Penguins-Sharks tied at 1 at 1st intermission of Game 3
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) The Latest on Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks (all times local):
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6:15 p.m.
Pittsburgh's speed survived the cross-country flight and made it all the way to the West Coast intact.
Justin Braun's slick stop and shot kept San Jose in the mix and gave the home team some badly needed momentum at the first intermission.
The Penguins took an early lead, when Ben Lovejoy's long shot from the boards bounced off Sharks defenseman Roman Polak's shin pad and past goalie Martin Jones just 5:29 into the game. The Penguins held a 14-6 shots advantage in the first period, giving them a cumulative 40-16 edge in the first 20 minutes of the first three games of this championship series.
But Braun and the Sharks jumped back into the fray in the franchise's first home game in a Stanley Cup Final.
He stopped a sliding puck with his left skate for a perfect ricochet to his stick before snapping a shot past Penguins goalie Matt Murray, who didn't move until the puck was in the back of the net at the 9:34 mark to tie the game.
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5:50 p.m.
Pittsburgh and San Jose are off to a fast start.
Ben Lovejoy's long shot from the boards, a knuckler off the edge of his stick, took a tricky route to the goal and gave the Penguins the lead 5:29 into the game.
Sharks goalie Martin Jones mishandled a puck off to his right side that kept a Pittsburgh attack alive. It wound up with the defenseman Lovejoy, who let it rip for his second goal of this postseason.
The shot glanced off the shin pad of Sharks defenseman Roman Polak before bouncing into the net.
Polak was later credited with San Jose's first shot on goal, more than 8 minutes in. Just moments later, the Sharks forged a tie with a slick shot by Justin Braun.
Braun stopped a sliding puck with his left skate for a perfect ricochet to his stick before snapping a shot past Penguins goalie Matt Murray, who didn't move until the puck was in the back of the net.
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5:25 p.m.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks are under way in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Sidney Crosby snagged the opening faceoff for the Penguins away from Sharks center Logan Couture, with the speedy Penguins taking a 2-0 series lead to the Bay Area. The Sharks took their home ice without first-line forward Tomas Hertl, who was replaced on the wing by Melker Karlsson to stake with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski.
Retired NFL star Marshawn Lynch, a proud native of nearby Oakland, excitedly served as the celebrity dressing room door opener for the Sharks as they rushed onto the ice for introductions. The crowd at SAP Center observed a moment of silence in honor of boxing great Muhammad Ali, who died Friday.
