One of the most unpredictable NHL Playoffs in recent history is now reaching its climax. The Pittsburgh Penguins are in their first Stanley Cup in seven years. The San Jose Sharks are in their first Stanley Cup ever. What happens next is anybody’s guess.
We know that the Stanley Cup will not be lacking in star power. Sidney Crosby leads the Penguins after another Hart caliber season. His 36 goals and 85 points was among the best in the NHL this year. Still, despite all of the regular season success, he was criticized as other stars Jonathan Toews and Anze Kopitar were leading their teams to multiple Stanley Cup victories while he struggled to get out of the first round. His 15 points is tied for the most he has had since the year after his Stanley Cup victory.
New acquisition Phil Kessel has been clutch for the Penguins in this post season. He has nine goals and 18 points in the Penguins 18 games. He has also been consistent this post season, notching six points in each of his series. Also to take into consideration is the fact that he has no been held scoreless in consecutive games this post season. He has to be a candidate for the Conn Smythe award, as he has been enjoying his best post season of his career.
Joe Pavelski has to be the favorite for the Conn Smythe award. He is leading the league with 13 goals and is in second with 22 points. His last series against the Blues saw him score four goals and nine points. What is scarier is that he has been progressively getting more and more productive as the playoffs has gone on. He got six points against the Kings, seven against the Predators and nine against the Blues.
Both teams also have inexperienced goalies playing on the biggest stage of their careers. Sharks goalie Martin Jones played in two playoff games heading into this season. Penguins goalie Matt Murray is a rookie and played zero playoff games heading into this season. With all the stars on the ice, they will need to continue to play on the level they have been, or risk getting embarrassed by some of the best offensive weapons in the game.
What may be the deciding factor in the series is if a defender can manage to successfully keep one of the stars from harassing their goalie. Trevor Daley was playing top line minutes for the Penguins before going down due to injury for the rest of the post season.
Kris Letang is a star, but he has never been known for being a lock down defender. Marc-Edouard Vlasic seems to give the Sharks the edge in this department. He comes into the Stanley Cup finals with the top +/- with 13. He was able to hold star sniper Vladimir Tarasenko to only two points after he got 13 in his first two series. Jeff Carter was only held to two points as well when Vlasic played him in the first round. In the end, Stanley Cups normally come down to defense, and the Sharks looks to have the better defense
Prediction: Sharks in 6