Then there is the pain from the 2014 playoffs, when the Sharks blew a 3-0 lead in the first round to fall in seven games to the Los Angeles Kings.
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For the first time in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks are heading to the Stanley Cup Final. He stood up in front of the assembled media and tried to explain why it was the San Jose Sharks celebrating down the hall and not his team pushing the Western Conference finals to one more game. And after a seven-game series with Nashville, the Sharks set the franchise record for wins in a single postseason (11) with their third win over the Blues.
And home ice never really was an advantage for a team that last made the finals in 1970 and has never won a Cup.
And now, in the postseason, Thornton – like so numerous Sharks’ other big-name players – has continued to play outstanding hockey, and his team advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history after beating the Blues in the Western Conference Final on Wednesday.
“You don’t want to waste opportunities”, Pavelski said. “You like to not have to”. “We have what it takes to win it all”. “We just come up short”. It was another step. “We are going to enjoy this”. He’s piled up 1,341 points in all his years, 835 coming in his 10-and-a-half seasons wearing the teal.
“Game one. I don’t know what seats, but it doesn’t matter; we’re there”, said Tom Tanquary. “Then previous year, obviously tough time missing the playoffs and going through some stuff as a team”. If the Sharks win, it’ll be Reimer who gets his name on the Cup and the Leafs’ pick will be a spot better.
The Sharks opened the scoring Wednesday just 3:57 into the first period as Hertl and Thornton assisted on Pavelski’s 13th goal of the playoffs. C Micheal Haley, D Dylan DeMelo and D Matt Tennyson were San Jose’s healthy scratches.
“I’ve always had that approach – a chip on my shoulder”, Dillon, who calls Surrey home, said.
“I took a few quick looks around, just to see everyone standing and cheering”. Team teal deserves to be moving on to their first Cup Final as they wore down a team many through would do the same to them.
The impact of that loss lasted for a while as San Jose missed the playoffs entirely last season.
“It is awesome”, said forward Joe Thornton, who has won gold at the Olympics, World Cup and World Junior Championships but doesn’t have a Stanley Cup ring. Reaching the Western Conference final for the first time in 15 years was great, but it doesn’t guarantee a return trip next year.
Two years after their most devastating playoff loss, the Sharks held their most meaningful celebration. After a disappointing ending, all we can do is wait. “So it’s a great feeling”.
By virtue of winning the Western Conference title, the Sharks advance to their first appearance in the NHL’s ultimate series. The atmosphere in the Shark Tank reflected the high stakes with the fans at a frenzy during pregame introductions. The “Let’s Go Sharks!” chants started soon after the puck dropped, and those chants turned to “We Want The Cup!” The only goals scored by Tarasenko were late in the third period of Game 6 when the Sharks put the game away. However, the fact the Sharks never made it to the Cup Final before, Marleau was nearly always one of the first players to blame.
The Sharks now await the Game 7 victor of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It doesn’t make him look good at all that the season he gets replaced in San Jose is the one where the team achieves new heights. “We’re ready for that next challenge”.
Probably no one appreciated it more than Thornton and Marleau, who have spent a collective 36 National Hockey League seasons trying to reach this point.
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Coach Ken Hitchcock was on a one-year contract and captain David Backes, last seen in an emotional heartfelt media session Wednesday following the Game 6 defeat, can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. “Six more wins and we’re having parades on Market Street”.
