The Sharks will finally float on to the Stanley Cup Final.
San Jose defeated the St. Louis Blues, 5-2, in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at the SAP Center on Wednesday to clinch its first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in the 25-year history of the franchise.
The Sharks have been on a mission this spring, exorcising demons in Round 1 by ousting the Kings in five games, going the distance to eliminate the Predators in seven games in Round 2 and now taking out a Blues team that ended the season of the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks.
With 2,778 regular season games between them, veterans Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton are finally headed to the Stanley Cup Final. Thornton (three goals, 15 assists and 18 points) and Marleau (4-8--12) are big reasons why San Jose has finally made it to the final round.
The Sharks now await the winner of Game 7 between the Lightning and Penguins to see who they'll face in their first Stanley Cup Final.
Here are five other reasons why the Sharks are moving on:
1) Logan Couture
The Sharks forward leads the NHL with 24 points and with another three-point game in the series-clincher against the Blues, Couture is now has three three-point games this postseason. The other two also came in clinching wins during Game 5 against the Kings and Game 7 against the Predators. Couture has a team-leading 16 assists -- including a helper on the Game 6 game-winner -- for the Sharks to go with eight goals.
2) The Captain
Joe Pavelski has been getting it done. The Sharks captain has an NHL-best 13 goals in the playoffs thus far, including the opening salvo in Game 6. The forward ranks second on San Jose with 22 points, just two shy of Couture. Pavelski had four goals and five assists for nine points against the Blues.
3) Chomping Down
The Sharks defense was able to keep the Blues' big guns at bay for the majority of the series. Vladimir Tarasenko entered play with seven playoff goals, but was held off the score sheet entirely until his two goals in Game 6, which only cut San Jose's commanding lead to 4-2. The top line of Jaden Schwartz (1-2--3), Jori Lehtera (2-1--3) and Tarasenko (2-0--2) were held to just five goals and eight points through the six-game series.
4) Martin Jones
San Jose's netminder is looking elite through his first run as a true No. 1 goalie and now he's four wins away from ending his first year as a starter with a Stanley Cup. Jones shut the Blues out in Games 2 and 3, stopping all 48 shots he faced in the two contests. He then stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced in Game 6 and is now 12-6 in the playoffs with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.
5) Offseason Imports
On top of the addition of Jones, the Sharks have received major contributions from other new faces. Perhaps none are more important than Joel Ward, who rounded out a balanced and deep attack for San Jose through three rounds. Ward had his second straight two-goal game for the Sharks in their series-clincher against the Blues, which included what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Though Ward was held without a goal up until that point, he once again showed his penchant for coming through in series-clinching games. The 35-year-old journeyman is 5-6--11 through 18 playoff contests.
Another big offseason addition was blueliner Paul Martin, who is the perfect complement to partner Brent Burns, who ranks third in the playoffs with 14 assists and 20 points.
Martin is great in his own zone and versatile, playing on the power play and the penalty kill for the Sharks. He was also instrumental in helping San Jose shut down St. Louis' big guns as the club eyes its first ever Stanley Cup.
