Five Reasons Sharks Advanced to Stanley Cup Final

SAN JOSE — It took them 25 years, but the San Jose Sharks have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-2 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at SAP Center on Wednesday, winning the best-of-7 series 4-2.

San Jose will face the winner of the Eastern Conference Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning, which will be decided in Game 7 at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

“We’re just enjoying the ride right now,” said Sharks forward Patrick Marleau, who has been with the team since 1997. “We’ve had some really good teams over the years. This team is a little bit different.

“The confidence we’ve built over the regular season and now in the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs, I think winning on the road helped us get close as a group during the regular season. It carried over into the playoffs so far. Just having each other’s back out there, working for each other.”

Here are 5 reasons why the Sharks advanced:

1. JOE PAVELSKI

The Sharks captain continued his torrid postseason. He had four goals and five assists in six games against the Blues. He leads the postseason with 13 goals and is second with 22 points. He continued showing why he’s considered to be one of the NHL’s most skilled players in terms of redirecting pucks …

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