On the evening of June 12, 2016, the San Jose Sharks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Final in Game 6 by the Pittsburgh Penguins. They join the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Washington Capitals.
For their 25th anniversary, the Sharks made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history. No matter what happens in the years to come, this will never be taken away from you, Sharks fans.
Dethroning the Kings
This run to the Stanley Cup was in no way an easy feat, and the Sharks triumphed over a couple of major rivals. In the first round, they faced their longtime divisional rival, the Los Angeles Kings. Facing the team for the fourth time since 2011, San Jose has twice seen the Southern California team win Lord Stanley’s Cup without ever having made a Cup Final appearance themselves. The tables have now turned. Chants of “It was 3-0!” no longer cut as deeply.
In five games, the Sharks defeated the Kings. It ended in a Game 5 blowout, though the Kings did give a belated Hail Mary effort in the second period. It was too little too late, as the Sharks dominated the third and sent Los Angeles off to make golf plans.
The best player in that round was new captain Joe Pavelski. He notched five goals and an assist and added a pair of two-point nights in Games 1 and 2. Pavelski also scored the game-winner in Game 2 and was a force that the Kings had no answer for.
San Jose beat them so badly the Kings revamped their leadership and are looking for a new captain. Okay, maybe the two don’t really have anything to do with each other, but Sharks fans might like to think so.
Preying on the Predators
The Sharks faced the Nashville Predators in the second round. The team built on the momentum from the first round and went on to defeat the Preds in seven games. Well, six since Nashville kindly declined to actually play hockey in Game 7. In fact, Shea Weber at times looked as though he might consider changing sides as he was very un-Weber-like.
Logan Couture, the newly appointed assistant captain, was a sabertooth tiger-slayer in the round. He tallied six goals and five assists, and in doing so, he set the franchise record for most points in a series. Previously, Igor Larionov held that distinction with 10 points during the first round of the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Detroit Red Wings.
Silencing the Blues
For the fourth time in club history, the Sharks were headed to the Western Conference Final and would face the St. Louis Blues. The Blues were favored since they were coming off huge wins over divisional rivals, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, and the Dallas Stars, a team that dominated the Western Conference in the regular season.
The Sharks last faced the Blues in 2012 during the first round of the playoffs. Although favored in that series, San Jose made a quick exit in five games. It was a huge wake-up call, and they were a team that the Sharks felt they needed to beat. Even after that playoff series, it took some time for them to figure the Blues out. Defeating them was huge for the Sharks.
The best players in that round were again Pavelski, and Brent Burns. In the six games played, the captain recorded four goals and five assists. In Game 3, Pavs had a two-point night. Followed by the game-winner and a three-point night in Game 5. He also had a seven-game point streak that started in Game 7 of Round 2 and ended in Game 6 of the Conference Final.
The Sharks colorful Defenseman Burns scored two goals and had three assists in his six games. He continued to lead the team in average time on ice, topping at 25:40 in Game 1.
What was most impressive is that he and the defense were able to shut down the Blues’ top scorer Vladimir Tarasenko. The Russian right-winger who is known for goals in key moments could not find the back of the net until Game 6 when the Sharks already had the game and the series well in hand.
It was a case of too little, too late.
The Grand Finale
For the first time in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks finally made it to the Stanley Cup Final. No more San Jose Chokers or Shorks.
The standout in this series was goaltender Martin Jones, who had been outstanding throughout the entire postseason but shone brightest in the Final. He made 42 saves in Game 2 and 46 saves in Game 5, which forced a Game 6.
Though the Sharks lost, he never allowed more than three goals in any game. This is a testament to his superior play. In his 22 games played, he had a 13-9 record, three shutouts, a .920 save percentage, and 2.17 goals against average. And let’s not forget this is his first year as a starter, with many more to come.
As fantastic as Jones was for the Sharks, the rest of the team started to fall apart.
Throughout the postseason, the key to much of the team’s success was their ability to effectively roll four lines. Not only were their top stars in Pavelski, Couture, Burns, and Joe Thornton scoring up a storm, they were also getting goals from rookie Joonas Donskoi (6 G, 6 A, 12 P), Joel Ward (7 G, 6 A, 13 P), and Melker Karlsson (5 G, 3 A, 8 P).
In the Stanley Cup Final, Matt Murray and the Penguins’ defense were effective in shutting down their stars, in spite of their thin defense with an injury to Trevor Daley.
Pavelski had one empty-net goal in Game 5. Burns was held to only one goal, and that was in Game 5 as well. Couture had two goals, but those came towards the end of the series in Games 5 and 6. It simply wasn’t enough to get a foothold against the quick, offensively stacked Penguins.
The Big Picture
Back in October just before the season started, there were many Sharks fans who questioned whether this team could even make the postseason. It was unclear if the leadership drama that stemmed from the previous season was really over, or if this was the right direction.
The coaching change was also questioned.
With the Kings as a team that the Sharks wanted to beat, why hire the head coach who lost to Los Angeles in his Stanley Cup Final appearance? And would the chance taken at goaltender work? Was Paul Martin really the answer to fix the defense? And what do you do with Brent Burns, forward or defenseman?
Now, these questions have been answered with impressive results. This is a Sharks team that is built for a future with many postseasons ahead.
Clearly, the players believe in the system that Peter DeBoer has instituted. Pavelski is the undisputed captain and true leader of the team. Jones is a stellar goaltender and has surpassed what was expected. Burns was given a clear role as a defenseman that never changed, and he found the perfect complement in Martin.
This is a team that will undoubtedly be a top contender next season, built for the long haul with some valuable lessons learned in this gut-wrenching loss. While the pain will linger, the future is still something for the Sharks and their fans to look forward to with hope that this is just the beginning.