The Sharks are now officially up against the wall, as their 3-1 loss in Game 4 to the Penguins has them needing a three-game sweep to win the Stanley Cup. The demoralizing loss comes just days after their overtime win in Game 3 that had them back in the series. While it's not over just yet, things aren't looking good for the Sharks.
2016 Stanley Cup Final: 3 things we learned from the Sharks in Game 4
It’s not looking good for San Jose, as the Penguins have total control over the series thanks to their 3-1 victory in Game 4.
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1. The Sharks picked a bad time to take their eye off Evgeni Malkin
Malkin was held pointless through the first three games of this series, then he put up a goal and an assist in Game 4 that may have put the series out of reach for the Sharks heading back to Pittsburgh on Thursday. The Penguins are so deep that it's essentially impossible to contain all of their stars, yet much like Sidney Crosby did to the Lightning a round ago, Malkin was the catalyst for Pittsburgh's big surge.
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2. San Jose finally got the better of Pittsburgh in the shot count, but it didn’t matter
For the first time all series, and for the first time in a long time for the Penguins, the shot totals were relatively low. In fact, they actually favored the Sharks for the first time in four games! A 24-20 shot count is the lowest this Stanley Cup Final has seen, and though the Sharks outpaced the Penguins in shots and shot attempts, much of the game felt dominated by Pittsburgh.
3. The Sharks’ biggest stars are still absent
Though this has more to do with the Penguins' defensive dominance, it's hard to ignore the absence of the Sharks' biggest players. Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Brent Burns and Joe Thornton have yet to score goals in this series, and unlike the Penguins the Sharks don't seem to have the scoring depth and touch Pittsburgh has when their biggest names aren't clicking. It's highly unfair to blame the Sharks' top guys completely when the Penguins are effectively neutralizing any top quality chances with shot blocks or are overwhelmingly possessing the puck, yet it's a big reason why San Jose is down in the series 3-1. That and a netminder named Matt Murray who was finally on his game after allowing the Sharks back into Game 3.
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