There he was on the ice, bearded and smiling, hoisting the Stanley Cup above his head, then smacking it with a kiss, after the Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-1, to win it all. “I don’t think anyone should ever question the leadership or the character or the will of the group of men in there”.
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Only strong play from Jones kept the Sharks in the series and allowed them to take the Penguins to six games before faltering.
The Penguins didn’t make it back to the final until this season.
It ended because the Penguins found a new way to navigate the rigors of the Stanley Cup playoffs, blindsiding the Sharks, who entered the series as the favorites due to their hard and heavy style of play, which steamrolled the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues. “I couldn’t be happier for him”, Sullivan said, per Benjamin.
Crosby, who grew up in Cole Harbour, N.S., was also named victor of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP. Couture scored the tying goal midway through the second period and it took the Penguins just 79 seconds to regain the lead. Letang whipped a quick wrister by Jones, and the Penguins would regain the lead.
Pittsburgh’s speed, depth and ability to play from ahead for nearly the entire series proved too much for the Sharks to overcome. Wherever you want them. Couture is only the 5th player to reach 30 points since the 1995-96 playoffs and the first since Daniel Briere had 30 points in 2009-10. They converted on 17 of 63 power play chances (27 percent) in their playoff rounds against the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues.
Crosby’s dominance was evident throughout the final game as Pittsburgh spent most of the time when he was on the ice in San Jose’s zone. The Penguins stormed into the playoffs as the NHL’s hottest team down the stretch, foremost riding Crosby’s dominance and their HBK line, only a few months after calls for Rutherford’s job and screeds about their captain’s fading talents littered the landscape. I think it trickles down from him. “You’re trying to stay concentrated, dialed in as best you can, but you can taste it”.
Throw in mainstays such as Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang and the Penguins had the right ingredients to win it all. That’s what we play for. In the finals, Pittsburgh enjoyed a 352-to-267 shot attempt advantage over San Jose after adjusting for score effects.
“It places him up there with the greats of the game of all-time”, Sullivan said.
Although the Sharks failed to bring the Cup to Northern California, DeBoer said the team’s run through the playoff should finally put the criticism heaped on Thornton and Marleau’s shoulders over the years to rest.
In 2006 it was Cam Ward, after appearing just 28 regular season games for the Hurricanes, that got hot in the playoffs and posted a.928 save percentage on the way to the Stanley Cup.
“And we got it done”, Kessel said. Following his assist, you could hear people murmuring to each other in the press box, and you could tell they had come up with their answer.
“All those moves are important, they all add up and that’s certainly a big one, ” Crosby said of the Kessel trade, which sent a package of prospects, picks and players to Toronto.
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“I’m obviously happy for me, but the next guy I’m happiest for would be Phil”, linemate Nick Bonino said of winning a Stanley Cup. I thought they worked well together.
