“This is not the end goal”. But for the first time in his career, Thornton will now get the chance to play for a championship, against an Eastern opponent to be determined.
Advertisement
The Sharks jumped out to a 4-0 lead in Game 6 against St. Louis, with Thornton picking up an assist on the first goal, just 3:57 into the game, after his breakaway attempt was stopped but Joe Pavelski kept at it and scored. Just a year ago, the team was fractured after Thornton was stripped of the captaincy and the team spent the 2014-15 season without a player wearing the “C”. And we’re here. It stings right now. “I don’t think it was any secret this roster here, considering L.A., considering Anaheim, considering St. Louis, we had to get bigger, heavier, harder to play against, so we could play at this time of year”. They also have two shorthanded goals for good measure. Vladimir Tarasenko learned just how hard it is to score goals in the playoffs when a team checks as relentlessly as the Sharks do. This includes the preparation of derivative works of, or the incorporation of such content into other works. For me, that’s the biggest thing. You don’t make it this far all the time, obviously. “Just trying to seize the moment”. Thornton is next on the list with 150 games.
“I can’t put it into words because I can’t imagine”.
It’s a moot point if the Tampa Bay Lightning win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of their series – because that would mean the Sharks would have home ice in the finals.
“I think the city of St. Louis, the fans, the people of St. Louis fell in love with the team because of this never-say-die attitude they have”, Hitchcock said. “We’ve really come together”.
“I’m a big believer that if you’re a clutch playoff performer, that’s something that’s a gift”, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.
“There are guys in the locker room who can’t even speak”, said Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock after the team’s Game 6 loss that ended the season Wednesday night. “They don’t need me interrupting them right now”. Martin Jones made 24 saves, Ward posted his second straight two-goal game and rookie Joonas Donskoi also scored as the Sharks got lots of contributions from some of the newcomers general manager Doug Wilson brought in over the past year. They got the job done. They want the ultimate prize. “Like everybody else, we’re a very close-knit family here”. Of course, the Stanley Cup is the hottest ticket in town. Thornton will be joined by Sharks defenseman Brent Burns.
Patrick Marleau nearly wasn’t here to experience this magical moment.
San Jose Sharks’ Joe Thornton fields questions after an NHL hockey practice Friday, May 27, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. San Jose will play Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Final. San Jose had more speed and more energy – and the Blues could never get their punishing forechecking game going for long enough stretches to catch the Sharks. Fans, some of them who watched the first San Jose Sharks team at the Cow Palace back in 1991, screamed and howled.
The rating eclipsed the former record of a 5.6 rating that was set May 16, 2010 when the Sharks played the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of that year’s conference final. It’s been a long year for Leafs’ fans, but I can’t think of a better way to wait for Auston Matthews.
Advertisement
“We’ve been in that mode – that this is the most important game – for a while now”.
