Right from the puck drop, the San Jose Sharks did not come prepared in the first period of yesterday’s early afternoon bout against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They were sloppy and uncoordinated against an elite Penguins team, and it cost them in the long run.
The first period was a bloodbath. One minute into the game, Brent Burns pinched deep into the offensive zone, which allowed forward Evan Rodrigues to lead the rush into the Sharks’ zone with only Radim Simek left back to defend, and just like that, the Penguins were off to an early 1-0 lead.