Here are the picks, plays and predictions for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight in Pittsburgh.
June 9th, 2016
Sharks vs Penguins
ML: +156 / -173
O/U: 5
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the the verge of winning their first Stanley Cup since 2009. What’s more, they can become the first major sports team from Pittsburgh to clinch a championship on home turf since the 1960 Pirates.
So can they do it?
The Pens have not trailed in regulation this entire series. In fact it has been seven games since they lost saw a deficit on the scoreboard during play. The lone win that the Sharks have this series came in overtime after twice overcoming a deficit of a goal.
Game 4 was a heartbreaker for San Jose. The Sharks fell 3-1 at home, and now face seemingly insurmountable odds.
Ian Cole opened the scoring off a rebound from the man who is the likely frontrunner for the Conn Smythe, Phil Kessel. Kessel drew the defensemen with his speed, shot for the legs of Martin Jones, and Cole found the open net.
After drawing a penalty early in the second, the Penguins tallied another off the stick of Evgeni Malkin, who was much more active tonight. Phil Kessel’s patience and ridiculous hands opened up a seam for him to wire a pass right to #71 on the doorstep. 2-0 Pens.
Melker Karlsson, quietly having a productive postseason, got the Sharks on the board with a second-chance goal from the slot. A Brenden Dillon wrist shot couldn’t find its way through traffic, but Karlsson slipped a wrister past Murray.
With just under three minutes remaining in the third period, the Sharks had a critical offensive zone face off with a chance to even up the score. In that situation, wouldn’t you want a combination of Brent Burns, Paul Martin or Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the ice? Who did Pete DeBoer send out instead to collect the face off? Roman Polak. I happened to be listening to the Sharks radio broadcast at the moment and the color commentator was about as apoplectic as I have heard an announcer over a lineup decision.
“Sorry, WHY is Polak out there right now?” he asked rhetorically.
Sure enough, as if on cue, the Sharks won the draw and the puck went to the stick of Polak. He subsequently lost control and was forced out of the zone within seconds. What a waste.
Justin Braun would come on for Polak. Polak’s partner, Dillon, would turn the puck over in the neutral zone and Braun was not back in time. Eric Fehr broke into the zone and buried the dagger, beating Jones.
Polak is having about as bad a series as I can remember an individual defenseman having this Final. Dan Girardi of the New York Rangers getting smoked on the reg by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014 Finals is the only other comparison I can think of. He’s been bad on the puck, horrendous in getting out of his own end, and is simply not quick enough for this Penguins team. Kessel and Hagelin beat him with ease.
Here is the good and the bad for San Jose. The good is that they are 3-0 in Game 5s this postseason out-scoring opponents 17-7. The bad is that not leading at ALL this series and not getting nearly enough shots on a fallible Matt Murray is a major problem. Harkening back to that 2014 Final, the Kings hoisted the Cup having led in just one game of the five. The difference is that team was up 3-1 after 4, not down.
On Matt Murray- the few times the kid was called on to make a big save, he did. He’s not the prettiest goaltender in the world to watch fundamentally, but he’s getting the job done and impressively so. He was aided by a couple more posts and came up big on a Patrick Marleau breakaway early in the third.
The line shows Pittsburgh as heavy favorites tonight. It should. San Jose has had a tremendous run but they have met their match. The Penguins are too fast, too confident, and now they have home ice.
Very rarely do I go against my series prediction in my individual game picks, be it length or victor. But this one has all the markings of a series that is close to over.
Prediction: Take the Penguins to hoist the Cup tonight. Take Phil Kessel to win the Conn Smythe. Take the under.
