 |
| Sidney Crosby (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Pittsburgh won Game 6 with a 3-1 victory over the Sharks to take the series four games to two on goals by Brian Dumolin, Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist. Logan Couture scored the only goal for San Jose.
Sidney Crosby, who has won just about every major championship in his career including a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal, didn't score a goal in the Finals. But he did make enough of an impact to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. For Phil Kessel, who was hounded out of the pressure cooker that is the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning the Cup was vindication for him. He joins his sister Amanda, who won an NCAA women's ice hockey championship with the University of Minnesota this past season.
Having survived a lousy start to the regular season, injuries to key players and a midseason coaching change (Mike Sullivan for Mike Johnston), the Penguins made it through the Eastern Conference playoffs with series wins over the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. Oh, and having a hot goaltender like Matt Murray didn't hurt, either.
The Sharks made it to their first Cup Final in franchise history after years of not meeting their playoff expectations. Under the leadership of Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and goaltender Martin Jones, they got past the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues to represent the Western Conference in the finals.
The Penguins may have deserved their Stanley Cup victory, but the Sharks have shown that they were more than happy just to make the final round with the way they played. We don't think it'll be another 25 years before they have a chance to hoist the Cup themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment