The air above the ice was clogged with swirling joy and churning elation and damn near disbelief.
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After eight months of season, it’s finally nearly time for the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals!
That much is true, but there was also a sense of accomplishment that was too obvious to ignore in the aftermath of Wednesday’s game for a franchise that has suffered so many bitter defeats and failed to live up to expectations numerous times. But it might have been worth the wait, just to witness this scene. “They’ve been through a lot”.
“I don’t really know”, Ward said. “But they just did not have the energy you would’ve hoped”.
San Jose Sharks 5, St. Louis Blues 2. That’s what the scoreboard said.
After Wednesday’s victory over the St. Louis Blues to capture the Western Conference title in six games, Marleau was trying to put things in perspective when he spoke at the podium.
Beneath the scoreboard, controlled bliss was in order because there is one more round of playoffs to come with the ultimate hockey prize at stake, the one first presented in 1893 by a British Lord who was General Governor of Canada.
But so it will be. As the reality of that sunk in, players threw their hands in the air and hugged, then lined up to shake hands with the defeated Blues. The success of the Sharks is a real point of pride for San Jose and long overdue if you ask fans. At least one longtime usher cried as she took it all in from her post, tears falling onto her blue coat. Questionable play by Kevin Shattenkirk, Jay Bouwmeester and even Alex Pietrangelo plagued whoever was in net, regardless if it was Brian Elliott or Jake Allen.
The demon of not-getting-it-done-when-it-counts? San Jose had lost in their three prior trips to this point including twice in the Thornton, Patrick Marleau era.
The extra motivation helps both the individual and the entire team, especially when the outside noise around this team grows in the Cup Finals. “Not as much history as the new building but it’ll be fun to go into Pittsburgh”.
Ward added that if Pavelski played in the Eastern time zone, like Ovechkin or the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, “He’d be on video games, Wheaties boxes, pop cans, soda bottles”.
“When you’re fighting for your playoff life right until the end, fighting for position in the playoffs, playing the L.A. Kings in the first round, every game has been the most important next game”.
“It hasn’t really sunk in”, Martin said. A lot of work still to be done. “Knowing that he’s the guy coming out of the lineup if I can play”, Backes said, “that’s pretty selfless, and that’s the kind of guys we have in here”. They’re cool with that. “We fought real hard during the regular season to try and get home-ice advantage; it turned out we were better on the road”.
“Being here my whole career, being around the city, the fans, all the support they’ve given over the years, it’s great to see. It’s a great feeling”. He went on a tear in his first season with San Jose, winning the Hart Trophy and helping lead the Sharks to the playoffs after their rocky start to the season.
It turned out to be the latter. “We Want The Cup!” in the third period after San Jose took a 4-0 lead. The Tank could celebrate.
“They’re hurting right now”, Hitchcock said.
The Blues will head back to St. Louis and in the coming days the players will clean out their locker stalls for the last time this season.
The team boasts a first line with Sidney Crosby, who led the National Hockey League in scoring after January 1 (58 points); a second line of Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin that scored a combined 12 even-strength points against the Lightning; and a third line with two former Olympians in Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz. “That’s the new biggest goal”.
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“We had individuals that were struggling”, he said.
