Through the conference finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs, no teams averaged more goals per game than the Penguins and San Jose Sharks.
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More than perhaps any other year of the Stanley Cup Final, the backup goaltenders have received more attention due to both their star power and curiously increased likelihood of actually playing.
After going through so many ups and downs this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins will look to cap off their magical season as they take on the San Jose Sharks.
After the Western Conference final, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock called Thornton, “More unsafe than he’s been in years”. And – at the time, it seemed – little hope for a quick fix.
“We will send the players out onto that ice with two supreme blades, perfectly sharpened and shaped”. Since January we’ve been a (heck) of a team. They defend. Then they skate and shoot and play defense some more. “Making sure those guys have what they need – that’s what we do”.
And they didn’t let up. For Pittsburgh the Finals appearance represents a vindication of sorts for stars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who made it to two consecutive Finals early in their careers (2008, 2009) but have struggled in the playoffs since.
For the first time in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks will be playing hockey in June after defeating the St. Louis Blues 5-2 in game six on Wednesday night to advance to the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup Final. “I don’t know that I’ve been around a player in all the years that I’ve been associated with this league with a work ethic like Sid’s”.
In all, seven Penguins players appeared in a Game 7 for the first time, an unusually high number in a sport where veteran teams such as the Blackhawks (3) and Kings (2) combined to win five of the previous six Cups. “The biggest challenge is ahead of us”.
The Penguins took out the Rangers in five games in the opening round then eliminated the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals in six games in Round 2 before knocking out the Lightning. “It always helps when there’s a good group of guys and everybody’s at the same spot and there’s some big names here”. Even if the initial results – a four-game losing streak in the week after Sullivan was promoted – were not.
“I think he did it the right way”, said Dupuis.
And the Penguins went out and played like it. Much of the credit goes to Tampa goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy who was outstanding after taking over for an injured Ben Bishop midway through Game 1, but the fact remains – shots on goal that don’t find the back of the net don’t win Stanley Cups. Speaking to reporters in the aftermath, Crosby said he felt off, sick, and stung by headaches. After Letang, though, there are some concerns for Pittsburgh with Trevor Daley out with a broken ankle. “We were in Game 7 and it could have gone either way”. Yet even he didn’t imagine this, scoring twice – and almost completing a hat trick – while skating alongside Malkin and Chris Kunitz.
Talks failed to produce before training camp and lingered into the season.
“You know, when you get into this profession, it’s this type of experience that we all aspire to be a part of”, he said, “and so fortunately for me, I’ve got a great opportunity here to coach a great group of players that have played extremely hard to get us here, so we don’t take one day for granted and we’re excited about this opportunity”.
Brent Burns, defenseman – The 11-year veteran was second among National Hockey League defensemen with 75 points this season (27 goals, 48 assists).
If the penalty killers can’t reduce the number of high-danger chances the Sharks are prone to generate, it could be bad news for the Penguins’ rookie netminder, Matt Murray.
Sullivan’s transparency kept Murray engaged.
“Jimmy Rutherford called late in the summer and free agency had been really quiet”, said Cullen, who signed a one-year, $800,000 deal with Pittsburgh.
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And, Mike Sullivan may have summed this up best during his postgame conference. “We’ve got to re-energize and get ready for the next round”.
