Sharks' Burns Deserves Praise at Both Ends

PITTSBURGH - Brent Burns' first thought was, "Oh rats!"Except the second word wasn't rats. Those are what the San Jose Sharks defenseman feeds his pet snakes. But you get the idea.

A shot by teammate Dainius Zubrus hit Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy in front of the net and ricocheted out toward center ice. Speedy Penguins forward Carl Hagelin got the jump on Burns and reached the puck first.

"It was a weird bounce," Burns said Tuesday of the play late in the first period of the Sharks' 3-2 loss in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday. "Actually, I didn't even see it. I just saw him start skating and I said, 'Oh God. I don't know why he's doing that.' Then, I saw it behind us."

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