After the final horn went off in Pittsburgh, it was official that the Penguins would pay the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final. These two teams look drastically different from the last time they met which was before Mike Sullivan took over the Penguins. This is shaping up to be a very enteraining series and it has the chance to be one of the best Stanley Cup Final's series in the past decade. Here's a look why it can be so memorable.
Speed kills
This series is going to be even faster than the Lightning series and that also made for some very entertaining hockey. There will be chances at each end of the rink each minute of the game and I wouldn't be surprised if the teams took turns outshooting each other each game. These are two teams that play very similar when it comes to puck possesion as they both love to have it for long stretches of time in the opposing teams zone.
The Penguins could give the Sharks fits with their speed and making Brent Burns work hard down low will pay huge dividends. The same could be said for the Sharks with their speed as they could try and make Kris Letang work hard down low against Pavelski, Thornton, Marleau, etc. These games will just be so fast which is just great if people love to be entertained.
Star power
You want star power? Well, this series has all of it. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Phil Kessel against Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture, and Brent Burns. The talent level between these two teams is just unbelievable.Seeing all these players go at it each night and create scoring chances every shift is just going to be a treat to watch. Evgeni Malkin is rounding into form and Pavelski leads the Sharks in points during the playoff. Phil Kessel leads the Penguins in points and is a serious candidate for a Con Smythe but we'll get to him in the next section.
Arguably the best matchup this series will be Brent Burns vs Kris Letang.These are two of the best defenseman in the league and two defenseman who were top three in points for a defenseman. They both play big minutes and are great quarterbacks on their respective power plays. If they both try not to do too much to hurt their own team, it's going to be a treat to watch them go at each other.
Legacies
When this series became official, I remembered that one of Phil Kessel or Joe Thornton will win a Stanley Cup. These are two players who are playing in their first Stanley Cup Final and who are top players on their teams points wise. Seeing either one of these guys win it all would be amazing because a happy Phil Kessel is the best Phil Kessel and I think everyone wants him to bring the Stanley Cup to Toronto to get people jealous. Joe Thornton, on the other hand, had one of the best seasons of his career and seeing him win it all would just bring a smile to everyone's faces since he's one of the classiest guys in all of hockey.
For Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, this is huge because this chance may not come around for them again. They have a chance to win their second Stanley Cup and add even more to their legacy. It's the first time they've been in this spot since 2009 and a lot of criticism from the media about Crosby and Malkin not showing up will go down if they win it all here. Everyone needs to enjoy this series because it's going to make for some very entertaining hockey and we can hopefully see the Penguins win their fourth Stanley Cup.