PITTSBURGH — It must have been a hockey guy who came up with the axiom: “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.”
If Pete DeBoer’s New Jersey Devils had come all the way back from trailing the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 in the 2012 Stanley Cup final, instead of just pushing it to six games before losing, he would have a more powerful message today for his San Jose Sharks.
If many of those Sharks’ only experience with playoff comebacks hadn’t been on the negative side — nearly squandering a 3-0 series lead to the Detroit Red Wings in 2011 before winning in seven … blowing a 3-0 lead to the 2013 Kings and losing in seven … heck, Joe Thornton was even on the 2004 Boston Bruins when they let the Montreal Canadiens come all the way back from a 3-1 deficit — it would be easier to keep the collective chin up as they face their first elimination game Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.