NHL teams
Joe McDonald, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Rapid Reaction: Pittsburgh Penguins 3, San Jose Sharks 2

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals 3-2 over the San Jose Sharks on Monday at Consol Energy Center. Game 2 of this best-of-seven series at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

How it happened: In a tightly contested game, the Penguins' Nick Bonino scored with 2:33 remaining in the third period to snap a tie en route to a victory. The Penguins proved too fast for the Sharks in the first period. Pittsburgh scored twice on goals by rookies Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary. Both players began the season in the AHL, and now they're crucial parts of the Penguins' postseason success. With his six goals, Rust set a franchise record for goals in a postseason by a rookie. He has scored three consecutive goals, dating to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the second period, San Jose was able to neutralize Pittsburgh's speed and erase the two-goal deficit. Discipline will be key for the Penguins in this series because of the Sharks' potent power play; the Sharks capitalized on their first man-advantage of the game on Tomas Hertl's sixth goal of the postseason. The Sharks evened the game at 2-2 on Patrick Marleau's wraparound goal.

What it means: This will be one of the fastest-paced Cup finals in recent history, if not ever. The Sharks aren't used to this type of speed, but they made the adjustment, so the Penguins will need to find another gear to keep San Jose at bay. If the Penguins can win both games on home ice, it would be a huge accomplishment against the Sharks.

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