Ultimately, the Southern California hockey fan in me takes over, and firmly believes that the Sharks are not allowed to nice things.Ĭonn Smythe Winner: Matt Murray. Both teams have players that have hit their stride at just the right time. This is the first Stanley Cup Final in a long time that feels 'too close to call.' Nobody (that I can remember) picked either team to get this far at the beginning of the season, so they don't have the looming expectations weighing on their shoulders.īoth goalies are equally inexperienced in this round of the playoffs. The leader of the HBK line needs to win this award just so we can all see the collective reaction from certain people in Toronto. Depth should play a huge factor in the series and making quick adjustments will be vital for Mike Sullivan and Peter DeBoer.Īs much as we'd all love to see Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau finally get a Cup ring, Sidney Crosby and crew will end up celebrating.Ĭonn Smythe: Phil Kessel. That could cause their defense some issues.īoth have young goalies player well. The Sharks are fast, but they haven't faced a team with speed such as the Penguins possess. These teams are very evenly matched - from rookie goaltenders to first-year head coaches to veteran stars. Let the dunking of giant, gross beards in champagne commence!Ĭonn Smythe Winner: Brent Burns, the X-Factor for the playoffs and for this series.įlip a coin and you'll get your winner. And they’re going to win this playoff series, and their first Stanley Cup. When their five big names are all playing well – Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Brent Burns and Patrick Marleau, with steady goaltending from Jones – the Sharks are going to win a playoff series. ![]() They’ll get their chances.īut most of all, that 3.50 goals per game average is earned by the Sharks. Second, they have a lethal power play and the Penguins aren’t going to avoid facing it – the Sharks are second to the Penguins in power-play opportunities in the playoffs and were fifth overall in the regular season. They might be the only team that can face a Penguins squad that places Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin on three different lines and match them. The Sharks win their first Stanley Cup for a few reasons.įirst is that they have better overall depth, especially on defense where the Penguins are going to start really missing Trevor Daley. Of course, knowing our luck, both coaches will just play the trap and every game ends 1-0 in the first two minutes of overtime. ![]() I agree with Sidney Crosby: This is going to a blazing fast series, as two teams with solid overall team speed slug it out. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks are battling for the 2016 Stanley Cup.Īs all of your Puck Daddy favorites and Yahoo Sports writers have perfect brackets*, here are their picks for who takes hockey’s Holy Grail.
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