Stanley Cup Final 2016: Sharks vs. Penguins TV Schedule, Game 1 Live Stream

Scoring depth has led to consistent success in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs for the San Jose Sharks.

The bulk of the scoring has come from superstars Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns, but those three have gotten huge support from Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward throughout the postseason.

One of the biggest factors resulting from this scoring depth has been a huge advantage over opponents when it comes to scoring in the third period. The Sharks have outscored their opponents in the final 20 minutes—not including overtime games—by a 29-14 margin. That's 11 more third-period goals than any other Stanley Cup participant this year.

The ability to score late has been decisive for the Sharks, and if they can continue to score third-period goals in the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, that could prove to be decisive in the series that starts Monday night. Game 1 can be streamed on NHL.TV.

The Penguins have done fairly well in the third period, but they can't match the Sharks in that area. The Penguins have outscored their opponents 17-15 in the final 20 minutes.

Pavelski has been huge for the Sharks throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs, and he leads all playoff performers with 13 goals. He has scored four more goals than Phil Kessel, who leads the Penguins with nine. Pavelski has put the puck in the net with his quick-release wrist shot, his ability to tip shots coming in from the point and his anticipation when jumping on rebounds.

Game	Date	Location	Time (ET)	TV
Game 1	May 30	at Pittsburgh	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, TVAS
Game 2	June 1	at Pittsburgh	8 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
Game 3	June 4	at San Jose	8 p.m.	NBC or NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
Game 4	June 6	at San Jose	8 p.m.	NBC or NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
Game 5*	June 9	at Pittsburgh	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, TVAS
Game 6*	June 12	at San Jose	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, TVAS
Game 7*	June 15	at Pittsburgh	8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, TVAS

Head coach Peter DeBoer said that Pavelski's ability to score in multiple ways has been a huge advantage for the Sharks, per NHL.com:

"

You think back to some of the best scorers ever. His ability to get his stick on pucks in the offensive zone, in front of the net, different angles, is as good as anybody I've ever seen. But it's a great lesson. He works at it. He works at it every day. …

You have to work at those things to become really good. He's got some God-given ability too. His biggest asset is he works at it.

"

While the Sharks will clearly lean on Pavelski in the Stanley Cup Final, the Penguins will do the same with Sidney Crosby. 

Crosby has not been quite as consistent as Pavelski, but he has scored six goals and nine assists in 18 playoff games for the Penguins. He had three game-winning goals in the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

While Crosby has clearly been one of the most talented players in the league since he was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, he continues to work at his craft and set an example to his teammates by his level of effort in practice.

"I can tell you by watching him every day that it's not by accident that he's as good as he is," head coach Mike Sullivan told Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press (via CBC.ca). "I don't know that I've been around a player in all the years that I've been associated with this league with a work ethic like Sid's."

Crosby has a wonderful supporting cast, including Kessel, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Kris Letang, but he will have to step up if the Penguins are going to raise the Stanley Cup at the conclusion of the series.

Prediction

The Sharks regularly struggled in the playoffs in previous seasons under former head coach Todd McLellan, and when they didn't make the tournament in 2014-15, McLellan was fired and DeBoer was hired. The team has clearly responded to DeBoer's coaching style.

Similarly, the Penguins were struggling under Mike Johnston, and he was sent packing in mid-December. Sullivan's leadership has brought brilliant results. The Penguins were peaking at the end of the regular season, as they won 14 of their last 16 games.

The Penguins are 12-6 in the postseason, and so are the Sharks.

While the Penguins have home-ice advantage in the series, we see the Sharks having just enough to win the series and hoist the Stanley Cup. They are prepared for this series by going through the tough Western Conference, and they also have a slew of scorers who can make the difference.

Couture, Burns, Thornton, Ward and Marleau are likely to join Pavelski in the scoring column, and that group has proven to be relentless.

While the Penguins have the ability to fight back, the Sharks will score the decisive goals in the third period and close out the series in six games.