The Canadian Press
Jonas Siegel
SAN JOSE, Calif.—The lane was visible only to Phil Kessel—the player who just may be the Conn Smythe favourite.
Situated from his usual spot on the left-half wall of the Pittsburgh power play, Kessel zipped a pass beyond competing sticks and bodies to teammate Evgeni Malkin on the doorstep.
The Russian centre half-swung the pass into the upper reaches of an open cage.
“I’m just trying to get it to him backdoor there,” Kessel noted.
“Hopefully it hits him and goes in.”
It was the second of two assists for Kessel last night as the Pittsburgh Penguins inched to within one win of their fourth Stanley Cup with a 3-1 victory in Game 4 at SAP Center.
A big-ticket trade acquisition in the summer of 2015, Kessel now has 21 points in 22 games this spring to lead all Penguins’ players.
He also has 42 points in 44 career post-season games.
Kessel arguably is the favourite for playoff MVP if the Penguins are able to hang on for their first Stanley Cup since 2009.
Pittsburgh can clinch on home ice Thursday night.
“I love Phil’s overall game, not just tonight, I’ve liked it through this whole playoffs,” said Penguins’ coach Mike Sullivan.
“Phil’s game right now, when I watch him play, I say to myself: ‘He’s committed, he’s committed to helping us win.’”
Kessel got the offence going for the Penguins in the opening minutes of the first frame.
Breaking into the Sharks’ zone after a nifty pass from Malkin, Kessel dangled around defenceman Brenden Dillon and then flung a shot at Martin Jones, with the rebound skipping straight out to Ian Cole on the weak side.
The Penguins’ defenceman quickly fired into an open net—free of any opponent with a fresh round of Sharks just hopping onto the ice.
It was the fourth-straight game to start the series that Pittsburgh managed the first goal.
The club improved to 12-3 in the post-season on such nights.
“That’s the biggest thing we have to fix,” said Sharks’ coach Pete DeBoer.
“We have to find a way to get on the board earlier in the game instead of chasing it all night.”
The Sharks nearly struck right back a minute or so after Cole’s goal.
Coming alive some in Game 3, San Jose’s top line came up with a chance when Joe Thornton fed captain Joe Pavelski entering the Penguins’ zone.
Pavelski fired at Matt Murray who was bothered by a screen from Karlsson.
But the attempt was gloved by the Penguins’ goalie, who rebounded with a strong 23-save performance after a wobbly effort in Game 3.
Equally quiet in the early stages of the series, Malkin nearly landed his first goal against San Jose when he broke into the Sharks’ zone on a power play, eluded Dillon, and let rip on Jones, who stopped it with his blocker.
Malkin ended up beating Jones a period later on the pass from Kessel—his 11th helper of the post-season.
Malkin, meanwhile, finished with his most impactful performance of the final, scoring once and adding an assist in victory.
“I thought he was really good, not just because he got on the score sheet,” Sullivan said.
“His overall game was really good.”
But it’s been the Penguins’ depth beyond Malkin and Crosby which has them on the verge of another Cup.
Malkin, Cole, and Eric Fehr, who notched the 3-1 goal that iced Pittsburgh’s victory, are the seventh, eighth, and ninth different Penguins to score in the series.
The Sharks, conversely, got their only goal of Game 4 from Melker Karlsson—filling in for the injured Tomas Hertl on the top line.
Pavelski, who had a playoff-leading 13 goals through the opening three rounds, has yet to score or even register a point in the series.
Brent Burns, Logan Couture, and Patrick Marleau also have yet to find the back of the net against Pittsburgh.
And San Jose still has yet to play with a lead in the series.
