San Jose Sharks Journey to the Stanley Cup Final

The San Jose Sharks are the absolute epitome of a team that suffers heartbreak constantly in the NHL. Through 25 years of hockey in the Bay Area, San Jose has had some great teams, but they have failed to reach that next step. The Sharks are now in the Stanley Cup Final, as they will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the franchise’s first Stanley Cup appearance.

 The Sharks failed to make the playoffs last season, which resulted in the firing of Todd McLellan, who was hired by the Edmonton Oilers. The team brought in Peter DeBoer, who worked his magic with the underdog New Jersey Devils, taking the team all the way to the Stanley Cup in 2012. San Jose certainly didn’t get off to the start they wanted to, as they were an underwhelming 18-18-2 in early January. However, a game in January changed everything for the San Jose Sharks. 

On January 9^th, San Jose faced off against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and they routed Toronto, 7-0 which kick started the Sharks season. We’ve been hearing a lot of how the Penguins have been playing great hockey for a while, but the Sharks have been equally as great since January. From that point, San Jose went a ridiculous 40-18-4, as they have now finally reached hockey’s greatest spectacle. 

San Jose easily got into the playoffs, as they would be facing off against the consensus Western Conference favorite, the Los Angeles Kings. San Jose came into this series with memories of blowing a 3-0 lead against the Kings a few years back, but it didn’t affect them this time. San Jose won the series in an easy five games, but the second round was bound to be tougher. 

They faced off against the Nashville Predators, who took them to seven games, before eventually being shut out by San Jose in a Sharks Game 7 win. San Jose faced off against the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Finals. 

Despite not having home ice advantage, the Sharks defeated the Blues in six games, as they finally have made it to the Stanley Cup. Could it be that the Sharks are a team of destiny? Or are they just a contender that’s been waiting to break out of the bottle? We’ll find out everything when the Stanley Cup Final kicks off Monday at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.