Steve Palumbo: 6 Reasons Why The San Jose Sharks Will Finally Lift Lord Stanley's Chalice

Reason 7

This is going to be a high flying offensive series.

Gary Bettman must be licking his chops for American hockey as a whole.

This is going to be a high flying offensive series.

Gary Bettman must be licking his chops for American hockey as a whole.
- DeflatedPucks

It is probably a best case scenario for the NHL.

Steve Palumbo: 6 Reasons Why The San Jose Sharks Will Finally Lift Lord Stanley's Chalice
- Steve Palumbo

Pittsburgh's team speed gave NY, Washington and Tampa absolute fits. This and their depth upfront should be a huge concern for the Sharks. They made Hedman and Stralman look really bad at times

Good luck, Sharks, I'm pullin' for ya

Go Sharks!!!!

Pittsburgh's team speed gave NY, Washington and Tampa absolute fits. This and their depth upfront should be a huge concern for the Sharks. They made Hedman and Stralman look really bad at times
- Brianandr1

Sharks made Shea Weber and Alex Pietrangelo look real bad...Los Angeles was flipping Defense to help Doughty.....I think you worried about the wrong team D.

LMAO...you guys & your DeBoer gifs....Priceless.

Sharks made Shea Weber and Alex Pietrangelo look real bad...Los Angeles was flipping Defense to help Doughty.....I think you worried about the wrong team D.
- flipneil

I want to say that maybe LA just wasn't as good as the hype... they got freaking slaughtered, and Nashville and St Louis put up a better fight, both of which were teams people ranked below LA.

I'm surprised you chose not to point out the very strong play of Burns. Without him, SJ is not in the final. For my money, he should be the SJ leader in consideration for the Conn Smythe over all the forwards IMO.
All you say about him is negative...well, the amount of times he has the puck, makes a great pass to a forward or just skates the puck out go the d zone simply increases the odds that he could make a bad pass. Dude, this game is so fast that with the speed of play and the split second of time to make a decision, the more any player has possession increases the chance that a bad pass would be intercepted.
The game looks a lot slower when sitting in the stands or press box than it does at ice level.

I'm surprised you chose not to point out the very strong play of Burns. Without him, SJ is not in the final. For my money, he should be the SJ leader in consideration for the Conn Smythe over all the forwards IMO.
All you say about him is negative...well, the amount of times he has the puck, makes a great pass to a forward or just skates the puck out go the d zone simply increases the odds that he could make a bad pass. Dude, this game is so fast that with the speed of play and the split second of time to make a decision, the more any player has possession increases the chance that a bad pass would be intercepted.
The game looks a lot slower when sitting in the stands or press box than it does at ice level.
- haymac

I didn't mention him in depth because I've praised him throughout the playoffs. He is a valuable member if the Sharks and a game changer but there are certain intangibles the players around him possess that give San Jose an edge in this series.

GO SHARKS!

GO SHARKS!
- Blackstrom2

Traitor......

GO SHARKS, get that Cup!!!

I have changed a lot as a fan this year. I used to think the team that won did so solely based on skill. I realize now that luck is a huge component to winning (maybe even the biggest component). The refs are always going to miss calls so you have to be have luck getting the right calls at the right times. Luck staying healthy, luck not playing a team with a goon out to hurt someone. The biggest difference between this year and other years is that our best players haven't been cheap shotted.

I used to think that the best team is the one who should win and that if you play hard and clean you deserve to be rewarded. I thought the Sharks were destined to win and deserved to win. Now I realize it's all about capitalizing on opportunities and doing whatever it takes to win. I'm happy with any type of win rather than the Sharks having to win a certain way.

I was always a "Cup or Nothing" fan before experiencing my team reaching the finals. More than any other round, the final seems like a complete crap shoot and flip of the coin. I am surprised how happy I am just for them to get here and just for them to have a shot at it. I'm thrilled Marleau no longer holds the record for most games played without ever being in the final.

I am happy with how every one of our guys has played. Mistakes have been made but they have churned out one hell of a performance. It's so easy to see how McLellan was holding these guys back and how DeBoer has set them up for success. I'm a DeBoer fan for life now, regardless of what else happens. I'm a fan of all these guys (so much easier to say that with Torres gone). Best Sharks Team Ever!

Good luck to everyone tonight. Pens are a great team and there's no doubt in my mind that the Sharks should be viewed as underdogs. At the end of the day it's a fan's dream come true to be playing for the Cup. My body is ready, let's do this.

^^^^^ Not gonna quote... but realizing that luck plays as much part as skill when it comes to being healthy, the refs, and the puck luck.... welcome to the NHL playoffs.

Not sure I'm sold on your attacking depth???

You name 5 players plus 2 of a first line. So there's 6 in the top 2 where is the depth - the real depth, say 4 lines of depth?

You know some people would say writing a blog on why you will win is a sure fire way of losing!

Hope it's s great series with no injuries!

Not sure I'm sold on your attacking depth???

You name 5 players plus 2 of a first line. So there's 6 in the top 2 where is the depth - the real depth, say 4 lines of depth?

You know some people would say writing a blog on why you will win is a sure fire way of losing!

Hope it's s great series with no injuries!
- Aussiepenguin

I hope every single penguin not named Cullen is violently murdered on the ice.

Suck it Steve

I hope every single penguin not named Cullen is violently murdered on the ice.
- BINGO!

How many blogs you think Ryan would write if that happened???

How many blogs you think Ryan would write if that happened???
- Aussiepenguin

18 of them, and every one of them will include a title with the world assault in them.

18 of them, and every one of them will include a title with the world assault in them.
- smellmyfinger

"Cold blooded" would be in the titles of at least 6, not sure 'assault' is strong enough though for the rest. "Culpable manslaughter", or "1st degree" may be a couple more (is 2nd or 3rd degree murder any less you think??).

"Cold blooded" would be in the titles of at least 6, not sure 'assault' is strong enough though for the rest. "Culpable manslaughter", or "1st degree" may be a couple more (is 2nd or 3rd degree murder any less you think??).
- Aussiepenguin

You're right. And the word "premeditated" along with a chart of violence levels would need to be included too.

Not sure I'm sold on your attacking depth???

You name 5 players plus 2 of a first line. So there's 6 in the top 2 where is the depth - the real depth, say 4 lines of depth?

You know some people would say writing a blog on why you will win is a sure fire way of losing!
Hope it's s great series with no injuries!
- Aussiepenguin

It'd hard not to sound redundant when writing these things. It's the only series left and it's covered from every angle. I'm sure somebody else mentioned Timmy Wingels somewhere. Thanks for reading and good luck!