Sharks looking to take another bite out of Penguins in Game 6
Coach Pete DeBoer says forget speeches, players have to perform
Pete DeBoer heard all the doubts about the San Jose Sharks before he became the team's head coach last summer.
"'They can't get it done. There's not enough character. There's not enough leadership,"' DeBoer said, listing various criticisms of the club following practice Saturday. "That's what people think and it's so far off-base. There's just no substance to that at all."
DeBoer said he believes any doubts about the Sharks' character have been put to rest this spring, though his team will need to rally to capture the Stanley Cup.
San Jose hosts Game 6 Sunday at SAP Center with the Pittsburgh Penguins leading the series 3-2.
The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final. Only three teams have ever come back to win the Cup after dropping the first two games on the road, with two such instances occurring in the last seven years, including the 2009 Penguins.
"Other than possibly playing a Game 7, [Sunday] is going to be probably the most exciting game I've played all year," said Sharks defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
The Sharks are coming off a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh in Game 5, one that saw them badly outplayed for long stretches. San Jose can credit a solid performance by Martin Jones for the victory after he made 44 saves in net.
Anything is possible
If any team understands how quickly a series can turn, it's the Sharks, who had a 3-0 series unravel against the Los Angeles Kings in 2014.
Paul Martin was a Penguin in 2014 when their 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers slipped away in a seven-game second round defeat. Now on the San Jose side, Martin said every player handles momentum swings differently, whether in a game or in a series. Some players are bothered by the pressure while others handle it well, he said.
"I think the team that won [the last game] has to take some kind of positive feeling from that win and try to build off that," Martin said. "And as a team that loses; you either can dwell or feel low or in trouble or you put it behind you [and] you focus on that next one."
The Sharks have faced elimination twice in the playoffs and won both times, including Thursday's victory in Pittsburgh and a Game 7 win over Nashville in the second round.
Doing it once more will likely require a much better all-around performance in Game 6.
San Jose only generated 14 shots in the second and third periods of Game 5 and were outshot 46-22 overall.
Momentum matters
The club did play perhaps its best game of the series at home in Game 4, yielding just 20 shots in a 3-1 loss. It was only their third defeat in 11 games in San Jose during the playoffs.
"We played them pretty good at home last time we were home," Martin said. "We played a better defensive game as far as giving up shots or opportunities. So I think for us to get that momentum to continue, [we] hopefully get that first goal or get a solid energy game early."
Pittsburgh scored first in the first four games of the series and the Sharks would benefit from another fast start in Game 6, but the San Jose coach he won't be providing any drama before the game.
"There's no speech I'm going to give Patty Marleau that's going to make him understand the situation and play harder," DeBoer said of the 18-year veteran. "I think that's for movies and Sunday football for sure, when you're playing 11 or 12 games a year. When we're on our 105th game [of the season], I'm just trying to get our game on the right track, get them out there with as much energy as possible and get our execution in the right place."
T-shirts for sale at the Sharks practice facility were emblazoned with the slogan: We want Stanley in San Jose.
The Sharks will need to emerge victorious in Game 6 to inch closer towards that result.