Couture, Marleau, Pavelski, Thornton, Burns: 1 combined Cup Final goal
It's one thing to say the Pittsburgh Penguins have shut down the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final. It's another to look at who's done what on the Sharks through four games.
Look at the NHL's playoff scoring leaders and the top three are all Sharks: Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, and Brent Burns. The Penguins didn't get that memo. The trio have a combined four assists in this series, with Pavelski scoreless heading into Game 5.
Here are the Sharks' leading scorers in the final. If you had Joonas Donskoi atop the list in the pool, you're lying.
| Player | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joonas Donskoi | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Justin Braun | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Joel Ward | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Brent Burns | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Logan Couture | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Joe Thornton | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Chris Tierney | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Melker Karlsson | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Patrick Marleau | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Brenden Dillon | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Marc-Edouard Vlasic | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Burns, Couture, Pavelski, Joe Thornton, and Patrick Marleau have a combined one goal in the series - Marleau's in Game 1. The Sharks' best players have been completely neutralized after ripping up the Western Conference through three rounds.
Another way to put it: Pavelski has as many points as Roman Polak in the Stanley Cup Final. Unless that changes, and fast, the Penguins will hoist the most beautiful trophy in pro sports - perhaps Thursday night.