With a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Monday night, the San Jose Sharks progressed deeper into the playoffs than any previous edition of the team.
This is the Sharks' fourth trip to the Western Conference Final, but it's the first time San Jose has won more than two games. The previous high-water mark for the franchise came in 2004, when it lost in six games to the Calgary Flames.
The interesting thing about this version of the Sharks isn't the way it differs from previous iterations. Rather, it is the similarities of the 2015-16 team to past incarnations that make it so compelling.
Monday's game provided a good example.
The opening goal was credited to defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, as the league's official scorers determined his shot from the point was not deflected en route to the net. The setup pass came from Joe Pavelski, and the play started with a faceoff win by Joe Thornton:
Thornton had a stellar game. Not only did the centre pick up three assists, but he tilted things in San Jose's favour. With Thornton on the ice at even strength, the shot chart ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis