“It’s a big change from where I was at before, ” Kessel said.
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But the Penguins, improbably, can win their fourth Stanley Cup in a quarter-century on Thursday night if they can close out the San Jose Sharks, who trail 3-1 in a finals in which Pittsburgh has never fallen behind in regulation. The player who spent more than half a decade as a pariah in Toronto, usually for things far beyond his control, is a leading contender to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff’s most valuable player.
We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. “He’s (risen) to the occasion”. “You have to keep it from becoming a roller-coaster ride”.
“But, you know, there is no magic answer”, DeBoer said.
In 2014, Pittsburgh gagged a second-round playoff series against the New York Rangers despite roaring out to a 3-1 series advantage. They play the game the right way.
“I see a guy that’s working his butt off, ” said ESPN analyst Barry Melrose. “Once you get that first win, which is the most important and the biggest because you need that one, a lot can happen from there”.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan agrees with DeBoer’s assessment.
“We’re not anxious about the hoopla, what they’ve got going on”, Ward said.
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ plan heading into Thursday’s potential Stanley Cup-clinching game is to remember that the late Yogi Berra was right. Kessel is only too happy to quietly look for the exit whenever the media descends on Sidney Crosby’s nearby stall. That other team? The Maple Leafs.
But Murray has been solid all along and played well enough to outlast Vasilevskiy, Holtby and Henrik “The King” Lundqvist to get this far. The second most effective piece of their plan – also one that basketball fans can comprehend – is applying quick double-team pressure to most any Sharks’ player who tries to handle the puck along the boards.
And while the Sharks are dipping into a daunting situation to try to prevent the Penguins from winning the Cup at home, Pavelski said after Game 4 that he’s not ready to let the prey escape the predator. Yet San Jose is well aware that no lead is insurmountable.
“We’ve got to find a way to stick one of those in early”, DeBoer said.
“I think the one thing about our group is there’s a lot of belief in our game and in each other”, coach Pete DeBoer said Wednesday. Sharks defenseman Justin Braun has two goals in the past two games, matching his total from the previous 40 contests. They have yet to lead at any point during regulation, their only victory a comeback 3-2 triumph in overtime in Game 3.
“Each individual is different, every team is different, but there is that mental element that ‘OK, there goes one game and they have some momentum and they’re pushing and getting better”. Instead, the Rangers rolled to a 5-1 win and went on to take the series in seven games. But he also made numerous key saves to give the Penguins a chance to win, and this time I didn’t even consider the idea of benching him. Pittsburgh’s edge hasn’t been significant, but it’s been enough. Logan Couture, who leads the National Hockey League with 26 points this postseason, has just two against the Penguins.
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Sharks forward Joel Ward doesn’t think the assuredly frantic atmosphere at Consol will be a major disadvantage – even if Pittsburghers have been waiting to celebrate another title at home since Bill Mazeroski’s home run cleared the left-center field wall for the Pirates on October 13, 1960.
