Evgeni Malkin isn't the only Penguins forward who was a force in this hockey game, Phil Kessel deserves a lot of credit and consideration for being playoff MVP with the way he's played so far in the playoffs. He and Malkin helped get the scoring started in the first. With seven minutes passed in the opening period, Malkin hit the center red line and found Phil Kessel, who used his speed to bust into the San Jose end. Kessel wired a shot that Martin Jones made the save on, but Jones left a gigantically juicy rebound that found its way to a streaking Ian Cole. Cole wasted no time and buried the puck into the back of the net at the 7:26 mark for his first of the playoffs. It was Cole's first goal in 105 games, regular season and playoffs, dating to March 26, 2015 (against the Hurricanes) (NHL). For Malkin, the assist was his first point in the playoffs. For Kessel, it was his 10th assist and 20th point in the playoffs.That number not only leads all Penguins scorers, it makes him only the 11th player in Penguins history to record at least 20 points in a single postseason, and the first since Malkin and Sidney Crosby did it during the 2009 run to the Stanley Cup. San Jose's crowd had been loud, as they had been all playoffs long, but that goal took them right out of it. As a mater of fact, Pittsburgh has not trailed in 435:46 of playing time, dating to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final (NHL).
Things got better for Malkin and company in the 2nd period. About halfway through the period, the Penguins got a poerplay. Up until that point, the Penguins had been 0 for 7 in the series against San Jose on the Man advantage. Pittsburgh did a great job of moving the puck around the rink, with Kessel getting a great look. He walked off the wall, threw it towards the net with a great pass, it found Malkin, hit off his stick and went into the back of the net to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. For Malkin, that goal must have been a huge weight lifted off his shoulders and helped pad the Penguins lead (which would eventually turn out to be the game winner). San Jose again got limited shots off in the 2nd period, finishing with only four shots in that middle frame. The fact that Tomas Hertl has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury has started to show its hurting San Jose a little, because they have to try and fill a major hole on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. That's been hurting San Jose all series, the fact that their top line simply hasn't been producing. Sure Thornton has had one point in the entire series, but after putting up prolific numbers in the West finals against the Blues, he has been held really quite in the Finals, which is something that can't happen come this time of year.
So now Pittsburgh carries a 2-0 lead going into the final period. San Jose finally flipped the switch and showed up in the 3rd period, firing 12 shots on Matt Murray, who had to be really sharp. San Jose finally got on the board at the 8:07 mark when Melker Karlsson scored his 4th of the playoffs, and first of the finals, to get the Sharks back in the game. It was off a wild scramble in front and the puck bounced to Karlson in the slot who got the shot away as he was getting knocked down. San Jose kept the pressure up, including a fantastic chance for Joe Pavelski. The leading goal scorer was left alone in the right circle and ripped one on net, but Matt Murray was able to get a pad on it and turn the shot away. despite all the pressure that San Jose was getting, Eric Fehr put the game away:
That one broke the back of the Sharks in game four and sealed the win for Pittsburgh. Could not have been any sweeter a goal for Eric Fehr.
Lets give a little bit of credit where its due here, San Jose has found their legs in this game. They finally outshot the Penguins over the course of the game, finishing with a 24-20 advantage in shots including a 12-7 edge in the 3rd period. That is all well and good but if they can't finish those great scoring chances, then what good will it be doing them in the rest of the series. San Jose showed a little more life, but as mentioned earlier, they've had to play catch up in the entire series. The Sharks have never really been able to get any kind of consistent pressure on Matt Murray. Sure they've managed to be able to find the back of the net, but they have been badly outplayed in the entire series. For San Jose, they really need to get this thing figured out, otherwise they will have to stand there and watch the Penguins skate around with the Cup Thursday night.
Game five will take place at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, this Thursday night at 8PM!
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