All eyes will be on the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh Monday night when the 2016 Stanley Cup Final gets underway.
The San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins are the last two teams standing in what has been an outstanding playoff season. Both of these teams deserve to be where they are right now.
The Sharks erased the memories of 2014 and 2015 in 5 short games over the LA Kings. They followed that up with a gutsy 7 game victory over a feisty and talented Nashville Predators team. Lastly, San Jose punched their ticket to the Cup Final by dispatching a favored St. Louis Blues team that seemed destined to make a return the Final following a 40+ year drought.
The Penguins had one of the toughest roads to the Final. Pittsburgh defeated the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning en route to a date with the Sharks. That's the closest thing the Eastern Conference has to a real Murderer's Row.
Now they meet head-to-head with the greatest trophy in all of sports on the line. This has the making of a classic, but which team has they edge? Who is going to put themselves one notch above the other and who primed to win this year's Stanley Cup?
The 'experts' are split while the odds-makers show the Penguins as a slight favorite. According to an oversees sports betting site, Pittsburgh enters the series as -135 favorites, with San Jose a slim +115 underdog. I really don't know what that means but it lends to a growing sentiment that the Pens will win their fourth Stanley Cup.
Having enjoyed this Sharks run and having seen them grow into legit contenders, I just don't see it that way
(and No it's not just because I'm the Sharks Blogger).
Here are my 5 reasons why the Sharks will win the 2015-16 Stanley Cup.
1.
Offensive Depth and the Power Play- Led by Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture, the Sharks boast the leagues most potent offense (3.50 GPG) throughout these playoffs. Led by a breakout playoff from Pavelski, the Sharks offense will pose a slew of challenges for a thin Pittsburgh blue line.
Captain America leads all playoff scorers with 13 goals, four game-winners and 22 points. Couture (24 points) and Joe Thornton (18 points) are also playing at another level and when a healthy Couture in the lineup, the Sharks are at their best.
Offense has been contagious through the San Jose lineup. Playoff hero, Joel Ward has 6 goals, following by 5 apiece from Tomas Hertl, Joonas Donskoi and Chris Tierney.
The Penguins have an equally formidable offense, but the Sharks have hardly been slowed.
San Jose has a plus-23 goal differential and have yet to be shut out in the playoffs. Not to mention the Sharks have scored 29 third period goals in these playoffs. That is nearly twice as many as the Penguins 17.
The Sharks also have EIGHT empty-net goals. To me this is a sign of a team that plays a full 60 minutes.
2.
The Powerful Play - The Sharks have an impressive 27.0% success rate on the power play in the playoffs. It's been San Jose's bread-and-butter from the opening series on. This shouldn't come as a big surprise after having the third-ranked unit in the regular season (22.6 percent).
Couture leads the league with 11 power play points, while Pavelski has five power play goals.
3.
The Defense- The Sharks ability to shut down the opponents best offensive weapon, while chipping in offensively has been an important cog in their impressive run. Marc-Edouard Vlasic leads all NHL defensemen with a plus-13 rating and Paul Martin, is second with a plus-10. Martin has been especially effective backing up Brent Burns when he jumps up into the offense. Burns tends to make at least one bad pass a game and Martin acts as some added insurance for Martin Jones. It's paying off because Burns in third in NHL scoring and leads all NHL defensemen with 20 points.
San Jose's third pair of Brenden Dillon and Roman Polak is averaging more than 15 minutes of ice time per game allowing the Sharks' top 4 enough rest to be effective. They will need everybody to be at their best against a very dangerous Penguins offensive.
4.
Martin Jones Factor - Jones is 12-6 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. In his first run as a playoff starter, He has shown that he belongs. Jones has remained calm from day one and never seems to let anything rattle him. The Sharks are 5-1 after a loss, showing that Jones can quickly move on from a bad performance without skipping a beat.
5.
"M,T" Trophy Case Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau were drafted one and two in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Neither of them have to a Cup Final. That's 36 years of Cup futility.
Marleau will go down as the greatest Shark to ever wear a teal sweater. With that comes the stigma of being a playoff failure. He may not be the focal point of the Sharks offense anymore but he is a very valuable part of this group. Without this opportunity in front of him and the Sharks he may have been unfairly labeled as a great player that never won the big game.
Joe Thornton may have gone down as one the best players in the NHL's history to never have a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. Now that he and his teammates have that chance they will make the most of it.
Jumbo Joe has been a beast this entire season and he is arguably playing some of the best hockey of his career at this very moment. He has three goals and 15 assists in 18 playoff games this year and his leadership has been invaluable.
Marleau and Thornton have waited 36 years for this. They didn't come this far to let it all slip away.
6.
Erasing History - The Sharks had a reputation of being big-time chokers. The number of bitter disappointments and embarrassing collapses mar what has otherwise been a successful franchise. While Their bitter rivals in Los Angeles and Anaheim have lifted Lord Stanley, San Jose had never made a Cup Final. They are just 4 wins away from rewriting history and cementing California as the real Golden State of Hockey.
Trust me, there will some extra motivation going in this series.
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Once again a big thanks to Vols94 for the rally towels and glowing bracelet thing! You absolutely made my day!
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Thanks for reading,
Steve
Follow me on Twitter: @Faultlinehockey 
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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