Image courtesy of Toronto Sun.
With every championship comes a feel good story, and thankfully, there is not a lack of those in the NHL's 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks are both vying for their names on the league's most sought-after trophy, but the biggest storyline lies on the last line of defense.
With the biggest narratives for both teams standing tall (literally; both of them are 6-foot-4) in the goal crease, the Stanley Cup Playoffs can surely be defined as a tale of two goalies. However, the most interesting part is that both of these goalies, Pittsburgh Penguins' Matt Murray and San Jose Sharks' Martin Jones, are rookies.
For Pittsburgh, Murray had a huge role to take over when long-time starter Marc-Andre Fleury was sidelined with a concussion and unable to play going into the postseason due to continuous symptoms. However, there were some fans who doubted the young goaltender, due to his lack of NHL experience and young age. It was between him and backup Jeff Zatkoff for the starting role, leading many to believe that Pittsburgh wouldn't make it far. However, he took the position of starter and ran with it, and now, Pittsburgh is playing in the finals.
In his first ever playoff run, Murray has been able to withstand the pressure of playing in front of thousands packed into Madison Square Garden. He survived the Stanley Cup-favorite Washington Capitals, who have the horrifying offensive arsenal that consists of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov and many others. He was even able to stop the Tampa Bay Lightning as they presented him with what seemed to be an unstoppable momentum, even despite being pulled and replaced after a rough performance in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Now, the young netminder, who just recently turned 22 years old, is looking to have his name engraved in Lord Stanley's Cup.
"His poise is what sets him apart," Murray's long-time goaltending instructor, Jon Elkin, told Sportsnet. "Just his ability to keep his form no matter what the situation is. That's a special talent."
Martin Jones is a bit of a different story. The 26-year-old goaltender went from playing back-up with the Los Angeles Kings to winning the role as the Sharks starting goaltender. Though he had already played two postseason games with Los Angeles, and won the Cup in 2014 with the Kings, this is the first season he has been a starter in the playoffs. However, that has not stopped him, and he has been one of the most important parts of the team.
"He's the backbone of our team," Sharks forward Joe Thornton told the Mercury News about Jones. "When he's on... we feel we can't be beat... We love playing in front of [him]. We honestly believe that he's the best goaltender in the league."
Not only are these rookies playing amazing hockey, obviously leading all goaltenders in postseason wins, they are putting up outstanding postseason numbers. Jones' 2.17 goals against average is the third-best in the NHL playoffs, as is Murray's .924 save percentage. Not to mention, Jones leads all NHL netminders with three shutouts this postseason. These numbers are amazing, considering how new they are to these NHL playoffs.
In hockey, the goaltender is by far one of the most important keys to success. If the goaltender is performing well, the rest of the team has a better chance to win. What is incredibly interesting is that both netminders who have led their respective teams through the playoffs are Finals rookies.
Of course, in these playoffs, there is not a lack of these feel-good stories. However, this is one of those stories that only comes once every couple of years. If fans are having trouble picking a team to root for, there are good reasons to root for both, just due to the young men between the pipes. Unfortunately, these stories will come to the end with two different scenarios: a Stanley Cup above their head or a heartbreaking skate off the ice. However, no matter what the ending is, there is no denying the unbelievable storylines presented.