It's taken the Sharks 25 years to get here, but after Wednesday's convincing 5-2 Game 6 win of the Western Conference Final, San Jose is headed to their first-ever Stanley Cup Final appearance.
NHL playoff scores 2016: Vindication rampant for Sharks in 1st Stanley Cup Final appearance
San Jose is no longer on the outside looking in.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
For Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski, it's vindication at last. Just a year ago, the team was fractured after Thornton was stripped of the captaincy and the team spent the 2014-15 season without a player wearing the "C." Head coach Todd McLellan was fired after missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and the team brought in Pete DeBoer to replace him.
The Sharks then added key pieces in Joel Ward -- who scored twice in Game 6 -- and starting goaltender Martin Jones to fill out their roster. Pavelski was given the captaincy this season and has since led his team -- and the league -- with 13 playoff goals under his belt.
Now, the Sharks get to enjoy the fruit of their labor with their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final. It’s a well-deserved honor, and it’s honestly about time San Jose got there. In 11 of their 25 seasons in the NHL, the Sharks have made it to the second round or higher and just failed to reach the next rung. Thornton and Marleau are two of the top 10 players in the league that have gone over 1,300 regular season games without making a Cup Final appearance.
However, once a bridesmaid yet never the bride is no longer the case for the Sharks. Four wins to go and the transgressions of two years ago will seem far behind in San Jose’s rearview mirror.
Scores
Sharks 5, Blues 2
* * *
* * *
3 things we learned
1. Tap the breaks on your Tarasenko narratives
As the Blues pick up the pieces on their failed Stanley Cup run, the biggest target will be on young star Vladimir Tarasenko and his scoring woes. Tarasenko lit the lamp twice in the final 10 minutes of St. Louis' season for his only two points of the series, but he's not the reason the Blues faltered in six games. A goaltending blunder and playing two Games 7 prior to the Western Conference Final against strong opponents did the Blues no favors, either. Tarasenko will take a lot of heat for his lack of scoring, but he was the only one who put up goals in the Game 6 loss.
2. Martin Jones was 51 minutes away from a perfect game
Maybe under-looked these playoffs has been the play of netminder Jones, who is playing his first year as a starter no less. His .919 save percentage and 2.12 seem nondescript, but he's also put up three shutouts in over 1,100 minutes of play -- 270 more than the next goaltender remaining in the playoffs, Matt Murray. It's also helped that the Sharks have done a good job defensively around their netminder, but he's a big reason the Sharks are where they are right now.
3. Did the Sharks touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl?
Nope! No jinx for them, hopefully.
They didn't touch it! pic.twitter.com/MBScuvX7PM
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNationNHL) May 26, 2016
Impact Moment
Ward's second of the night early in the third was the eventual dagger, and game winner, for the Blues.
Tweets from Tony
Remember Tony, AKA @soloucity on Twitter, who fell in love with hockey during the Blues/Blackhawks Game 7? We're dedicating a section in our recaps to the gems of his Twitter account during the playoffs.
TONY NO.
— Tony X. (@soIoucity) May 26, 2016
Sorry man, there's always next year.
Stat of the Night
are we headed for the first Stanley Cup Final ever where one logo has actually physically eaten the other logo pic.twitter.com/4dMw8JxIyR
— Bic Pentameter (@AnthraxJones) May 26, 2016
Not really a "stat," but close enough!
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