What to watch for: 2016 Stanley Cup Final (Game 4)

During the next few weeks AT&T SportsNet will be airing a series of "Pittsburgh Penguins Classic" content. That includes re-airing the Penguins' four victories against San Jose in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final (Games 1, 2, 4, 6).

To get you set for these games we've provided a quick preview/recap of the game. Obviously, the Penguins won each game and we've all seen them before. So, we tried to highlight some stuff that you may not remember, or other interesting aspects of the game that may have gone under the radar in the grand scheme of things. It's the type of thing that hindsight can really bring into focus.

Enjoy!

To view all 2016 Stanley Cup Final rewind content, click here.

Tonight's AT&T SportsNet lineup:

6 PM: In the Room: 2015-16 - (Hagelin arrives, Malkin and Letang at the All-Star Game, Crosby mic'd against Philly, Dumoulin shows his cooking skills and team Super Bowl party).

6:30 PM: In the Room: 2015-16 (Dads' Trip, Letang skates with his son, Crosby's "Learn to Play" practice.

7 PM: Game 4 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final - Pittsburgh vs. San Jose

9:30 PM: Inside Penguins Hockey (Best playoff moments vs. Washington)

10 PM:Inside Penguins Hockey (Wingmen, profiling best wingers in team history)

10:30 PM:Sidney Crosby: There's No Place Like Home

SETUP: After the Penguins earned two huge wins on home ice in Pittsburgh, the series shifted out west to San Jose, California for a monumental Game 3 showdown at SAP Center. The Sharks needed to find a way to avoid digging themselves into a 3-0 hole without key forward Tomas Hertl, who would miss this game and the next one with a lower-body injury.

Despite the Sharks having their home crowd behind them, it was the Penguins who got off to a strong start as defenseman Ben Lovejoy opened the scoring 5:29 into the game. San Jose defenseman Justin Braun answered back with the equalizer a few minutes later. Late in the second period, the Penguins regained the lead on a re-direct by Patric Hornqvist. With their season on the line in the third period, Joel Ward got a huge goal to send the game into overtime - where Martin Jones stopped all nine shots he faced and Joonas Donskoi scored to give the Sharks their first win of the series.

SUMMARY: The Penguins didn't want to return to Pittsburgh with the series split. They wanted to return to Pittsburgh with a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice, and that's exactly what they did.

Just like in Game 3, another unlikely source of offense stepped up with the game's first goal as defenseman Ian Cole buried a Phil Kessel rebound. Evgeni Malkin built on that lead with a power-play goal in the second period. San Jose's Melker Karlsson cut Pittsburgh's lead with just under 12 minutes left in the third period, and from there, the Sharks kept pushing. But Matt Murray stood tall and Eric Fehr scored with just 2:02 left in regulation to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

FIRST PERIOD

20:00: It was a little weird to see the Penguins back in Vegas gold after playing their first two games at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh gold. If you recall, during these playoffs the Penguins wore their Pittsburgh gold third jerseys at home and Vegas gold on the road. The team returned to a full-time Pittsburgh gold color scheme for the 2016-17 season.

16:10:The Sharks get the game's first scoring chance off the stick of Joe Thornton. As Patric Hornqvist tried to carry into the offensive zone the Sharks forced a turnover and quickly went the other way, with Kris Letang getting caught up in the play. Thornton had a 2-on-1 with Joe Pavelski, though Sidney Crosby was hustling back to help Brian Dumoulin. Thornton held onto the puck and Matt Murray turned aside his slapshot. The fans started really getting into it at this point.

13:17:This is some terrific work from Bryan Rust, who was cleared to play in Game 2 after leaving Game 1 following a high hit from Patrick Marleau. The winger had just hopped onto the ice for Hornqvist as the Crosby line was finishing a good shift. He intercepted a clearing attempt the Sharks rimmed around the boards under pressure from Crosby. Rust protected the puck, skated toward the corner and saw Dumoulin pinching in wide open. He fed him a perfect pass and Martin Jones just barely got a piece of Dumoulin's shot. The Penguins did such a good job of getting their D involved in this series.

12:24:GOAL! COLE! This play also started off the heels of a line change. Kris Letang quickly regrouped to Malkin, who was at the end of his shift (man, the Penguins were so strong in the neutral zone). He held onto it despite being swarmed, waiting for an opening and finding Phil Kessel, who had just jumped onto the ice.

Chris Kunitz alertly stopped in his tracks at the opposite blue line to let Kessel pass. Despite being surrounded by three Sharks Kessel got a shot off and the rebound popped to Cole, who had drifted in unnoticed. He was able to bury it before Jones could reposition himself. What a shot. It was Cole's first goal in 105 games (both regular season and playoffs) dating back to March 26, 2015.

11:26:This was only San Jose's second shot of the game, but it was a good one. Defenseman Marc-Eduoard Vlasic made a nice keep on the boards. Thornton dug it out and this time, he passed over to Pavelski for a chance in the slot. Murray had to come up with a big glove save.

9:02: What a shift for Dumoulin, who was everywhere in this game. It started with Crosby hitting him with a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone. Dumoulin took the puck around the net and made sure it stayed in Pittsburgh's possession despite being hounded by teal jerseys. He pushed it into the corner for Conor Sheary, who gave it right back. From there it was an incredible display of patience as he looked for an opening, but when he finally got one, Jones was able to get his body on the shot.

8:23: The Penguins got the game's first power play when Vlasic knocked Crosby into the Sharks bench. Oh, hey guys.

5:15:Now it's the Shark's turn on the power play. Gotta love the ominous Jaws theme song.

0:00:The Penguins definitely carried play for the majority of the period, but only had a one-goal lead to show for it. It wouldn't take long for them to build on it…

SECOND PERIOD

17:32:Karlsson takes an ill-advised offensive-zone penalty after he hauls down Eric Fehr cutting across the circle. The Penguins head to the power play…

17:23: And just nine seconds later - GOAL! MALKIN! Penguins lead 2-0! It's hard to believe, but Pittsburgh's potent power play was 0-for-7 in the series heading into this man-advantage. There was no one better to break the slump than Malkin, who was in a bit of a slump himself, having gone goalless in the previous six games.

Just like he did in Game 2, Crosby won the draw back to Letang, who dragged it to the center point, faked the shot then dished to Kessel. They went back-and-forth a couple times before Kessel found Malkin wide-open standing flush to the post. He re-directed it in with a perfect tip.

16:51: Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan goes right to the HBK Line after the PPG. He must have wanted Kessel to continue playing the hot hand. The winger carried in after a quick regroup, and this time, it's Nick Bonino who stood still to let him pass. He dropped off a pass to Justin Schultz, who moved into the center slot and unleashed a shot that rang off the left post!

16:24:Just a short while later, Tom Kuhnhackl's shot goes off that same post!

10:43:The Sharks register their first shot of the period. At this point, the wind was really out of the crowd's sails. The Penguins were playing some smothering defense and weren't giving up a whole lot.

5:52: Former Penguin Nick Spaling hits the crossbar during a lengthy offensive-zone shift, and the Sharks start to get some life here (and so do their fans).

5:02:The Penguins dodge a bullet, as Letang whiffs on a clearing attempt that allows Logan Couture to go in alone for a scoring chance. Fortunately, his shot went high. This was a missed opportunity for the Sharks to capitalize on that momentum they were building.

2:28:This was another missed opportunity for the Sharks, who got a power play after Rust hooked Brent Burns in the neutral zone. The Penguins come up with a huge late kill.

0:00:My goodness, Patric Hornqvist - what a warrior. He sacrifices his body for a block at the buzzer and Vlasic's shot goes off his head. Fortunately, Hornqvist was okay.

THIRD PERIOD

15:08:Murray gets his revenge on Marleau, who scored a sweet wraparound goal in Game 1. Maatta got caught in the neutral zone as the Sharks transitioned, Marleau saw an opening behind Ben Lovejoy and Couture threaded him a pass. He tried going glove side but Murray turned him aside.

14:12:Despite being at the end of a long shift, Crosby doesn't shirk on his defensive responsibilities. He battled for the puck behind his own net and skated it out of danger to the red line himself even with tired legs.

13:05:This was a painful shift for the Penguins, literally. Bonino comes up with a big block in the slot just seconds before Olli Maatta is felled by a block of his own.

11:53: The Sharks finally get rewarded for their strong start to this period on a goal from Melker Karlsson, a perfect example of the high-to-low play they loved. What a shift for the Sharks forward. It started with him getting dumped behind the net by Crosby, but he scrambled to his feet, recovered the puck and moved it to the point.

The Sharks went D-to-D before putting a shot on net through traffic. It never made it to its intended destination, instead popping out to Karlsson, who went down on one knee to bury a shot to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 2-1.

5:20:Matt Cullen was such a valuable player for the Penguins during these runs. The coaching staff liked to deploy the veteran forward for lots of faceoffs alongside other centers. Partly because he was so reliable defensively, partly because he was so dominant in the dot and partly because if he got booted, the other center could slide right in. He lined up with Crosby for this offensive-zone draw.

7:38:Yet another great chance for Pavelski, but he is denied by Murray yet again. What a period from the Penguins netminder.

2:02:GOAL! FEHR! Pittsburgh gets some insurance at 3-1. It's interesting that all three goals came off of line changes, as Fehr had just jumped onto the ice for Kessel. The Penguins did a good job of battling for the puck in the neutral zone, where Hagelin ended up with it. From the wall on the blue line, Hagelin hit Fehr in stride as he entered the zone and proceeded to beat Jones far-side with a snap shot. The camera immediately cut to Mario Lemieux celebrating in a suite.

"It was just an unbelievable feeling to be able to score that goal," Fehr said in an episode of the Scoop: Rewind podcast. "I remember watching it after and seeing Lemieux was in the press box and they showed him right after I scored. It's crazy because Lemieux was my childhood idol. So, to score that goal, see how pumped Lemieux was, that was really exciting for me."

1:25:Another block for Bonino on a point shot from Vlasic. At this point, he was close to 50 in these playoffs alone.

1:12:Just watch this dominant shift from Burns. He's a specimen.

0:00:Though the Sharks pushed hard in the third, Murray stood tall, his teammates battled hard and Fehr was eventually able to put a dagger in the Sharks' hearts with just over two minutes left. The Penguins would return to Pittsburgh with a 3-1 win and series lead and a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice.