The San Jose Sharks
The first two games were really close, and the Sharks could’ve lost both of them. But they didn’t. A big reason for that is their power play, which is 3 for 5 so far. Can they keep up that percentage? Probably (hopefully) not, but they’ve got some wiggle room being up 2-0 and all.
One of the closest Corsi charts you’ll ever see (even strength only). Eight minutes left in this one. pic.twitter.com/Jni1acRSJJ
— Fear The Fin (@fearthefin) May 2, 2016
Yeah. Nerd Stats aside, the Preds outshot and outhit the Sharks by pretty wide margins in Game 2 and San Jose still came away with the win so they have to be feeling pretty good about their abilities right now.
Can we talk about this for a second?:
Good luck charm in tow. pic.twitter.com/F9a7EKoRqI
— #TurnUpInTeal (@SanJoseSharks) May 2, 2016
No, not the man-bun. The cat, man, the cat. This whole “black cat runs on the ice” thing should’ve 100% been a jinx on the Sharks. It was in their arena…it’s their black cat. We need this reviewed by whoever is policing JuJu in hockey ASAP.
The Nashville Predators
Keys for the Predators? Stop taking penalties. When you do, don’t allow a goal. Also, draw some penalties of your own. When you do, score a goal. Should be a piece of cake. If we have anything to fall back on, it’s that despite losing the last two games, Pekka Rinne has an excellent record against the Sharks overall and has stuffed the Sharks at Bridgestone more than a few times in recent memory. We’ll need one of those outings again tonight.
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven #StanleyCup Playoffs series hold an all-time series record of 303-48 (86.3%).
— #StanleyCup Playoffs (@NHL) May 2, 2016
SO YOU’RE SAYING THERE’S A CHANCE! Seriously, though…as we saw in the last series, it ain’t over ’til it’s over and a win tonight has the Preds right back in this thing. Remember, this is basically the same Sharks team that blew a 3-0 series lead to L.A. a couple years ago, so they know how to do it. We just need to give them a little nudge.
Where to Watch (And Listen)
Sandwiched between Law & Order reruns over on USA at 8p CST for the visuals. 102.5 The Game will have your radio call.