The Penguins three Cups have been won in Minnesota (1991), Chicago (1992) and Detroit (2009).
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In those dark days before and just after Mike Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston as their coach on December 12, the Penguins could not have imagined being in the position they will occupy Thursday – the Stanley Cup will be in the house at Consol Energy Center and a victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 is all that stands between the Penguins and the franchise’s fourth Cup championship.
The Sharks don’t have a blueprint for coming back from a 3-1 playoff-series deficit.
The Penguins are making the Sharks work for every inch of ice they get and completing a simple pass has proven quite challenging.
Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel hooked up to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead over the Sharks in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. “We don’t have a rooting interest other than to bring more hockey to the audience”.
“I think he’s going to be great tomorrow”, Hitchcock said. “I think we would be comfortable in that spot that we could get it to go seven.”TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVASABOUT THE SHARKS: After averaging a playoff-best 3.5 goals through the first three rounds of the postseason, San Jose has scored only seven times in four games versus Pittsburgh”. That’s taken him out of the four-line rhythm that has always been DeBoer’s staple.
“You just try to worry about yourself and make sure you’re doing your job and as a team you’re doing the things necessary to give yourself a chance to win games”, Crosby said. “I don’t even know where Squirrel Hill is”. “But it’s been a big issue these (four) games”. Instead it was Penguins defenceman Ian Cole, he of zero goals previously in the playoffs, landing the first marker on a rebound. “That’s something that we have to get fixed”.
Murray made 23 saves on 24 shots in the game for a save percentage of.958. In addition to the grueling regular-season schedule, the Sharks have made two trips to Nashville, two to St. Louis and one (thus far) to Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
Malkin had an easy tap-in as he slipped behind the Sharks defense on the far post, where teammate Phil Kessel hit him with a ideal feed from above the left circle.
The Sharks opted to use that duo against Malkin, who had a goal and assist in Game 4. Add in tremendous scoring depth and a high skill level from so many players and you have a team that is so well constructed that it’s hard to not see them finding success.
One mistake was the difference between the Penguins and Sharks after one period of Game 4. They’re on the verge of taking a 3-1 lead in the series. Fehr took the suspense out of the ending with a goal in the final minutes of the third period. Why can’t we be the first team to do it? “It’s huge”, Tierney said. I texted with two National Hockey League coaches during the game who felt the same way, that San Jose’s top players in particular appear to be worn down from the long playoff journey. And when the Penguins were on the defense in the third period, no one showed how much they wanted it more than Murray. This has led to a number of “Grade A” opportunities and subsequent goals as the defensive coverage is broken down.
When a San Jose player gets the puck on his stick on the offensive zone, there’s usually a Penguins player draped all over him.
DeBoer started to shuffle his lines and shorten his bench at midgame. Brent Burns was the only Sharks defenseman who could claim a good night possession-wise, and he can’t carry the load if they want to win the next three games.
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Logan Couture was the only other forward to play more than 20, as he joined Pavelski and Thornton on the top line when the Sharks were in desperation mode.
