Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin collected two points each, and Matt Murray made 23 saves as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night.
Now up 3-1 in the series, the Penguins, whose three previous titles were clinched on visiting ice, can now return to the summit after seven seasons with a win Thursday at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
Ian Cole set the table for the favorable road split, smacking a rebound past Martin Jones off a Kessel shot early in the first. He became the 17th different goal scorer for the Penguins this postseason, and the club's eighth U.S.-born scorer to match an NHL record.
Kessel then directly set up Pittsburgh's second goal, spotting Malkin at the side of the net with a precise feed for a tap-in goal.
Melker Karlsson brought the Sharks to within one eight minutes into the third period, but Eric Fehr iced the game with 122 seconds left in regulation, scoring on a partial break, off a feed from Carl Hagelin.
Jones made just 17 saves in the contest, as the Sharks outshot the Penguins for the first time in the series.
