Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he had “no response” to Sharks center Logan Couture's accusations that Sidney Crosby “cheats” on faceoffs.

“Sid's not doing anything their guys aren't doing,” Sullivan said. “Quite honestly, it really isn't worthy of a response.”

After the Penguins' 2-1 overtime win in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, Couture said Crosby cheats on faceoffs and gets away with it because of his stature in the NHL.

Crosby won 71 percent of his faceoffs in Game 2, including three of four against Couture.

“He times them and yet they don't kick him out for some reason,” Couture said. “Probably because of who he is.”

Sullivan denied that Crosby was doing anything illegal.

“Listen, all centers that go in there and take faceoffs, they're trying to get an edge,” Sullivan said. “That's just the reality of it.

“They're doing the same thing that our guys are doing. Really, the way I look at it, that's all part of being a centericeman and trying to find ways to get an edge and be successful.”

Young guns:Conor Sheary, Matt Murray and Bryan Rust are quick studies.

The rookies have found their footing alongside their high-profile Penguins teammates.

Murray has for now, and perhaps for good, supplanted Marc-Andre Fleury in net. Murray's 13 postseason victories are a team record for a rookie and two shy of the NHL mark.

The 5-foot-8 Sheary, thrust onto a line with Crosby because of his ability to skate, has pumped in four goals in the playoffs, including the overtime winner in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

And Rust has scored six goals over 19 playoff games, compared with five in 55 regular-season games.

“I think they've been thrown into a lot of different scenarios,” Crosby said. “They're handling it really well, and they're coming up big for us.”

Odds against them: Only five teams in NHL history have come back from a 2-0 deficit in the final to win the Cup, and that's where the Sharks find themselves.

“We know that if we play this way we're not going to win games, so we need to be better,” Couture said.