5 reasons to look forward to the Stanley Cup Final's shift to San Jose
It's Stanley's turn to brave The Shark Tank.
The Stanley Cup Final will land in Northern California for the first time ever Saturday when the San Jose Sharks host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of the season's culminating series.
Here are five reasons to look forward to the series' first stop in San Jose:
The Desperation
There'll be no easing into the Stanley Cup spectacle in San Jose; the Sharks absolutely must win Saturday's Game 3 to avoid seeing the franchise's debut appearance after 25 years from being a read-through.
The Sharks have faced elimination in these playoffs, but the plight they overcame in their second-round series versus the Nashville Predators pales in comparison to the blow Conor Sheary delivered in Game 2.
We have to see San Jose at its very best - at the jump - or it's more than likely curtains for the Sharks before even getting accustomed to these foreign waters.
The Jock Jams
These Sharks have something for "Chelsea Dagger."
Hands down, the best goal celebration song in the NHL belong to the Sharks, who encapsulate their endearing, self-deprecating, wholly new lease on life by slapping mitts to a throwback to gym classes everywhere in the '90s: 2 Unlimited's "Get Ready For This."
Full credit to the fans, who voted this classic Jock Jam in as the team's official goal song. We'd like to believe Brent Burns and Joe Thornton stuffed the ballot box, too.
The Tank
It will be how the Sharks - not the fans - handle being pushed into a corner for the first time this tournament. For a support system that knows nothing but postseason failure, though, an adverse start, and the heightened prospects of a swift elimination already being down 0-2, could have a discernible effect on the atmosphere.
That said, The Shark Tank has represented one of the more inhospitable road barns to visit over the past half-decade, and the fans will be most appropriately hyped for their first opportunity to welcome the Stanley Cup Final foe.
The Head
Seriously, there's no cooler on-ice prop to send a billowing cloud of fake fog through and to wheel out of. And it's not particularly close.
The Teal
For my money, the best jersey in the NHL - the Penguins' throwback third - happens to be one of the most underrated. The Cup Final will remain aesthetically pleasing as the series shifts to Northern California, where the Sharks will don what they like to call "Deep Pacific teal."