Can Sharks' pattern of resiliency turn into a victory in Game 2?

The key word coming out the San Jose Sharks camp all playoffs has been “resilient.” The team’s widespread ability to successfully adjust its game has, indeed, helped propel the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final.

So despite dropping a 3-2 decision in Game 1, there is plenty of reason to believe that they can rebound in Game 2.

“There’s nothing that I saw tonight,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told Comcast SportsNet California after Game 1, “that I’m going out of here thinking that we can’t come out and compete and play much better on our end.”

That mentality was actually quite evident on the Sharks’ end following the first intermission on Monday evening. If you took a gander at social media following the first period on Monday night in which San Jose trailed Pittsburgh 2-0, you might have thought that the whole series had been decided in 20 minutes. Then Team Teal made a couple tweaks and came back to tie the tilt up in the second stanza, thanks to a power-play marker from Tomas Hertl and a video-game-esque wrap-around goal from Patrick Marleau.

In fact, the Sharks’ ability to even out the playing field with the speedy Penguins gave the impression that the game might stretch into overtime. Only Nick Bonino’s goal with a little under three minutes left in regulation cut the comeback effort short.

So with the second battle just a couple hours away, can San Jose harness that comeback effort during Game 1 and get off to a quick start in Game 2?

The Sharks have already identified that the “awe” factor in the opening period on Monday is gone. They’ve acknowledged the need to match up to Pittsburgh’s fast pace and look to further that effort from the second period of Game 1 by adding speedster Matt Nieto — who had been sidelined with an upper-body injury since Round 2 — back into the lineup.

Former Sharks coach-turned-broadcaster Drew Remenda discussed what San Jose did right in a special for the San Jose Mercury News, all of which needs to come into play right at puck drop if the Sharks are to emerge victorious:

The battle was back. The Sharks 4-foot game was established — the 4 feet from the boards all around the rink. Patrick Marleau's goal was a perfect example of that. Logan Couture owned the space and the battle that led to the terrific wrap-around by Marleau. 

The defense settled down in the second and quickly moved the puck out of the defensive zone. When the D get the puck moving quick, the Sharks are a hard team to slow down.

Remenda also made sure to give props to Sharks netminder Martin Jones, who was the only Sharks player who didn’t display those first-period jitters:

Jones was all kinds of right all game. In the first period, after it was 2-0, Jones made key saves and didn't let the game get away. In the third, with Pittsburgh pressing, he made save after save to give the Sharks a chance.

On top of it all, they have that recent history of resiliency to add to their confidence. Forward Dainius Zubrus told the Merc:

“We had a game, Game 4 against St. Louis at home where we weren't very good… We bounced back and we won the next two. So, that's kind of the approach and we'll be ready."