Marleau, Sharks Can End Long Wait in Game 6

SAN JOSE — Let’s be clear: The San Jose Sharks are not one win away. They are five wins away. Their goal is not to make the Stanley Cup Final for the first time. Their goal is to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.

This would be but a step.

But what a step it would be, wouldn’t it, if the Sharks could eliminate the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at SAP Center on Wednesday (6 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports)?

Their fans have never experienced the Stanley Cup Final. Their core players have never experienced the Stanley Cup Final. Coach Peter DeBoer, fourth-line forward Dainius Zubrus and goaltender Martin Jones have experienced the Stanley Cup Final elsewhere, but that’s it. And Jones was a backup. He didn’t play.

“Opportunities, they don’t come every year,” forward Patrick Marleau said. “So you’ve got to try to make the most of them.”

No one knows that better than Marleau. Not only has he spent his entire NHL career in San Jose, he has played in 18 of the Sharks’ 24 seasons and in 16 of their 18 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances. He is their all-time leader in games played in both the regular season and the playoffs.

One thousand four hundred eleven regular-season games. One hundred sixty-four playoff games. Zero Stanley Cup Final games.

Marleau is the only player on the roster who was part of all three previous conference final appearances: 2004, when the Sharks lost in six games to the Calgary Flames; 2010, when they were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks; and 2011, when they lost in five games to the Vancouver Canucks.

“I mean, it’d be huge [to win the Stanley Cup],” Marleau said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do here for the fans and for the Bay Area. …

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