Sharks’ first berth in final 25 years in the making

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two years after their most devastating playoff loss, the San Jose Sharks held their most meaningful celebration.

The franchise notorious for falling short each postseason will finally get the chance to play for the Stanley Cup.

Captain Joe Pavelski scored an early goal, Joel Ward added two more and the Sharks advanced to their first Stanley Cup final in franchise history by beating the St. Louis Blues, 5-2, Wednesday night in Game 6 of the Western Conference final.

“You try to learn from experiences,” Pavelski said. “You like to not have to. But that’s the course we’ve taken. Now that we’re here, again, this was a great step for us. It was another step . ... But we realize there’s more out there. That’s what we’re going to turn our attention to.”

Few outside San Jose thought this day would come so soon after the team blew the 3-0 series lead in a soulcrushing playoff defeat to rival Los Angeles in 2014 and then missed the playoffs entirely last season. But on the same ice surface where they watched the Kings celebrate on the way to their second championship, the Sharks posted the biggest win in their 25-year history.

“That was as low as you can get as a professional athlete, individually and team wise,” center Logan Couture said. “Then, last year, obviously tough time missing the playoffs and going through some stuff as a team. I really think everything we’ve gone through has made us a lot stronger as a group.”

The players who endured those disappointments played a big role in getting past them. Joe Thornton set up Pavelski for the first goal, Patrick Marleau had two assists in the third and Couture had a goal and two assists to give him a leaguebest 24 points this postseason.

Unlike past years, the stars got plenty of help. Martin Jones made 24 saves, Ward had his second twogoal game in a row and rookie Joonas Donskoi also scored as the Sharks got lots of contributions from the newcomers general manager Doug Wilson brought in over the past year.

“It’s huge just for the people who have been here so long,” Ward said. “I think this was an unbelievable accomplishment for sure.”

Despite making the playoffs 16 times in 18 seasons and winning the secondmost games in the NHL since the start of the 2003-04 season, the Sharks have lacked postseason success.

They won three games in three previous trips to the conference final, were knocked out twice in four seasons by a No. 8 seed and then had the collapse against Los Angeles in 2014 and sat out the postseason a year ago.

But led by first-year coach Peter DeBoer, a familiar core and added depth, the Sharks recovered this year and are now four wins from a championship.