Why San Jose Will Win the Stanley Cup

It's official. The San Jose Sharks are going to win the Stanely Cup. That's right, the franchise that has turned habitual choking into an artform, is going to go all the way. Want proof? Watch their series against the Red Wings. They've had two (or three, need to check the facts on that) come from behind victories against a seasoned team that always knows how to play playoff hockey. This team has been to the finals twice in the last two years. Henrik ZetterGod is on this team, as is perennial Selke finalist Pavel Datsyuk. Their deep and their experienced, and they're not a team to be easily brushed aside. Yet that is what the Sharks are doing.
The Sharks' scoring is so deep that it's comparable to the depth of the gin in my bathtub that I frequently bathe in. Joe Thorton has two goals in two games, and Joe Pavelski is the most prolific scorer I've seen since that night that my friend slept with eight different women on one night (and got eight different forms of psyphilis). Legit, Nabokov is an experienced goaltender and he's been making some huge saves in the last couple of games, and the Sharks are a force defensively. They're a hard checking team full of men who are so frighteningly huge that I have nightmares about them invading my home.
Many like to argue that the Wings are tired from their late season run into the playoffs, and that the seven game series with Phoenix has depleted their energy levels too a point where they're no longer capable of competing with the much fresher Sharks. But that doesn't matter. Don't write off this Sharks team, if they keep playing like this, they can beat anybody. They can beat Vancouver as long as Roberto Luongo remains so inconsistent in net, and they can beat Chicago as long as they keep not showing up to every other game. And forget the east. The east is a deplorable hockey conference, full of god awful teams. The Sharks can beat anybody in the West right now, and that will inevitably mean a cup.

Here are the keys to San Jose's postseason success:

1. Joe Pavelski Must Continue His Conn Smythe Campaign

Joe Pavelski currently leads the NHL playoffs in goals. Joe Pavelski is currently a second line center. Joe Pavelski is also currently a hockey god amongst men. If he continues to score at this rate, he's going to cause matchup nightmares for opposing teams. If teams have to key up on the Pavelski line just think about how much more ice that opens up for Marleau, Heatley, and Admiral Awful (in the playoffs). Continued offensive production from him both on the powerplay and on even strength is going to be a necessity down the stretch against deep teams like the Black Hawks and Canucks.

2. Nabokov Needs to Come Up Huge

Not that he hasn't already, in fact, Nabokov is having an outstanding series in net. In the third game of the series he continually made huge saves to keep his team in it (I should add, they came back to win that game in OT). Goaltending is everything in the playoffs, and if you need evidence of that, just go ask the Capitals.

3. Keep the Swagger

This series has given the Sharks an abundant amount of confidence. This postseason has turned from another lesson in playoff chokery, to a lesson in how to persevere your way past an opponent whose just a little bit more than pretty damn good.

4. Get the First Line to Get Going

If Pavelski actually manages to continue his insane production, it's going to open up a lot of opportunities of Heatley, Marleau, and Thornton. Yet that's not going to make the slightest bit of difference unless this line manages to actually start scoring some goals. Thornton has been picking up steam with two goals in the last two games, but that's not enough. This line needs to start acting like the best line in professional hockey, which it arguably was during the regular season. Their line boasted 2 goal scorers in the top ten during the regular season, yet none of those three are even close to being top ten caliber this postseason.

The Sharks can do it this year. These guys aren't the chokers that they have perennially been since the start of the franchise. They're deep, they're solid defensively, and their goaltender has been playing clutch hockey. We'll see if the hockey gods agree.