In a few minutes the San Jose Sharks will take the ice in Pittsburgh. Their backs are against the wall, down 3-1 in the championship series. Winning the next three straight is… tough. The hardest of those three is tonight; so we’re all just sitting tight and pulling for a win.
The Sharks have never been in the final before. Never been this close to the big prize. In a league with 30 teams, championships come far apart, and who knows when the next chance will come. This year, right now, is their best chance to win it all. Next year, they have to beat all thirty teams all over again. Right now, there’s just one team between them and glory. They’ve never been so close.
But, dang, the Penguins have been playing really well since January. So have the Sharks, but for long stretches the Penguins have been clearly the better team on the ice. Three in a row against those guys is a huge mountain to climb.
Win this one though, and the series comes back home. That’s a winnable game, and it sets up a game for all the marbles in Pittsburgh, with the Sharks mojo running high. Storybook shit.
It’s been my longest hockey season ever, and I’m not ready for it to end.
