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Stanley Cup Final 2016, Penguins vs Sharks: Preview and predictions

By Dave Stevenson

Dec 1, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Dainius Zubrus (9) clears the puck away from Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. The Penguins won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports.
Dec 1, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Dainius Zubrus (9) clears the puck away from Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. The Penguins won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports. /
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Breaking down the 2015-16 Stanley Cup Final matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks.

The 2015-16 Stanley Cup Final matchup has been set as the Pittsburgh Penguins will represent the Eastern Conference while the San Jose Sharks will represent the Western Conference. Neither team will have an advantage in terms of rest because each team has played 18 games and the Sharks only advanced one day before the Penguins did. That means that it will be a true battle of who is the better team.

Pittsburgh comes into the Stanley Cup Final led by rookie goaltender Matt Murray and their incredible forward depth. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino, and Carl Hagelin have all been huge for the Penguins. It has been borderline impossible at times to stop them and they’ll be coming in with a ton of momentum.

The San Jose Sharks, on the other hand, have relied primarily on their suffocating defense and opportunistic offense. That isn’t to say that the Sharks can’t score at will with Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture, but rather, it’s a compliment to how good the Sharks’ blue line is. Led by Brent Burns and the eternally underrated Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the Sharks have come out from a very tough Western Conference as the victors.

It should be an excellent series. Regardless of who wins, the Stanley Cup Final will have a deserving winner.

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