The most noticeable drop in effectiveness has come from team captain Joe Pavelski, and you can see it clear as day when you compare his playoff performance before the Cup Final to during it.
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The one place where those players haven’t showed up so far is on the goal-scoring sheet.
“I’ve told these guys from day one that we believe in this group”, Sullivan said.
The narrative that has constantly surround this San Jose Sharks franchise is their big players come up short when it’s mattered most in the playoffs. “That’s something that we have to get fixed”. Game 4 is Monday night in San Jose. They have not had the lead at any point in any of the games. (He also has a goal and 18 shots in the Cup Final). A win Thursday would force a Game 6 on Sunday in San Jose.
“I think the results are closer than it feels right now”, DeBoer said. “A lot of it depends on if we can get to it early”. “When I have puck, I’m try shoot”.
Pittsburgh have had multiple players step up to the plate this post-season, who have pulled their weight and carried their team to the end. The anemic offense has to produce Thursday in Game Five or the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to win the Cup. “We just have to score and capitalize on our chances”. “I’m going to look to keep that same mindset going forward”.
It hasn’t been like those players haven’t performed well. Instead, Pittsburgh has relied on a quick strike transition game and a rush-style offence, as well as that old mantra of, “you can’t hit what you can’t catch'”.
But he got much less generated on the road when the Sharks were able to match top defensive pair Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun against him consistently. Most importantly, they have a ton of talent in the depth of their lineup. “We have a lot of good leadership in the room and a lot of guys who’ve been through a lot”. After watching how the beloved Los Tiburones plowed through the first three playoff rounds to reach the Stanley Cup Final, it’s hard to fathom that they find themselves in this spot. The Sharks just might plant a significant seed of doubt. Forward Logan Couture has a postseason-best 26 points, but both he and defenseman Brent Burns have been limited to two assists in the Finals.ABOUT THE PENGUINS: Center Evgeni Malkin, the Conn Smythe Award victor in Pittsburgh’s 2009 run to the Cup, admitted he wasn’t producing enough through the first three games of the series and responded to his own “I want more” declaration by setting up one tally and scoring what proved to be the game-winner in Game 4.
“That was their usual”, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said, suddenly shifting the focus to defenseman Brent Burns. Salary cap restraints, the emergence of younger players and roles continuing to evolve necessitate change. I think you have to give some credit to Pittsburgh. “We’ve been playing with desperation all year”. “It’s just a matter of time”. It’s the ultimate script-flip against a team that was consistently better than their opposition by these same numbers through the regular season (San Jose won about 54 per cent of the scoring chances and 52 per cent of the shots prior to the playoffs, for what it is worth). The Penguins blocked 38 shots in Game 3.
I think one of the biggest differences between Pittsburgh and Eastern Conference teams of yesteryear is that they just don’t skate fast, they play fast. “Try to get a few more”.
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In addition to Marleau, the team has five unrestricted free agents – forwards Dainius Zubrus, Nick Spaling, defensemen Roman Polak, Matt Tennyson and goalie James Reimer – in addition to restricted free agents Matt Nieto, Tomas Hertl, both forwards, and defenseman Dylan DeMelo.
