailed over the glove of Matt Murray before the Pittsburgh goalie knew it was coming his way.
Patric Hornqvist gave the Pens a 2-1 lead with 52.3 seconds remaining in the second period, getting a piece of another Lovejoy point blast. With the assist, the defenseman enjoyed the first multi-point playoff game of his career.
A four-minute high-sticking minor to Nick Bonino opened the door for Joel Ward to tie it up at 8:48 of the third. Penalty time was expiring as Ward came off the bench and rumbled over the blueline before launching a 50-foot slapper that fooled Murray. The goal was his seventh of the postseason, equaling a career high.
Thornton, held pointless in the first two games of the series, assisted on that goal as well.
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