Unlike during the regular season, home ice has given Sharks a boost in run for the Cup
SAN JOSE — It felt more like a house of horrors than the usual home ice advantage for the first half of the regular season. But SAP Center has played host to some of the Sharks’ biggest moments over the last two months. Now they need one more. In their last home game of the season, the Sharks will be looking to send the Stanley Cup Final back to Pittsburgh as they host the Penguins in a do-or-die Game 6 on Sunday.
The Sharks are 8-3 on home ice in the postseason, including victories to advance to the Western Conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final. In a building where they’ve outscored their opponents 37-22 in the playoffs,
they certainly don’t want their last memory to be NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman handing the Stanley Cup to Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
“Tomorrow’s our biggest test,” Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “We want to give our fans one more chance to cheer and be excited about us and finish on a high note.”
While the Sharks were one of the league’s best road teams, their home mark through the first three months was a paltry 5-12, their worst start in their own building since they moved into the downtown arena 23 years ago.
They tried just about everything to reverse course, including shuffling the lineup and moving gameday morning skates from SAP Center to Sharks Ice.
Now, because of the turnaround that was fueled by overall health and a greater adaptation to coach Pete DeBoer’s system, the Sharks find themselves at home in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
“Maybe we just took it for granted that we were at home,” Sharks defenseman Paul Martin said. “We were so good on the road through the whole season that we thought home ice would take care of itself. But down the stretch, we played more aggressive, we found our game and played more of a road game.”
Injuries and travel played a role in the early struggles at home.
From October until the end of December on their first game back after a road trip of two or more games, the Sharks were 0-5. They finished the season 1-8-1 under those circumstances to end up 2015-16 with a home record of 18-20-3.
With no multicity road trips to concern themselves with, the Sharks have righted the ship on home ice, as their eight postseason wins are a franchise record.
They need to make it nine.
“In the playoffs, it’s a huge key to have that momentum and that advantage to have the fans cheering in your favor all game long,” Sharks center Chris Tierney said. “We’re just excited to step on home ice to get to play.”
Of course, the Sharks were also without injured center Logan Couture for the first three months, as he first suffered a fractured right fibula at the ankle on Oct. 15, then needed surgery to repair a bleeding artery in his right thigh following a Dec. 9 game in Edmonton.
With Couture in the lineup from the middle of January to now, the Sharks are 21-11-3 at home.
Couture finished the regular season with 36 points in 52 games. But he’s excelled in the postseason as he leads the NHL with 26 playoff points, including a goal and assist in Game 5.
“I just don’t want to go home,” Couture said, “I don’t want the season to end. I wish I could do that every game.”
The Sharks on Saturday went through what was likely their last practice at Sharks Ice this season. Sunday, they’ll have their last morning meeting and optional skate at their downtown arena.
That night, in front of a frenzied sold out crowd, they’ll have their last home game, and will need another stellar performance to make sure it’s not the last time they take the ice in the playoffs.
“We’re just trying to win a home game now,” Couture said, “and move on.”