The San Jose Sharks face two significant challenges in their quest for their first Stanley Cup.
The first is the Pittsburgh Penguins—a club that has made them look second-rate for the entirety of the final series. Although the Pens only have a 10-7 edge in goals, the shot clock tells a much uglier story. The Pens have a 133-98 edge in shots, despite having had to defend the lead for a decent portion of the series and having dominated territorially throughout.
It won’t be easy for the Sharks to tilt the ice back in their favour.
And that brings us to the second challenge: time. Even if San Jose were to gain the initiative and put Pittsburgh on its heels, the Penguins, leading the series 3-1, only need one win. If each of those games were a coin flip, Pittsburgh would have an 87.5 percent shot at winning. A 50-50 chance of winning each game would be an improvement from what the Sharks have done in this series.
What, then, will it take for San Jose to win this Cup?
Martin Jones will have to do an uncanny impression of a 6’ x 4’ sheet of plywood. The Sharks ha ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
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