Penguins can clinch Stanley Cup tonight in Shark Tank

The San Jose Sharks have a chance to tie up the NHL Stanley Cup Finals and send the series back to Pittsburgh for a decisive game seven. They are playing the Penguins, one of the best teams during the regular season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were the second best team in the Metropolitan Division and fourth best over all in the league.

The Pens are faster, and for the most part have dominated the ice. But like their opponents finding the net has been difficult. Both teams have watched shots bounce off the metal frame of the net and both goalies, Martin Jones of the Sharks and Matt Murray of the Penguins, have had sensational games.

The Pens had a chance to win the Cup in game five, back in Pittsburgh, but the Sharks did something that hadn’t done in the previous four games — they scored first. In fact Brent Burns and Logan Couture put goals in the net before the Penguins, who got on the board with goals by Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin.

Melker Karlsson followed with the third goal for the Sharks, putting San Jose ahead as they went into the second period.

Team captain Joe Pavelski topped it off for the Sharks in the third period when he scored his first goal of the series with just a minute and 20 seconds left in the game.

Key for the Sharks is that Burns and Couture appear to have found their way back to the forms they had in the playoffs before the Final. If they can have that same impact on game six tonight, there’s a good chance the Stanley Cup Final will have a seventh game in Pittsburgh.

Led by Sidney Crosby, the Penguins know they can win at home and on the road against the Sharks.

The Sharks haven’t scored on a power play since the first game, going 0 for 8 since then. They will need to take advantage of those opportunities if they are going to win tonight’s game. Before the Final, San Jose was averaging 5.7 power play goals per series.

Pittsburgh’s penalty kill has been great though, so the Sharks will need to overcome a strong defense.

Fans at the Shark Tank (SAP Center) will get to see their Sharks for the third time in a Stanley Cup Final. The ice isn’t in the greatest shape, but both teams are used to it. After game three Pens coach Mike Sullivan said, “A lot of times, when you play this late in the year, the ice breaks down, no matter where you are.”

Tomas Hertl, the Sharks star forward is still out and is listed as day-to-day. Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told the media Hertl is getting better, but would not play tonight. As much as they will miss him, his replacement, Melker Karlsson, has been doing very well. He has two goals in this series and three points.

Game time tonight is 5 p.m. Pacific Time.

Below are Claudia Gestro’s video reports from games two, three and four.

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UPDATE: The Stanley Cup has been won by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As they have for much of this sex-game series, the Penguins controlled ice, taking more shots at the net (27-19) and eventually scoring more goals. Pittsburgh also won more face-faceoffs, 35-19.

For the San Jose Sharks, they went deeper into the playoffs than anyone could have predicted. Their fans got to watch their team play in three Stanley Cup Final games, something they have waited 25 years to see. Sharks fans won’t have to wait another 25 years to see their team in the Final.

The final score in tonight’s game six: 3-1.

Photos by Claudia Gestro