They did what was expected of them for years, this time during another successful regular season that seemed too little too late. Given that it takes a thorough team effort rather than individual stars to win a Cup, these Sharks look well-positioned entering the Finals. “And then, when we scored the fourth goal, I could finally relax for a few minutes… until I could not relax again”.
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Sharks fans everywhere can relate. As someone who has no dog in the Western Conference fight, San Jose representing the powerhouse side of the National Hockey League is incredibly satisfying and has left me, and I believe many of us too, wanting to see what is in store next. This was Wile E. Coyote catching The Road Runner. A member of the inaugural Sharks team in the 1991-92 season, Sullivan got into coaching after his playing days and his first head coaching job was with Boston in 2003. He was still carrying his tie when a security guard stopped him cold. Just consider some of the names from that 2014 team that lost to the Kings. “Hitch is in there”.
“The third goal was the killer”, said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock.
Marleau had played 1,411 career games without reaching the Finals and Thornton 1,356.
The Sharks’ win over the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of the Western Conference final delivered record ratings numbers among Bay Area households for the networks of NBC Universal.
“I can’t put it into words because I can’t imagine”. With a win over the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference finals, the San Jose Sharks have advanced to the team’s first ever Stanley Cup final. In Game 2 of the Conference Finals, it was the fourth line that helped pace the team both on offense and on the penalty kill. Thornton is one of the NHL’s best passers and both Pavelski and Hertl are lethal in-and-around the net. DeBoer took the New Jersey Devils to the finals in 2012 in his first season with the club as well. First time they missed the playoffs for a long time the year before I got there. It s been a long time that we ve been the favorite. Thornton had seven assists in the six games. “Everybody makes big contributions”.
“We’re just enjoying the ride right now”.
The suggestion that Thornton and Marleau aren’t motivated to win couldn’t be further from the truth.
“We want each other to succeed and it just carried over”, Marleau said.
Then they tried to explain why, after so many heartbreaks, this time was different.
Thornton said he is not picky about who the Sharks play next.
So, a lot of credit to the people that have had season tickets and kept them through these last couple of years. But perhaps a big part of it is that this team has not yet panicked once in these playoffs. I just think for whatever reason it hasn’t come together. “We’re ready for that next challenge”.
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“I was hoping for more from the Blues in such a big game”. What you see from them day to day is pretty impressive. Their names were featured on an unfortunate list, as they owned two of the highest regular-season games played totals with no appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals.
