We have the San Jose Sharks, who are making their first appearance in a Stanley Cup Finals. The Penguins were part of the NHL’s first big expansion from six teams to 12 in 1967; the Sharks were admitted as the 22nd franchise, for the 1991-92 season, kicking off a concerted push into non-traditional markets. “I’ve been given a lot more opportunity because we’ve had some injuries”. Yesterday, the National Hockey League announced the schedule for the series. You realize how hard you have to work to get to this point. The Penguins are still using this approach while the Sharks have shifted towards using a top heavy look which includes Thornton and Pavelski together and Couture and Marleau together.
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Murray is now 11-4 in the playoffs after heading into the postseason as the team’s backup netminder. So, as I prepare to make Cup final pick, I am 6-8 through three rounds.
Trevor Daley was one of those players. That is a significant change to the roster and helped create their current identity. “From what I’ve watched, it’s two teams that want to play the exact same way, that want to get their (defensemen) involved”. Let’s not forget Coach Mike Sullivan and his ability to continually get his team ready for big games and exorcise the demons that have plagued the Penguins in recent memory. His tenure started earlier than expected when veteran Marc-Andre Fleury sustained a concussion on March 31. He posted 36 goals and 28 assists during the regular season for the Lightning.
The 26-year-old center missed the first 16 games of the Lightning’s playoff run before returning to the lineup for Game 7 on Thursday night, less than two months after undergoing surgery to treat a blood clot discovered near his right collarbone. He ended up stopping 35 out of 37 shots in a Game 1 win.
Murray returned for Game 3, picked up a win, followed it with a shutout in Game 4, and other than one game in the Eastern Conference finals series when Fleury received a start (Game 5), has been the starting goalie ever since. Sharks D Brent Burns, a Norris Trophy finalist who partners with Penguins alum Paul Martin, can be a game-changer at both ends of the rink. Tom Wilson was fined for kneeing Conor Sheary, Brooks Orpik was suspended three games for a late hit to the head of Olli Maatta, and then Kris Letang earned a one game suspension for a late hit to Marcus Johansson.
Season Series: Tied 1-1. It could have easily been a turning point in the series. He was replaced by Mike Sullivan, who challenged the talent-laden Penguins to break out of their funk.
In Pittsburgh, the Penguins were languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference on December 12 when the team fired coach Mike Johnston. Ditto for Murray, who hardly looked shaken while sitting the bench in Game 5 against Tampa Bay. The final minute of the game saw Tampa Bay pull their goaltender to use five forwards and one defenseman in an attempt to force overtime. A loss would have sent the series back to Washington Game 7 and would have been an unbelievable single game meltdown.
X FACTORS: As good as the Sharks’ top line of Thornton centering Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl is, and as important as Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are to the Penguins, the line that could impact the series the most is the Penguins’ trio of Nick Bonino centering ex-Ranger Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel. It’s the first time they’ve been in this spot since 2009 and a lot of criticism from the media about Crosby and Malkin not showing up will go down if they win it all here.
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San Jose: No one has been better in the postseason than Joe Pavelski, who leads the league with 13 goals and four game-winners, and trails only Logan Couture in scoring with 22 points.
