Penguins Stanley Cup Preview: Jaws Alert

I’ll be honest. I don’t know a whole lot about the Penguins’ opponent for the upcoming Stanley Cup Finals.

A quick scan of the San Jose Sharks’ roster tells me they’re for real.

Their postseason stats literally leap off the computer screen. Captain Joe Pavelski tops all NHL playoff scorers with 13 goals. Logan Couture leads the way in points (24) and assists (16). Venerable Joe Thornton has 15 helpers.

Monster defenseman Brent Burns? An astonishing six goals, 14 assists and 20 points.

They’re deep, too. Gritty hustler Joel Ward’s got six goals. Joonas Donskoi, Tomas Hertl, and Chris Tierney? Five apiece. One more than Penguins’ superstar Evgeni Malkin.

Yikes.

Burns and ex-Pen Paul Martin (+10) spearhead the San Jose defense. Skilled Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun form a strong second pair. Former Kings backup Martin Jones is solid between the pipes (2.12 GAA).

If the Sharks sound like a pretty imposing team, it’s because they are.

Still, Peter DeBoer’s crew may have an Achilles heel or two. The physical, but plodding, defensive tandem of Brenden Dillon and Roman Polak, for one.

While we’re probing for potential flaws, five regulars—Patrick Marleau, Dainius Zubrus, Martin, Thornton, and Ward—are at least 34 years old.

Perhaps not primed for a Geritol regimen. But not young as springtime.

How will they deal with the Pens’ withering speed?

We’re about to find out.

Black-and-gold burners like Carl Hagelin, Phil Kessel, and Bryan Rust generate enormous heat—not to mention tons of scoring chances. Factor in an elite core of Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang and an emerging cadre of secondary scorers? One can only imagine the mega-matchup nightmares spawned by our boys.

Even a skilled, skating team like Tampa Bay struggled to cope. The Penguins outshot the Bolts by a blistering 269-178 margin over the course of their seven-game set. For the postseason, they’ve generated a whopping 35 shots on goal per game, compared to San Jose’s more modest 28.

Not that the Sharks are your prototype heavy Western Conference team. They’re a hybrid of sorts between East and West. Bangers like Dillon, Polak, and forward Tommy Wingels allow San Jose to muscle up when the need arises. But they’re fleet of foot, too.

“I think from a skating standpoint, they were quicker to the puck, quicker to the battles,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette observed after watching his Predators fall to the Sharks.

Sound familiar?

“I remember this year, my first game back from my injury was against the Pens,” said Justin Schultz, acquired from Edmonton at the trade deadline. “I had missed a month. I was like ‘Holy crap this is fast.’”

There’s another aspect of the Penguins’ game. One that goes largely unnoticed.

“They play [defense] well,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper noted. “They block a lot of shots. That was evident this whole [Conference Final] series. The amount of shot blocks was just incredible.”

Neither team lacks for motivation. San Jose greybeards Marleau and Thornton know full well this could be their last stab at a Cup.

While the Penguins’ future looks considerably brighter now than a few short months ago, Crosby and his ‘mates aren’t about to take the opportunity to sip bubbly from hockey’s Holy Grail lightly.

“It’s not easy,” Sid said. “Having gone through a couple of those early on, 20 and 21 years old, playing in the Finals, I think you have more of an appreciation for it now. Just love the opportunity to be able to get back.”

Who’ll win?

With their blend of speed, skill and depth—not to mention the looming presence of their do-everything wildcard Burns? The Sharks, like their aquatic namesake, pose a significant threat.

Still, I like our chances.