As for the San Jose Sharks, this is uncharted territory. This is the first time in the 25 year history of the franchise that they are playing for the Stanley Cup. Furthest the Sharks have gone, before this year, was the Western Conference Finals twice. First was in 2004, losing in six to the Calgary Flames. Then they lost in five to the Vancouver Canucks in 2011. This year, San Jose finished 3rd in the Pacific Division, collecting 98 points on 46 wins. Once the playoffs started, San Jose avenged their previous loss to the Los Angeles Kings in 2014, in which they gave up a 3–0 series lead, by defeating the Kings in five games. San Jose then eliminated the Nashville Predators in seven games, winning every home game in the series. San Jose closed out the Western Conference by beating the St. Louis Blues in the Conference Final in six games. San Jose is now 107-104 lifetime in the post season.
This marks the first ever meeting between the teams in the playoffs. During the regular season, the clubs split their two meetings, with the road team winning each time.
Here are the dates and times for every game in the finals:
Game 1: Mon 5/30, 8pm: San Jose @ Pittsburgh | NBC, CBC, TVA Sports
Game 2: Wed 6/1, 8pm: San Jose @ Pittsburgh | NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports
Game 3: Sat 6/4, 8pm: Pittsburgh @ San Jose | CBC, TVA Sports
Game 4: Mon 6/6, 8pm: Pittsburgh @ San Jose | CBC, TVA Sports
*Game 5: Thu 6/9, 8pm: San Jose @ Pittsburgh | NBC, CBC, TVA Sports
*Game 6: Sun 6/12, 8pm: Pittsburgh @ San Jose | NBC, CBC, TVA Sports
*Game 7: Wed 6/15, 8pm: San Jose @ Pittsburgh | NBC, CBC, TVA Sports
Been a long road back to the finals for the Penguins, this being their first appearance in the finals since 2009. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Chris Kunitz and Marc-Andre Fleury are the only active players remaining from that title run. So there's been a lot of changes in the Steel City between finals trips for the Penguins. This year's team has a lot to build off too. They are a good, quick team and have been putting up fantastic numbers in the playoffs with some big changes. Marc-Andre Fleury missed time at the end of the season and Matt Murray took over in net. He has played so well to this point that they haven't thought about going back to Fleury before the start of the finals, and why would you with how well Matt Murray has played. I wouldn't touch him. Also, when you think of the Penguins outside of goaltending, you think of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni malkin and Kris Letang. Letang has played well, or about as well as you can expect for a guy of his talent so far in the playoffs. The surprise is that both Crosby and Malkin have been playing below standard. Malkin won the Conn Smyth as playoff MVP in 2009 and is playing nowhere near that level now. Same thing with Crosby. Don't get me wrong both guys have been productive in the playoffs, Crosby has 15 points (6G 9A), and Malkin has 15 points (4G 11A), but neither guy has REALLY carried the Penguins in the playoffs.
That goes to show how deep this team really is. Phil Kessel is leading the team in scoring with nine goals and 18 points. Kessel was brought in last summer to produce offence and he's done everything you could want from him in this playoff run Eight guys on the Penguins roster have picked up at least ten points in the entire playoffs. Bryan Rust, Carl Haglien and Nick Bonino have also been productive for the Penguins in the post season, which shows just the amount of depth that this Pens team really has. Then again you have Matt Murray as well playing out of his mind, who has a .924 save percentage, which is one of the best in all of the playoffs.
As good as the Penguins are, the Sharks can match them on speed. San Jose is just as quick as Pittsburgh. Oh and they too have guys they rely on, guys who have really stepped it up in the Playoffs. Martin Jones is now really getting his chance to shine in net and has a .919 save percentage to show for it,. Jones has done a fantastic job in net so far. Then there's the blueline. Sure Brent Burns has been playing the way you'd expect from him. Burns is averaging 25:05 on ice a game and has produced 20 points so far in this playoffs. He's a shut down defender who can get on the scoresheet. Then you also have Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who while not as much of an offensive threat as Burns, still plays 23:08 a game and has shut down guys like Filip Forsberg (33 goals during the season) and Vladimir Tarasenko (40 goals during the regular season). San Jose has had the better team defense than the Penguins so far in the playoffs.
Then, we have the San Jose offense. The Sharks have four of the five top scorers in the playoffs (Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Joe Thornton). While Pavelski is the top postseason goal scorer (13 goals), it’s going to be Burns who will give Pittsburgh the most trouble. To make this series more interesting, Pittsburgh really needs to stay out of the penalty box. Why? Oh no reason, except that the Sharks powerplay has been deadly over the last two rounds. Pavelski has been a killer on the man advantage so far and that's going to continue with the way the Pens have been going in terms of getting stuck in the box. Another thing that has really stuck out about San Jose in this playoffs is that they have never looked really rattled by teams. Even after losing games in the playoffs this year, even after losing that triple overtime game in game four against Nashville, San Jose kept a calm demenor the entire time. They're always making the right adjustments for a strong counterpunch, which is a big part of their success in bouncing back. They also finally seem to have the confidence that previous Sharks teams have lacked. They're not just happy to be here.
That being said here's how I see this series going down. This one will go the distance. Both teams are fast and can make adjustments quick. Both teams have good young goaltenders who have been stealing the show to this point in the playoffs. Both teams can roll four lines. The biggest difference in this series is the big guns. Right now the best players on the San Jose Sharks are really playing like it. Outside of Phil Kessel, the big guns on the Penguins haven't really hit that stride and that's what's going to hurt them in the finals.
Pick: Sharks in 7!
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