Sharks Defeat Blues 5-2 In Game 6 To Advance To First Stanley Cup Final

Captain Joe Pavelski scored an early goal, Joel Ward netted two more and the San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-2 at home on Wednesday night in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

Sharks Defeat Blues 5-2 In Game 6 To Advance To First Stanley Cup Final

After their victory at the SAP Center, the Sharks have now won the series 4-2 and will advance to their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history, two years after their most devastating postseason loss.

“You try to learn from experiences,” Pavelski said. “You like to not have to. But that’s the course we’ve taken. Now that we’re here, again, this was a great step for us. It was another step. … But we realize there’s more out there. That’s what we’re going to turn our attention to.”

San Jose blew the 3-0 series lead in a crushing playoff loss to the rival Los Angeles Kings in 2014. The Sharks missed the playoffs entirely last season.

“That was as low as you can get as a professional athlete, individually and team wise,” center Logan Couture said. “Then last year obviously tough time missing the playoffs and going through some stuff as a team. I really think everything we’ve gone through has made us a lot stronger as a group.”

Couture finished with a goal and two assists on Wednesday to give him an NHL-best 24 points this postseason.

Goaltender Martin Jones, 26, made 24 saves, while Ward scored two goals for the second straight game and rookie Joonas Donskoi also scored for the Sharks, who received several contributions from some of the newcomers general manager Doug Wilson brought in over the last year.

San Jose’s team has struggled in recent years despite reaching the playoffs 16 times in 18 seasons and winning the second-most games in the league since the beginning of the 2003-04 season.

However, after being led by first-year coach Peter DeBoer, a familiar core and added depth, the Sharks recovered this year and are now only four wins away from a championship title.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling,” said center Joe Thornton, who set up Pavelski for the first goal. “Obviously it’s our first time. It was pretty neat to get this done at home. The fans here have waited so long, 25 years. We’ve waited 18 years or so. So it’s a great feeling.”

The atmosphere at the SAP Center, nicknamed the ‘Shark Tank,’ was vibrant, with fans chanting “Let’s Go Sharks!” soon after the puck dropped, a chant which soon turned into “We Want The Cup! We Want The Cup!” in the third period after San Jose took a 4-0 lead.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final will be Monday night. The Sharks will either host the Tampa Bay Lightning or visit the Pittsburgh Penguins, depending on which team wins Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday.

Pavelski opened scoring 3:57 into the game by forcing a backhand past Blues goalie Brian Elliott to earn his 13th goal of the playoffs.

Vladimir Tarasenko, who scored 40 goals in the regular season, got his first points of the series when he scored twice in the third period, but by then it was already too late.

The Sharks capped off the win thanks to an empty-net goal from Couture with 20 seconds remaining.

The Blues are seeking their first-ever championship, and have not reached the Stanley Cup final since 1970. Coach Ken Hitchcock’s second goalie change of the series did not work as Elliott allowed four goals on 26 shots in his return to the net.

SAN JOSE, CA – MAY 25: Brian Elliott #1 of the St. Louis Blues makes a save against Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks in Game Six of the Western Conference Final during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on May 25, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)