2016 NHL Stanley Cup Final – San Jose Sharks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Expert Picks and Predictions

Not many experts had the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins as the two teams to contest the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. But here they are.

This figures to be a very tough series to call with hardly anything separating the two offensive-minded teams. But some of the top NHL hockey experts from the most reputable media outlets around still took a crack at it as they gave out their Stanley Cup Final predictions. Let’s check all of them out below.

And for more Stanley Cup coverage, check out our complete preview of Game 1 here and the series as a whole here.

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Expert Picks and Predictions for the 2016 Stanley Cup Final

ESPN

EXPERT | PICK
John Buccigross | Sharks in 6
Scott Burnside | Penguins in 6
Linda Cohn | Penguins in 7
Craig Custance | Sharks in 7
Paul Grant | Sharks in 6
Tim Kavanagh | Sharks in 6
Pierre LeBrun | Sharks in 7
Steve Levy | Sharks in 6
Joe McDonald | Penguins in 7
Barry Melrose | Sharks in 6

The Worldwide Leader polled 10 of its top hockey afficionados, and a majority of them went with the underdog Sharks – +110 to win the series – to take a bite out of the Penguins. And of the seven who did go with San Jose, five think the Sharks seal the deal in six games, which means they’ll clinch in front of their home fans in the Shark Tank.

The Sharks were a far superior road team during the regular season, but they’ve made SAP Center a fortress in the postseason. They’re 7-2 at home in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, two of the three experts who did go with the Pens think they’ll need every single game, not to mention home-ice advantage, to finally put the Sharks away. The Pens are now 3-7 all-time in home Game 7’s after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Finals.

CBS Sports

EXPERT | PICK
Chris Peters | Sharks in 6
Adam Gretz | Penguins in 6

Over at CBSSports.com, NHL writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz went toe-to-toe and made their respective cases for why their team will go on to win the Stanley Cup. (Interestingly, they agreed that this series would last at least six games, just like all 10 ESPN experts.)

Peters picked the Sharks, and pointed to their outstanding offense as the biggest reason why. San Jose is averaging 3.50 goals per game in the postseason, with Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Brent Burns and Logan Couture all having incredible playoffs. He also admires how confident and resilient they’ve been throughout the postseason, with Pete de Boer making the right adjustments after every setback.

On the opposite side, Gretz believes that San Jose is actually a very favorable matchup for Pittsburgh. He sees the Pens being able to play their way, and utilize their great speed advantage. The Washington Capitals weren’t able to keep up as they lost in six games, and Gretz sees the same outcome against San Jose. He also thinks the Pens’ ability to stay out of the penalty box and prevent the Sharks’ outstanding special teams from capitalizing on power plays will be key.

USA Today

EXPERT | PICK
Kevin Allen | Penguins in 6
Jimmy Hascup | Penguins in 7
Peter Barzilai | Penguins in 7
Kristen Shilton | Penguins in 7
Mike Brehm | Sharks in 6
A.J. Perez | Sharks in 5

USA Today polled six members of its NHL staff, and 2/3 of them went with Pittsburgh – -140 to lift the Cup – to come away victorious. The Pens backers also noted how Pittsburgh’s speed on offense will present a unique challenge for the Sharks, who haven’t exactly faced offensive powerhouses on their road to the Stanley Cup in the West.

Mike Brehm is also a fan of Pittsburgh’s speed and depth. But the fact that San Jose’s stars are producing far more than the Pens’ Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and are hungrier to win that elusive Cup gives the Sharks the edge for him. A.J. Perez is also high on the Sharks’ clutch playoff performers, so much so that he is the only one out of all the experts to predict a quick five-game series win.

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