SHARKS SEARCHING FOR MOJO
Outplayed by Pens in Cup final so far
It’s over, right?
Well, that’s certainly what it feels like after the Pittsburgh Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 series lead against the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup final.
But before we start guessing who Crosby will hand the Cup to first — Phil Kessel or Matt Murray — the Penguins have to prove they can have the same level of success on the road now that the series shifts to San Jose for Games 3 and 4.
Here are five reasons why the series is over and another five why we’re just getting started:
5 REASONS WHY THE SERIES IS OVER
1 Penguins are just too fast The Sharks’ game plan was to use their size to bully a no-name and undersized Penguins’ defence. One problem: they haven’t been able to catch them. It’s not just the defence, but the forwards as well. Everyone in Pittsburgh can skate and the Penguins are using it to their advantage.
2 Crosby is playing possessed Logan Couture called him a cheater who is getting preferential treatment in the faceoff circle. But that’s just another way of saying Crosby has taken over the game. He’s become a sort of playercoach, drawing up plays on the bench, and then executing them on the ice. He has no goals (yet), but he has already picked up two big assists and has put himself in the Conn Smythe Trophy conversation.
3 Matt Murray is unflappable We keep waiting for the 22-yearold rookie goaltender to show his age, keep waiting for him to break under the pressure, to do what almost every goalie has done in the post-season and come undone. Well, it hasn’t happened. And it might not. Murray, who has allowed three goals in two games, is the reason the North American young stars team could win gold at the World Cup. 4
Those Darn Kids Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust won’t get many — if any — votes for the Calder Trophy this season, but the two youngsters are playing like rookies of the year. Sheary has two goals including the overtime winner in Game 2, while Rust, who scored in Game 1, has more goals (six) and points (nine) in the playoffs than he did in the regular season.
5 HBK Line Evgeni Malkin has gone M.I.A. with only one goal in the last 14 games, but no one has really noticed because Kessel has picked up the slack with 10 goals and 19 points in 20 games. Along with his HBK linemates Nick Bonino (17 points) and Carl Hagelin (17 points), who have combined for two goals in the final, he has given the Penguins the type of scoring depth that the Sharks have been without.
5 REASONS WHY WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED
1 Home ice Heading into the final, the Penguins and Sharks had been the two best teams at home. So it’s not surprising that Pittsburgh won Games 1 and 2 at the CONSOL Energy Center. Now, home-ice advantage goes to San Jose, which is 7-2 at the “Shark Tank” this season. “We’ve been good at home,” said Sharks’ goalie Martin Jones. “We just have to win our home games. It puts more pressure on them.”
2 Martin Jones will steal a game (or two) Don’t blame Jones for why San Jose is down 2-0. The Sharks goalie made 66 combined saves in the two games so far and is a big reason why the scores have been so close. Ultimately, Jones will have to steal a game (or two) for San Jose to get back into the series, something he is capable of doing with three shutouts in the playoffs.
3 We’re talking about one-goal games The Sharks might have been outplayed, but the difference between a win and a loss has been one shot. Nick Bonino scored the winning goal in Game 1 with 2:09 remaining in the third period. In Game 2, the Penguins scored an overtime goal that might not have occurred if Logan Couture had tied up Sidney Crosby’s stick on the faceoff. In other words, this could just easily be 2-0 for San Jose.
4 Sleeping giants will eventually wake up It’s easy write off Joe Thornton and Co. as playoff chokers who cannot come up big when it matters the most. But it’s not fair. Thornton has 18 points in 20 games, while the top-3 scorers in the playoffs (Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns) all play in San Jose. Do they have to be better? Yes. Will they? They have to, or else this series is over.
5 Sharks didn’t get here on luck San Jose’s road to the final went through Los Angeles, Nashville and St. Louis. Those are not what anyone would consider easy opponents. And while the Penguins might have presented a new and more difficult challenge, let’s remember that the Sharks have averaged the most goals (3.3 per game), have the second-best power play (27.3 per cent) and had only lost six games heading into the final.