The San Jose Sharks and the Pittsburgh Penguins will meet in the Stanley Cup Finals, and Game 1 goes Monday. The Penguins deserve full marks for getting past the Lightning in seven games, but they didn't dominate in the same way that San Jose did in their series versus St. Louis. My money is on the Sharks.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Let Down Spot - The Penguins may be at home, but coming off a hard fought 2-1 win in Game 7 with just a few days of rest, the series opener looks like a classic let down spot for the home side.

2. Martin Jones - The Sharks netminder stopped 24-of-26 shots in a big win in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final, and he's 12-6 with a 2.12 GAA in the post-season. Jones has registered three shutouts in his last seven starts.

3. X-Factor - San Jose's captain Joe Pavelski has five goals and five assists during a six-game point streak and has scored a playoff-leading 13 goals.

Selection - This is a play on the Sharks (10*)