5 Keys: San Jose Sharks, Game 1

PITTSBURGH — The San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at Consol Energy Center on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

Here are 5 keys for the Sharks in Game 1:

1. CONTROL THE PACE

On their way to winning the Western Conference, the Sharks had an advantage in team speed against all three of their opponents in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues. That won’t be the case against the Penguins, who Sharks coach Peter DeBoer called “probably the fastest team in the League.”

The New York Rangers, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning each were burned by the Penguins’ speed in the transition game in the first three rounds of the playoffs. Limiting turnovers through the neutral zone, getting the puck it in deep and controlling it are the best ways to slow them down.

“Obviously, this is going to be a different level [of speed] than we’ve seen, but we’re not going to change the way we play based on that,” DeBoer said. “If we control the puck, then it’s hard to create speed.”

2. MOVE THE PUCK QUICKLY

The Lightning spent most of the Eastern Conference Final in their end defending because they had trouble breaking out cleanly and quickly. The Penguins pressured them into repeated turnovers in their end and in the neutral zone, making it difficult for Tampa Bay to get into the Pittsburgh zone and generate any kind of sustained attack. As a result, the Penguins outshot the Lightning 269-178 in the series.

Having their defensemen move the puck up ice quickly will be essential for the Sharks, or …

continue reading in source sharks.nhl.com