The Stanley Cup Final is set to begin in Pittsburgh Memorial Day evening, but before we get all hyped for hockey’s greatest spectacle of the year, we must look back at two phenomenal conference finals that sent the San Jose Sharks to their first ever Stanley Cup Final and the Penguins to their first since 2009, while playoff misery continued for the St. Louis Blues and the Tampa Bay Lightning fell a win short of advancing to their second consecutive final. Here’s what we learned in round three of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Western Conference Final – St. Louis Blues vs. San Jose Sharks (SJS wins 4-2)
The long wait is finally over. In their 25th season, the San Jose Sharks have finally exorcised their playoff demons and are headed to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history. For the Blues, they will have to wait another year to break what will be a 47 year Final drought in their quest to bring home their first title ever in their 50th season.
Why San Jose won
A. San Jose’s shooters were as deadly as a Great White.
The Sharks continued to dominate their opponents in the scoring department in this series, winning by at least three goals in all four of their victories against St. Louis. The Sharks outscored the Blues 22-13 over the course of series. Joe Pavelski continued his postseason rampage, scoring four goals in the six games to bring his totals to a 2016 postseason best of 13 goals and 22 points. Joel Ward found his groove in game six, tallying two goals late. And while Logan Couture’s lone goal of the series was the empty netter of game six, he recorded six assists in the series. Look for the Sharks to continue their solid offensive production in the Final.
B. Martin Jones – Jones knows how to be clutch when the occasion calls for it. The San Jose goaltender recorded back to back shutouts in games three and four, and could have easily led San Jose to a 3-0 series lead out of the gate had it not been for a one-goal performance by his team in game one’s 2-1 loss. Jones once again shined in game six, making enough stops to help his team build a 4-0 lead by midway into the third period before giving up two goals late en route to a 5-2 series clinching win. Jones will have to continue to get hot at the right time as San Jose faces the high flying Penguins’ offense starting Monday night.
C. Learned from their past – The Sharks were previously 0-3 in the Western Conference Finals, most recently having lost in back to back trips in 2010 and 2011, 4-0 and 4-1 to Chicago and Vancouver respectively. 2014 arguably hurt even more, as we all know what happened in the first round against Los Angeles. Maybe the magic switch was bringing on Peter DeBoer as head coach or naming Joe Pavelski as captain, but San Jose has looked more determined than ever in this series. They’ve been clutch when the occasion calls for it, winning game two on the road after dropping game one, and then getting the job done again on the road in game five when the series was tied a two apiece. It’s been a long and painful road for the franchise, but it seems that the Sharks have finally adapted from previous playoff disappointments. All that matters now is that they have finally made it to hockey’s biggest stage.
Why St. Louis is out
A. Cold out of the gate – St. Louis only managed to score two goals in the first three games, and they were very fortunate to be bailed out by goaltender Brian Elliot in game one’s 2-1 victory. Game two may have very well been the worst outing for the Blues in the entire series, dropping the contest 4-0 and head coach Ken Hitchcock literally having no explanation for the performance in his post game presser. That confusion carried over into yet another shutout loss in game 3 at the SAP center in San Jose. The Blues finally found their mojo in game 4 with a 6-3 win, but the next two games would resemble anything but such a strong outing. Vladimir Tarasenko also was dismal in the series, not recording a single point or goal until the Blues were down 4-0 in the third period of game six.
B. Brian Elliot came back to Earth – Maybe the St. Louis goaltender was playing over his head this postseason after all. Elliot led the Blues to game seven victories in rounds one and two, but the goalie who we thought had maybe finally exorcised his playoff demons gave us a letdown this round. Elliot was pulled three times in the series and was benched in favor of Jake Allen in game four, who got the job done with a 6-3 victory. It was a letdown for a player who showed so much promise early on in the playoffs, and it ultimately cost the Blues a trip to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1970.
C. Wear and tear from previous opponents – It’s never easy when you have to play seven grueling games each against quality teams like Chicago and Dallas right out of the gate. The Blues were able to survive those hurdles, but eventually the fact that the Blues had to play 14 games before the Western Conference Final caught up to them. There’s a reason why only one team in NHL history has ever advanced to the Stanley Cup by winning three game sevens en route to the Final. There’s also a reason why players who looked unstoppable in the early rounds all of a sudden went ice cold for St. Louis in this series. Of course San Jose also played a seven game series leading up to the Western Conference Final, but their ability to quickly dispose of the Kings in 5 games during the quarterfinals gave them that extra edge in rest.
Eastern Conference Final – Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (Pit wins 4-3)
For the first time since their championship run in 2009, the Pittsburgh Penguins are headed back to the Stanley Cup Final, this time with home ice. Tampa Bay on the other hand was unable to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive year, blowing a 3-2 series lead in the process.
Why Pittsburgh won
A. Sid the kid found his game – What a series for the Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby. He only scored three times, and all three goals proved to be the game winner for that contest, including his first career playoff-overtime goal forty seconds into overtime in game two. Oh captain, my captain.
B. Bryan Rust showed no rust – The young forward was quiet early in the series, but he exploded just as the Penguins were on the brink of elimination, down in the series 3-2 entering game six. His first goal of the series in that contest secured the Penguin’s victory after facing a scare by a furious Tampa comeback attempt in the third period. He would then score both of the goals in game 7’s 2-1 victory. Had it not been for Rust, the Penguins many not be heading back to the Final for the first time in 7 years.
C. Matt Murray handled the pressure just fine – The rookie who just turned 22 last week looked like his postseason was over when he was replaced by Marc Andre Fleury for game five after game four’s loss in Tampa, but he would get the nod once again for a do-or-die game six after Fleury allowed four goals in game five’s overtime loss. The young Canadian lad was no fazed one bit, showing a strong performance early on in game six to help his team build a 3-0 lead. Murray would then shine again in game seven, only allowing one goal over a mere 19 shots. It’s tough for someone so new to the game to handle the pressure that a goaltender can face when a trip to the Final is on the line, and Murray’s ability to handle the situation with ease should be applauded.
Why Tampa Bay is out
A. Ben Bishop’s injury – It could have been a lot worse, but Ben Bishop’s leg injury in game one was enough to keep the all-star american goalie out for the series. Of course Andrei Vasilevskiy was sensational for being a back-up in this series, but his experience in the postseason was nothing compared to that of Bishop’s. Just look at Pittsburgh’s game winning goal in game seven, and it’s pretty obvious that you have a goalie with little experience in the net when a shot like that manages to go in.
B. Home was no sweet home – Tampa Bay had only lost once at home prior to this series, but the bubble finally burst against Pittsburgh, dropping games three and six at Amalie Arena by multiple goals. Tampa had the chance to jump to a 2-1 lead in game three and then a chance to punch their ticket to the Final in game six, but the even home town crowd was not enough for the Lightning to take advantage of prime situations. They got away with it last year, but Tampa has now dropped game six of the Eastern Conference Final two years in a row at home up 3-2 in the series, and that can’t keep happening in future trips this far into the playoffs.
C. Couldn’t stop shots – Tampa Bay was out-shot 269-178 in the series. That makes it pretty remarkable that the Lightning were able to take Pittsburgh the distance to game seven, especially since Bishop was absent. Heck, you would never even guess that was the case in the series if you look at the goals, as Tampa was only outscored 22-17 in the series. The reality however is that you can’t allow that big of a differential and expect to win a series. Tampa nearly did the improbable of getting away with it, but it doomed them in game seven, being out-shot 37-19 in that contest alone.