This year, the Penguins will be meeting up with the San Jose Sharks, who took out the Saint Louis Blues in six games during the Western Conference Finals.
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It’s been a road of redemption for the Sharks as they exorcised demons by handing the Kings a five-game series loss in Round 1 and then defeated the Predators in a do-or-die Game 7 in Round 2 before toppling the Blues.
For the Sharks and their fans, just reaching the Stanley Cup final has been a quarter-century dream. The San Jose Sharks are led by Coach Peter DeBoer, and this is his first year with the organization. Phil Kessel leads the Penguins in points and is a serious candidate for a Con Smythe but we’ll get to him in the next section.
Both teams stumbled during the season but regrouped at the right time.
The hoopla also includes the presence of a camera crew from Showtime network, following and filming the Penguins players and staff for the documentary series “All Access: Quest for the Stanley Cup”. Marleau has spent his entire career with the Sharks while Thornton has been in the Bay Area since late in 2005.
Before the Penguins hit the ice for Thursday night’s thrilling 2-1 victory that sent them to the final, merchandise was being shipped to Pittsburgh – just in case. They are going to have to with this lineup approach. Each year he submits a 12-team list of teams where he can’t be dealt. The Penguins are allowing 2.39 goals per game while the Sharks are allowing 2.28.
It’s hard to believe it has been seven years since the Penguins last made the final.
But both also had times when they failed to raise their game at the biggest points of the season. They have movement, they have highly skilled passers, they have guys that aren’t afraid to let it rip. “They play at such a high level and it’s fun to be out there with them because of the plays they can make”.
Coaching changes were difference-makers for the Penguins and Sharks. Forwards Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture and defenseman Brent Burns account for the bulk of that production.
A speedy wing who brings energy to any line, Rust isn’t normally known as an offensive force. Only Erik Karlsson’s 1.52 was better. “He was just a really strong guy that was willing to do all of the little details to play the right way”. Outside of omni-dangerous Kris Letang, the Penguins’ defensive group is susceptible. “They play hard, and the other thing is they block a lot of shots”. I like the quietly effective means by which he goes about his business. Fact is, he’s one of the best play makers in the National Hockey League.
The Sharks pride themselves on being a tight-checking, puck-moving, fast-paced team. He is worthy of his Team Canada selection.
San Jose’s post-season power-play percentage of 27.0 is only bettered by the Chicago Blackhawks (31.6).
The Sharks defense isn’t without its warts though. General manager Jim Rutherford rebuilt the team on the fly after taking over in June, 2014 and with the team sleepwalking last December, fired respected-but-hardly-charismatic Mike Johnston and replaced him with the decidedly harder-edged Mike Sullivan. That means one of them will always be on the ice at the same time as Brenden Dillon and Roman Polak. They only have a CF% of 46.03% when together.
Another key for Pittsburgh will be being careful about Ian Cole’s usage.
“On top of that, Burns is 6’5” and can definitely throw the body around.
Cullen is a 39-year-old center who signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent last summer. The team started slowly.
“They were on top of us pretty good”, Lightning forward Brian Boyle said.
Martin Jones will be the “worst” goaltender the Penguins will face in these playoffs but he’s still a very, very good goaltender. Matt Murray is at.935. I don’t see a big advantage to either squad. Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin (71) and Ben Lovejoy (12) celebrate with goalie Matt Murray (30) after the Penguins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals, Th…
This series will be close.
Can the Sharks do the same to the Penguins? That sounds to me like the platonic ideal of a Cup team. I picked Pittsburgh before the playoffs started and I will be sticking with that selection. He was the league’s most dominant player in a second half that saw the Penguins surge under new head coach Mike Sullivan.
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“I think throughout the playoffs, we’ve played different styles, different teams and been able to adjust and get to our game”, Crosby said. I would sit around and watch that 45 second clip as much as four times. Why?
