PITTSBURGH (AP) The Latest on Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins (all times local):
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11:15 p.m.
Conor Sheary scored 2:35 into overtime, lifting the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night and a 2-0 lead in the series.
The Sharks will hope home ice is an advantage on Saturday night in Game 3 when the series shifts to San Jose.
Justin Braun scored with 4:05 left in the third, pulling San Jose into a 1-1 tie after getting a fortunate bounce off the right post after drawing only iron earlier in the game.
Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel scored midway through the second period, tapping the puck in from the right side of the net after getting set up by Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin, a line that has combined to contribute 50 points in 20 playoff games.
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11 p.m.
Goals in the playoffs are usually more gritty than pretty.
The game-tying, overtime-forcing goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is the latest example.
San Jose created a net-front presence with a pair of players, giving Justin Braun some traffic to shoot through when he shot a puck that fluttered through the air, caromed off the right post and into the net with 4:05 left in the third period.
Braun’s father-in-law, Tom Lysiak, a former NHL All-Star, died of leukemia at the age of 63. Braun’s wife, Jessie Lysiak Braun, confirmed on Twitter that her father died Monday. Braun is expected to leave the team temporarily after Game 2 to attend the funeral. Game 3 is Saturday night in San Jose.
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10:45 p.m.
The San Jose Sharks pulled into a 1-1 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins at 15:55 of the third period of Game 2.
Defenseman Justin Braun shot the puck into traffic, off the right post and into the net for his first of the postseason. Logan Couture and Joel Ward had the assists.
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10:15 p.m.
A camera lens, which resembled a puck, made its way onto the ice in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
As the San Jose Sharks were cycling the puck in the first period, Pittsburgh’s Patric Hornqvist tapped the lens that he appeared to think was the puck. And when Hornqvist realized what it was, he shouted at the officials to bring the relatively foreign object to their attention.
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10 p.m.
The San Jose Sharks were held to single digits in shots for about 39 minutes, and needed their first power play to get a 10th shot on net.
The Sharks, though, didn’t take advantage of having the extra skater at the end of the second period that ended with them trailing 1-0 in Game 2 and 1-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.
San Jose could not slow down Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, who teamed up to put Pittsburgh ahead. The Penguins went up 1-0 at 8:20 of the second period on Kessel’s 10th goal of the postseason and his 19th point. Bonino has four goals and 17 points in the playoffs. Hagelin has five goals and nine assists this postseason.
Pittsburgh, which has hurt San Jose with its speed in the series, outshot San Jose 23-11 through the first two periods. San Jose forwards have only five of the 11 shots.
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9:35 p.m.
The Pittsburgh Penguins scored first, just as they did in Game 1, to move a step closer to taking a 2-0 series edge against the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final. Phil Kessel tapped in the puck from the right side of the net off assists from Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin, finishing off a fantastic shift by the trio.
The goal is Kessel’s 10th of the postseason.
At the other end, the Penguins did a good job defensively of keeping the puck along the boards when the Sharks had possession.
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9:05 p.m.
The San Jose Sharks talked a lot about starting strong after falling behind 2-0 and losing 3-2 to Pittsburgh in Game 1.
The Sharks didn’t have the jump they seemed to have in the second period Monday, when they outscored Pittsburgh 2-0, but they did have an 18-14 advantage on hits in the scoreless first. Pittsburgh outshot the Sharks 11-6 and won 12 of 21 faceoffs.
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8:30 p.m.
The Pittsburgh Penguins got a boost in Game 2, getting winger Bryan Rust on the ice after saying his status would be a game-time decision. Rust was questionable after taking a hit from San Jose’s Patrick Marleau in the third period of Game 1.
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety declined to call Marleau in for a hearing to discuss his hit. He was penalized for an illegal check to the head. Rust scored to help Pittsburgh win Game 1, his sixth goal of the postseason after scoring five times in 55 games of his career in the regular season.
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8 p.m.
Game 2s of the Stanley Cup Final have traditionally been pivotal, and lately three periods haven’t been enough.
The team that has won the second game of the seven-game series has ended up hoisting the Cup nearly 74 percent of the time since 1939, when the Final expanded to the current format, and in nine of the past 13 Game 2s.
Last year, both trends were not followed. Tampa Bay beat Chicago 4-3 in the only Game 2 since 2011 that wasn’t extended to overtime. And the Blackhawks ended up winning the Cup for the third time in six years.
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