It's time.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will play host to the San Jose Sharks on Monday night to kick off the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.
For the Penguins, it's their first opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup since winning it all as a young team back in 2009. The Sharks are making their first appearance in the Cup Final in their franchise's 25-year history.
In the regular season, the Penguins rode a late-season hot streak to 104 points, finishing fourth overall in the NHL standings. In their first year under new coach Peter DeBoer, the Sharks bounced back from missing the playoffs in 2015 to finish with 98 points—11th overall and third in the Pacific Division.
To get to the Final, San Jose upset the Los Angeles Kings in five games, then beat the Nashville Predators in seven before taking out the St. Louis Blues in six. Pittsburgh needed five games to dispose of the New York Rangers before taking out the Washington Capitals in six and then the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven.
With puck drop for Game 1 set at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday, here are the keys to victory for each team in the opening game of the Final.
B ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Carol Schram
Sharks vs. Penguins: Keys to Victory in Game 1 of NHL Playoff Series
May 30th, 2016 by Carol Schram Leave a reply »
Advertisement