My 2016 Stanley Cup Story

By Emily Redenbach
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Updated: June 9, 2016

The first Stanley Cup Final game I attended in person was on June 4th, 2012. The LA Kings for the fourth time that Cup run went up 3-0 in the series with a 4-0 lead over the New Jersey Devils and were on the verge of winning their first Stanley Cup. Jonathan Quick stopped all 22 shots in a spectacular fashion and it was clear he deserved the Conn Smythe Trophy he was about to win. I couldn’t make game 6 where the Kings raised the Stanley Cup so two years later when the Kings made their way back to the Finals I didn’t miss a single home game of the entire run (and as we recall, that was a spectacular run!) The last couple of seasons it didn’t look like I’d get back to a Stanley Cup game based on the way the Kings were playing, so what a delight when Jeff Duarte emailed to say that CaliSportsNews had been accepted as accredited media to cover this years Stanley Cup Finals! Since he couldn’t make it all the way to California he extended an offer to me to cover the San Jose games. Alas, previous plans prevented me from seeing game 3 in person; as Jeff pointed out so far that’s the only game so far that CaliSportsNews hasn’t attended and it’s the only game so far that the Sharks actually won. So, I apologize there Kings fans. (Let it be known that if the Sharks win game 5 that’s Jeff’s fault for not being able to go.)

So Sunday evening I headed up to San Jose for my first officially credentialed day as a sportsing reporter. Now I know that while in the press box reporters are supposed to be unbiased, but I couldn’t help but show my Kings pride at some point, so I wore some 2014 gear on the road. The next morning, sans any NHL affiliated gear, I made my way to pick up my credentials outside SAP Center. Their parking lot is filled with banners saying #25YearsOfTeal which I swear to God I read as #25YearsOfFail. What an odd marketing strategy, I thought, admitting that until now they’ve failed. Hmm… Inside the arena, the stadium was already prepared for that evening’s festivities. Each seat in the lower bowl had a Sharks tee, a rally towel and a bracelet that lit up at certain points during the game. Further up in the ‘cheap seats’ they didn’t have the tees but the rally towels were abundant. Unfortunately it was an optional skate for the Sharks that morning and the Pens didn’t hold a skate at all, so I didn’t get to see any of the players in action until later that day. I did sit in on some morning interviews however; Coach DeBoer (who also coached that New Jersey Devils team I first saw the Kings crush back in 2012) was the only one available for the Sharks and he started the day concerned

about playing from behind. Over at a separate hotel Penguins players Eric Fehr and Tom Kuhnhackl opened up the comments for their team; they were jovial and articulate about their gameplan for the upcoming contest. Kris Letang and Olli Maatta talked about the adjustments they planned on making from the last game, and finally Coach Sullivan talked about how to keep statistics in context. (Compared to Darryl Sutter, whom I adore don’t get me wrong, and even to DeBoer, Sullivan came across as incredibly articulate. He clearly knows the sport, and he knows how to get the best out of each player’s particular skill set.)

“I still like the way our team’s playing. I think we play the game the right way. I still think we play on our toes. We’re still on the attack. I don’t see us falling into the trap of playing in a defensive shell, which is usually when you allow teams to rally against you. I’ve always been a strong believer that the minute your team stops trying to score goals, your mindset changes, and so does your opponent’s. We’ve always been a team that’s encouraged our guys to continue to try to score goals when we have a lead. We just have to do it the right way.

Our calculation of risk may change a little bit, but we’re still trying to score goals. So I don’t think it’s anything other than we’re playing against good opponents and the games are very tight. “

Since there wasn’t a cool Batman tour to entertain me in-between morning press and the game (I googled interestin

g things to do in San Jose and google just laughed at me) I stayed at the SAP Center in the press room all day, chatting with fellow journalists. One was Swedish and it just so happened to be National Swedish Day. We talked about different cultures, Jhonas Enroth and the Norris Trophy. (He thinks Erik Karlsson should get it this year. I’m slightly biased so Doughty is my number one pick, but we both agreed that last year Doughty deserved it.) Everyone was very friendly, including fellow Kings loved Carolyn Blythe who was there representing FOX Sports. Not that this should come as a surprise but we were two of very few women in the press core.

Chants of “We Want The Cup” erupted long before the festivities did. (By the end of the game it looked like the Sharks fan base may have to wait a little bit longer for it.) After the pre-game ‘psych the crowd up’ revels and opening anthem (strummed on the guitar by a couple of members of Metallica) the puck dropped and Sidney Crosby won the faceoff (I wish I could have seen Logan Couture’s face to see if he considered it cheating.) The Pens got the first look at Martin Jones then proceeded to let the Sharks run over them a little for the next few minutes. Finally realizing, hey, hockey has started this evening, they got a good look with a pass across the crease and snapshot from the slot but Jones tracked it the whole way and made the save. Moments later, on a very similar play, Jones didn’t quite have it and the Penguins went up 1-0 7:36 in. For four games the only time the Sharks have ever lead (if you could call it leading) was when they scored the overtime goal in game 3 and won the game. It was easy to see why; while the Sharks had some good cycles of play it was the Penguins who dominated most of it. They got the puck down low more consistently and had control of the neutral zone. During a rare man advantage, Pittsburgh didn’t score but only

because of Jones. His defense wasn’t helping him out a whole lot and the best stoppage of play in the Sharks zone wasn’t from an icing but from an accidental offsides. A Sharks power play followed (while I resisted the urge to smack every fan in the stadium doing the Shark Chomp.) I survived, and so did the Penguins. By the end of the first period, for the first time in the series the Sharks led in the shot count (8-6), but not where it counted.

As the second period started, it only took 2:28 for the Penguins to draw another power play (a lot of press that morning talked about the power play and how it was hard to get a lot of traction due to the shortage of penalties at this level of play). 9 seconds later they scored their second goal of the evening, Evgeni Malkin getting his second point of the night. The play started with Crosby winning the faceoff, a beautiful shot from Phil Kessel and a deflection from Jones’ immediate left by Malkin that was too close to miss. The Sharks never stood a chance. They may have had one soon after when Matt Murray gave up a fat rebound but unlike the Sharks the Penguins had good communication and blocked the shot. Even when the Sharks tried to get fancy Pittsburgh showed them who’s boss. Murray played incredibly well when called upon, but the rest of the team made sure he wasn’t called upon a lot. They refused to give up on the puck, their forecheck was on point, and they seemed to be skating circles around the Sharks. Even when a Penguin completely lost the puck leaving Couture open right in front of Murray, Couture didn’t have the composure to shoot it well. Another San Jose power play with only a few minutes remaining in the second was an obvious call but it couldn’t get the Sharks on the scoreboard.

The third would be the test. The Penguins needed to play like Sullivan mentioned in his comments earlier – not playing in a defensive shell, and the Sharks needed to tie up the game in order to starve off being on the brink of losing the Cup. Murray was doing his best to keep the Penguins in it; he robbed Patrick Marleau point blank with a spectacular save. But the rest of the Penguins decided to take the period off for the most part. The Sharks capitalized 8:07 into period 3, with a goal from Melker Karlsson while Pittsburgh’s defense was sleeping. It gave San Jose the boost they needed to take control of the game. The Penguins were playing pretty fast and loose for a team that still had over half period to play and were only one goal away from going into overtime. The Sharks were getting some good looks and taking chances that were paying off. It was getting louder and louder (thank the sweet baby Jesus I didn’t have to endure any more Shark chomps at least), as the fans hoped for one of those chances to go in. Keep hope alive, Sharks fans. That is, until the last 2:02 minutes of the game. A Penguins breakaway (Carl Hagelin made a great read) resulted in an Eric Fehr goal (he was left completely alone, called for the puck and placed his shot brilliantly.) It effectively killed the Sharks chances of tying the game and the series. They pulled Jones for the last 90 seconds or so, but their attempt was futile.

The press conferences after were exactly what I’d come to expect. DeBoer seemed flattened (who wouldn’t be) and spoke in generalizations and sound bites. Again, he was the only Shark made available to the press (outside of the locker room anyway, which let me tell you I was crushed to find I didn’t have access to.) Evgeni Malkin (a new father!) and Matt Murray spoke, Murray primarily about his journey this season (he began in the AHL and has now lead the Penguins to within 1 game of the Stanley Cup) and Malkin on the importance of going to the net. Finally Mike Sullivan returned to the podium and I was again struck by his poise and clear hockey sense. He had a lot of praise for Phil Kessel. As always he complimented the Sharks game. And Malkin:

“We just talked to Geno about not forcing plays, taking what the game gives you, being strong on the puck, not passing up an opportunity to shoot when he gets inside the dots. We’re trying to give him some common sense advice on how to simplify your game and be effective.”

“He’s such an instinctive player, when he plays the game the right way and he doesn’t force things, he sees the plays that he needs to make. I think he’s very similar to Kris Letang in that regard. They’re well-intentioned because they want to help the team win. They do too much.”

“When they play within themselves, take what the game gives them, when the play is not there to be made, they make simple plays, that’s when we, as a group, become more difficult to play against. We don’t feed our opponent’s transition game. We force them to have to play goal line to goal line. That, for me, is playoff hockey.”

“Those guys, as talented as they are, when they play that way, when the opportunities present themselves to make plays, they see them and do it. I thought that’s what both of them did tonight, but Geno in particular.”

Game 5 is set for 5pm PST June 9th. If the Penguins win, they hoist the Cup. (The Cup will be in the building, I’m so jealous!) If the Sharks do they, and I, will return to San Jose Sunday June 12th (which is, coincidentally, the date in between when the Kings won their Stanley Cups – June 11th and June 13th.) As a not-Sharks fan I’d love for the Penguins to take them down in 5. As a journalist I’d love to go back to San Jose and repeat this experience. But as a hockey fan having the chance to see her team win it on home ice and be a part of that celebration, I’d love for Pittsburgh’s fans to be able to share in that experience themselves. So, who’d you like to see win game 5?