Column: Sharks hope they don’t tank in Game 6 against the Penguins

Reporting from SAN JOSE —  With every step forward the San Jose Sharks have taken during the playoffs, with each extraordinary performance by a member of their surprisingly resilient cast, they’ve chipped away at their reputation of being the biggest postseason underachievers in recent NHL history.

The Sharks might shatter that label for good if they defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. But the Penguins, happy to escape the distractions that enveloped them at home Thursday before they missed their first chance to claim the Cup, hope road ice will be an advantage by allowing them to focus and maintain a normal routine.

The Sharks needed a 44-save effort Thursday by goaltender Martin Jones to send the Final back to SAP Center, where the teams split Games 3 and 4.

San Jose’s 4-2 victory in Pittsburgh reinforced Sharks Coach Peter DeBoer’s belief that his team’s fortitude was maligned by the media.

“Coaching in the East, not watching them play, you fall victim to what you guys write and say about them, which is they can’t get it done, there’s not enough character, there’s not enough leadership. That’s what people think. It’s so far off-base,” he said at a news conference Saturday. “There’s just no substance to that at all. I think these guys have proven it this year. But I saw that in training camp. You can’t help but come in with some of those preconceived notions that you’ve been reading for a decade.

“They quickly put that to rest. It’s some of the best leadership and some of the most honest people I’ve ever worked with.”

Forward Joel Ward, also in his first season with the Sharks, said he didn’t know much about the team’s past playoff stumbles but knows the current group is led by strong personalities and voices.

“For me, this year has been great. I thought we’ve done a lot of great things and kind of knew early on we could do something special here,” he said. “Good group of guys. Our leadership group has been great. The coaching staff has been great.

“I knew the pieces were there. It was just a matter of us going out there and executing. I think our leaders have done a really good job of bringing us here to this point.”

They’re at the point where they can take the Final to Game 7 on Wednesday in Pittsburgh or they can finish short of their goal yet again.

It could go either way. Jones, the former Kings backup, was sensational Thursday. If he can duplicate that performance, “we like our chances,” center Joe Pavelski said.

“But we’ve got to play better in front of him.” And they’ve got to get production from their power play, which is scoreless in eight chances since it went one for two in Game 1.

But they’ve gotten goals in two straight games from Swedish winger Melker Karlsson, who has stepped up in the absence of injured winger Tomas Hertl, and they believe they might have planted a seed of doubt in the Penguins’ minds by depriving them of a celebration on home ice Thursday.

“The longer it goes, you just feel that pressure, ‘You’ve got to get it done. You’ve got to get it done,’” Sharks defenseman Justin Braun said. “And when it doesn’t happen it creates a little frustration, like ‘We could have been done with this days ago and we’re still going.’ I think that kind of gets in your head a little bit.”

And maybe not. The Penguins credited Jones’ excellence but said they can be more persistent around the net. “We generated a lot of good chances. We’ve tried throwing everything we can at him. We’ve got to get better at the second and third chances,” left wing Chris Kunitz said. “Their [defensemen] do a great job of boxing guys out and getting sticks so you have to make sure you fight through that first layer and get that second scoring opportunity.”

Being away from home and what center Evgeni Malkin called “tons of noise around the team” could be just what the Penguins need.

“I think you always tend to play a little bit simpler game, a smarter game, on the road, just because you’re not really trying to impress anybody,” defenseman Ian Cole said. “You don’t have 10, 15 people from your family there ready to celebrate. You can really, I think, buckle down and try to play a smarter, simpler and probably a harder game.

“We would have loved to do it in front of the fans back home. That would have been the storybook way to do it. It didn’t work out that way, and given the opportunity here in Game 6, we need to seize it.”

Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter @helenenothelen