Stanley Cup Finals Prediction

The Stanley Cup finals begin tonight with the Pittsburgh Penguins facing off against the San Jose Sharks.  This is the Sharks first appearance in the finals in the relatively brief 25 year history of the franchise.  In this year's playoffs, these two teams are virtually mirror images of each other. Both have relatively inexperienced goaltenders - Matt Murray for the Pens and Martin Jones for the Sharks; both have big defensive studs - Brett Burns for the Sharks and Kris Letang for the Pens; both have grizzled veteran star forwards - Crosby and Malkin for the Pens and Thornton and Marleau for the Sharks; and both teams have young, up-and-coming coaches in Mike Sullivan and Pete DeBoer.  And both teams have gotten to the finals with a stifling team defense.

I'd give the goaltending edge to the Penguins as Matt Murray has been spectacular at times and, if he falters, they have Marc Andre Fleury on the bench.  Martin Jones has looked a little shaky at times but has made the saves he should have - and that's all he's really needed to do because of San Jose's swarming defense.  The Sharks have more depth along the blue line - besides the aforementioned Burns, they also have standouts Paul Martin and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, while the Penguins look to be without the injured Trevor Daley for the duration of the series.  In addition to Crosby and Malkin, Pittsburgh also has sniper Phil Kessel and big-body Patric Hornqvist up front.  But San Jose can do even better in support of Thornton and Marleau with Logan Couture and the man who no team has been able to hold down this post-season, Joe Pavelski.

There really is not much to choose from with these two teams and this has the potential to be a fabulous series that will go the full seven games. While Pittsburgh has the edge in the nets, the Sharks have just a little more depth in scoring and on defense. The Sharks have had a history of not showing up in the playoffs and this will be the first finals appearance for most of their players, while the heart of the Penguins lineup has been here before, having won it all in 2009. In addition, Pittsburgh will have home ice advantage.

As I said, there is an excellent case to be made for both teams, which is why they are both here in the finals.  But I think this is the Sharks' year - I'm picking San Jose in seven thrilling games.