Considering how the last series went against a team from southern California, there should be no lack of flare and maybe this brings the rivalry between the teams to the next level as it did with the Sharks and Ducks two years ago. There’s a rivalry between the teams but it never seemed to hit its stride because both teams have rarely been good at the same time.

There was no “easy” match-ups in the Western Conference and though people will point to the Kings missing leading scorer Anze Kopitar this will be far from a cake-walk for the Sharks. If you look at the way the Kings are built, they may be one of the teams that are well-suited for taking on this kind of disadvantage.

Jonathan Quick has had a terrific season in net and the defense in front of him from top to bottom is one of the best in the entire league. As valuable as Kopitar is to the Kings, would it have the same impact as the Sharks losing someone like Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau for a series? Probably not.

The Kings play lock-down defense so they’re somewhat prepared to compensate for losing a leading scorer and if anything it may make their defense stingier because they know what they do well and they’ll focus on it even more now.

Here’s a look at some interesting things to keep an eye on:

Antti Niemi vs. Jonathan Quick: The goal-tending battles have been cause of the Sharks demise many years running. Many people believe that Evgeni Nabokov got the Sharks as far as they were going to go with him in net because he was consistently outplayed in series by the opponents goaltenders even if the Sharks won the series (eg. Craig Anderson with Colorado last season). Both goalies had awesome regular seasons but Niemi has the long playoff run experience, it will be interesting to see if he has the capability to take this team where he took Chicago last season.

Secondary scoring: The Kings will rely on depth scoring with Kopitar out and Justin Williams getting his first action just off an injury. There’s plenty of guys on the team who can score, its just a matter of who will. The verdict is still out on how whether this group of defensemen is good enough to win a cup. There is depth, Kent Huskins is injured, but the defense still goes a good seven deep with Dan Boyle, Douglas Murray, Jason Demers, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Ian White, Niclas Wallin and Justin Braun although Braun and White have never played in the playoffs.

The more intriguing situation is the Sharks forwards vs. the Kings defense. In the past they have been one-line ponies. Stop one line, stop the Sharks offense. This season the stars are spread out and the Sharks have three lines that can score and over the last month, the Sharks supposed “third line” of Joe Pavelski, Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Wellwood has been its best. But last season the Sharks ran into arguably the best assembled group of defensemen in the playoffs for the Blackhawks. The Kings’ Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Rob Scuderi, Willie Mitchell, Matt Greene and Alec Martinez provide just about everything you’d want from a group of six on the back end.

Adversity theory: The Sharks are perennial playoff contenders and Stanley Cup favorites. They always disappoint after stellar regular seasons. This year didn’t get off to the same start but who’s to say that’s a bad thing. They had to fight in a semi-desperation mode ever since the end of January and maybe that’s a good thing. There’s no lulling into the playoffs this year and no easy tests along the way being in a division that could have had all five teams make the playoffs. Despite finishing second in the conference they still flew somewhat under-the-radar thanks to the dominance of the Vancouver Canucks.

The Sharks once again have the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. It’ll always be about the playoffs for this team regardless of how the regular season goes. To get where they want they have to go through at least one cross-state rival and then we’ll see where that leaves the team. Here’s to a great all-California series!

Extras

Nice to see all three teams from California make the playoffs as well. It’s another step in building up the sport in a state where it still isn’t necessarily recognized as much. Maybe seeing one of these teams succeed helps make hockey an option for kids growing up in the state.

All three teams have great teams and organizations and are set up to be good for the foreseeable future based on the young talent on each team. The Sharks have become models of consistency in the regular season, the Kings are past the up-and-coming label and belong in the playoffs and the Ducks have been to a pair of Stanley Cups – winning one – in the last decade.

The accomplish itself is nothing new for the organization in recent years, but this years ascent to the top of the division wasn’t as typical as years past, making it a more significant accomplishment.

In January the Sharks were in last place in the division and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. That’s unfamiliar territory at any point during the regular season for this team.

Since that time they’ve reeled off 26 wins in 34 games to climb atop the division. Whatever it was that changed, the acquisitions of Kyle Wellwood, Ben Eager and Ian White, the play of the underachieving players, or a more committed approach to playing within their system, something clicked for the team after that six-game losing streak in January.

In addition to the unfamiliar disappointment early in the season, there was an increased amount of parody within the division and the Western Conference as a whole.

The quality of teams in the division from top-to-bottom is arguably the best in the NHL. It is likely that four out of the five teams will make the playoffs and there’s still a chance that the final team, the Dallas Stars, will also sneak in. Coincidentally the team that was leading the division when the Sharks started their run back in late January was the very same Stars.

Every team seems to dominate one other division opponent, get dominated by another and play evenly with the rest.

Three of the four teams (San Jose, Phoenix, Los Angeles) currently in playoff slots have ridden great goal-tending to success this season and Anaheim could easily join that lot if Jonas Hiller returns to the form he displayed before his injury this season.

San Jose may very well meet a division rival in a playoff match-up, something that didn’t fair well for them the last time. But this team seems different, a different feel, a different team and possibly different success?

As it stands the Sharks are in the midst of an interesting situation for the Pacific Division race. All five teams in the division have the possibility of making the playoffs and still have shots at winning the division which the Sharks currently lead.

This jockeying for seeding will play a big role in who ends up with so-called “favorable” match-ups in the first round of the playoffs though looking at the caliber of teams going in, it doesn’t seem like there will be an easy draws for any team.

Finishing with the second or third seed for winning the division may be great in terms of home-ice advantage, but it also means the possibility of playing a team like the defending cup champion Blackhawks in the first round. Considering the battles that the Blackhawks have had with the Red Wings over the years and the fact they’ve eliminated Vancouver two years in a row could do wonders for the Sharks if one of those situations ends up playing out in the first round of the playoffs.

All season long the players and coaches have pointed to the fact that this team has faced more “adversity” than past teams. The Pacific Division is arguably the most balanced from top-to-bottom, meaning the points are tougher to come by and the teams are more tested on a consistent basis. They’ve barked up this tree before but there is a different feel to this team.

Despite the success they’ve had in the second half of the season, looking at the numbers almost makes you wonder how they got to this point. A team consistently in the top 10 penalty kill units for the last five years or so is all of a sudden stuck in 23rd at a measly 79.9 percent and sinking.

Outside of rookie Logan Couture’s breakout season and Ryane Clowe’s career-year, no one else on the Sharks is really on pace to do what is typical for them. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are the team points leaders with 64 points, which puts them on pace to finish around 69 for the season. Perennially-noted goal-scorer Dany Heatley is on pace for 26 goals. Jason Demers and Ian White follow Dan Boyle’s 44 points from the blue-line with 23 points each.

Antti Niemi has been as good as any goalie in the NHL over the past few months but that’s not something that has changed from Evgeni Nabokov’s usually great regular-season stats.

Ultimately the same old message will come with the teams regular season: Who cares? Those numbers, the early season struggles, and the tough division play all go out the window in the playoffs as they do with every other team. It’s a new season, it’s a start from scratch for many players and that’s where the Sharks need to prove they’ve changed otherwise all of the anomalies from this year will be forgotten like the accolades of recent Sharks teams.

Thornton has been suspended by the league for two games after his hit to the head of the Blues’ David Perron.

In the 2-0 loss, Thornton was ejected when he was tagged with a game misconduct and a five-minute major penalty for a hit to the head. Thornton came out of the penalty box, barely made two strides and hit Perron who seemed to be unaware that Thornton was coming onto the ice. The play occurred with around 14:35 left in the second period.

The good news is that Perron seemed to be alright after a few minutes on the bench and would continue playing otherwise that’s an extra level of enforcement based on the way the NHL has been handing out punishment.

The hit in question highlights what will be a highly enforced new rule to cut down on headshots and blindside hits in the NHL. As with any new rule, there’s a tendency by officials to over-enforce it, especially when it directly influences a players safety.

This is something fans should get use to seeing until referees figure out how to enforce the rule and the players learn to adapt to it.

Much like the situation National Football League is experiencing with it’s new rules regarding headshots, there’s room for interpretation.

In this particular case, there are many questions that need to be answered to analyze how bad the hit really was. Was there a malicious intent to injure? Did Thornton target the head? Should Perron have his head up or at least be aware of what’s around him? Was it a blindside hit? Etc.

This is my take on the situation.

The hit wasn’t late and it wasn’t dramatically away from the puck so clear those variables out of the equation.

There was contact to the head, but the contact wasn’t made because Thornton raised an elbow or launched himself off the ice. If anything the contact to the head looked to be due to the three to four inches in height difference between the players.

It may be an old-school mentality, but it’s a player’s responsibility to not put themselves in a position to get hit as much as possible. The goal of the rule is to take away head shots and cheap shots, not to prevent players from playing aggressively.

In the past this probably is hit with a minor penalty. But with the new ruling, this does fit the criteria for a major penalty because there was contact to the head. I question the application of the rule because of the circumstances that created the hit to the head but that’s getting too technical. I can understand that if the rule is put into place to protect players from head shots then yes this hit does qualify and Thornton deserved that penalty.

For the purpose of enforcement, Thornton deserved the penalty under this rule and the resulting two-game suspension from the league is a message sender that this conduct won’t be tolerated even if it’s borderline and done by a star player. Though you do get the sense that if this were a Sean Avery or Matt Cooke type of player the punishment might have been longer.

After being acquired from the Boston Bruins in the 2005-2006 season, Thornton has accumulated 477 points with the Sharks and eclipsed the 20-goal and 60-assist mark in every season.

Thornton symbolizes virtually everything associated with the Sharks organization right now. A tremendously skilled player that wreaks passion, and respect for the game but cannot raise his game in the postseason despite possessing all the tools to do so.

No one has taken more criticism for the team’s playoff failures than Thornton and this year will be even more magnified wearing the “C”. Many experts have come to expect failure out of the Sharks when the playoffs roll around and that has led many to give up on the perennial picking of the Sharks as Stanley Cup favorites.

To Sharks fans he represents the professionalism of the organization as much as the happy-go-lucky attitude of its players and staff. The statement that the Sharks will only go as far as Joe Thornton takes them fits to a tee. As Jumbo Joe goes, so does the Sharks essentially.

Though he has served as captain before, Thornton should be a different captain at 31 then he was at 23 for the Bruins.

On a team mostly in it’s prime ages, Thornton is one of the veteran voices of the squad as he has been for the past few years. In picking Thornton for the captaincy, coach Todd McLellan mentioned that he expects nothing to change in Thornton from the way he’s approached the game and led the team in the past.

Dan Boyle will dawn an alternate captain’s “A” permanently while Patrick Marleau will take one at home and surprise pick Ryane Clowe will on the road.

Though it probably has no bearing on the captaincy decision, McLellan has been tinkering with many different line combinations, most notably avoiding the all-eggs-in-one-basket Thornton, Marleau and Dany Heatley line.

The most common line sitings for the forwards have been as such:

Marleau- Pavelski- Heatley

Clowe- Thornton- Setoguchi

Mitchell- Couture- McGinn

McLaren- Nichol- Mayers

McLellan is no amateur when it comes to changing lines and there’s really no telling what they’ll look like on opening night. In their latest practice sessions McLellan has made an apparent effort to spread the superstars around as Thornton, Heatley and Marleau were all skating on three separate lines.

Sharks Getting Ready for Stockholm Opener

As for the team that Thornton will be leading on the ice, the Sharks final 24-man roster is set for there opener in Stockholm, Sweden against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Every team’s opening-day roster has a few surprises and the Sharks are no exception. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Torrey Mitchell, Jason Demers, and Devin Setoguchi are just a few names of players who weren’t expected to make the team from training camps but managed to turn a strong camp into a continuous stay at the NHL level.

This season the names fans may not be familiar with are Tommy Wingels, John McCarthy and Mike Moore.

Wingels has spent the past three seasons with the Miami University Redhawks in the CCHA, posting 42 points in 45 games last season. Wingels had a strong training camp and is expected to be thrown onto the third and fourth lines to provide some secondary scoring. Wingels is known as more of a play-maker with a good shot that he isn’t afraid to use as he consistently got off two to three shots on goal in limited minutes during training camp and the preseason.

McCarthy is sort of the bruiser built in the Clowe model. He got four games of experience with the Sharks last season but spent the rest of the season in Worcester totaling 42 points in 74 games. He has a strong two-way game, was used on the penalty kill and likes to play the gritty style of play that the Sharks hope to get from their bottom six.

Moore is a solid stay-at-home defenseman who’s spent the last two seasons in Worcester averaging 20 points, a plus 15 rating, and 107 penalty minutes. Many Sharks fans liken him to a smaller Douglas Murray: a player who takes care of his own end, will minimally contribute to the offense and isn’t afraid to make throw his weight around.

Since the Europe trip allows the Sharks to have an additional player on the roster, they will be keeping all three of their goaltenders and though McLellan seems to know who’s starting the opener he hasn’t made the decision public yet. It will be interesting to see what the Sharks do with one of Antti Niemi, Antero Niittymaki or Thomas Greiss once they come back to the states.

Side note
Former Shark and Rocket Richard Winner Jonathan Cheechoo has signed an AHL tryout contract with the Worcester Sharks.

Wilson’s well-documented opinion on the current state of goal-tending in the NHL is that not a lot of money needs to be allocated to the position to win a Stanley Cup. He also mentions that teams don’t need superstar goalies or even household name netminders to win a cup.

As much as fans believe there are more legitimate reasons, Wilson consistently admits that the only reason he let Nabokov go was a financial decision. Nabokov was eating up over $5.3 million in salary and that was simply too much for a goalie that couldn’t get the team to where they wanted to be.

All three goalies on the Sharks combined are not equal to that much salary as Niemi and Niittymaki make $2 million each and Greiss has a cap hit of $550,000. Essentially three goalies for the price of one, with some pocket money to use elsewhere.

The question now is are the Sharks better off with any combination of those three than they were with Nabokov starting a majority of the games the last decade?

The argument can be made in multiple ways, but let’s look at some of the factors that were used to analyze Nabokov’s play.

Obviously Nabokov didn’t get the Sharks to a Stanley Cup final. His career numbers weren’t ever atrocious even in the playoffs, though he was often outplayed by the opponents goalies. That unfortunately became his mantra in the playoffs after consistently being bettered by goalies like Jonas Hiller, Antti Niemi, and even Craig Anderson in a series that they won.

For all his playoff woes, Nabokov was as consistent as anyone in net not named Martin Brodeur in the regular season. He average over 30 wins a season and hit 40 each of the last three years. Yes they were on good teams, but it’s not like his goals against average was ballooning around 3 goals per game.

So was Nabokov a product of a system that’s produced a line of successful goaltenders or was he making the players in front of him look better?

This is where it gets difficult.

Nabokov never stole games when it counted, nor did he outplay the opponent’s goalie when his team needed it. However, he put up consistent numbers and for the most part never cost his team games.  It’s hard to argue that he ever had a very good defense corps in front of him. The only exception may have been the one that was ousted in the first round against Anaheim two seasons ago.

Now look at what the new goaltenders have to work with.

As of right now, this is the weakest group of defensemen the Sharks have had in the last four seasons.Wilson’s philosophy on goaltending didn’t mention anything about the defense units put in front of those one-playoff-run wonders.

Superb goaltending can only carry you so far, and rarely is a goalie so flawless in an entire postseason. It dramatically helps, but a goalie making three spectacular saves doesn’t mean a thing if they’re defense can’t clear the rebound and the other team scores on that fourth attempt.

Optimistic Sharks fans will say Niemi is a legitimate big-game goalie. They’ll say he wasn’t a benefactor of a great team in front of him and can duplicate his play last post-season again for the Sharks.

The same fans will say that Niittymaki has the potential to be this season’s surprise goalie who gets hot in the playoffs. They’ll say he’s never had a team like the Sharks to support him and that his history of hot streaks will resurface in the playoffs.

Greiss will be labeled as a goalie with a lot of potential who can step in and maybe steal the show with consistent playing time that he never got behind Nabokov.

Pessimistic fans obviously will say the opposite of all that. That Niemi will fail to repeat what he did; that Niittymaki is simply an inconsistent goalie and that Greiss has nothing more than backup potential in the NHL.

Basically it comes down to which side of the coin each goaltender lands on. Will the Sharks get these versions of Niemi, Niittymaki, and Greiss or will they get the ones that make them cringe thinking about.

So who starts? How many games does goalie play? Those decisions alone could decide whether or not this team breaks through into the Stanley Cup final this year. It’s now in the hands of one of Antti Niemi, Antero Niitymaki or Thomas Greiss.

In the past the Sharks were a well-noted soft team. To fix that reputation/weakness they addressed the problem with players like Scott Parker, Jody Shelley, and Brad Staubitz.

For the first time in his entire tenure as GM, Doug Wilson didn’t feel the need to put a legitimate heavyweight enforcer like these players on the roster.

There are more than enough players willing to drop the gloves on this team: Ryane Clowe, Douglas Murray, Frazer McLaren, Scott Nichol, and the newly acquired Jamal Mayers.

However, the Sharks have always had players willing to drop the gloves. So what’s the difference?

It’s in the players that aren’t known for dropping the gloves.

Many of the skill players on this team don’t back down from confrontation. They defend their teammates and stand up for themselves on the ice. They aren’t the biggest or toughest players on the ice but don’t expect them to shy away from a physical game like teams in the past did.

When the Sharks had that softy reputation, they didn’t have players like that. They lacked players like Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle who are stars to this team yet aren’t afraid to get rough with opponents.

It’s all in the attitude. With no designated enforcer on the team, more emphasis is put on team toughness. There’s a sense of much more camaraderie with the current group of players in addition to that team toughness.

What if someone goes after Patrick Marleau in a lop-sided game?

In the past that situation would probably result in the team’s enforcer taking action later in the game during one of his 5-10 shifts. It’s not far-fetched to assume that if that were to happen now, Joe Thornton or Dany Heatley would be the ones stepping up for their linemate.

The lack of an enforcer also creates accountability for the players on the ice. Accountability is another area where the Sharks players have been criticized in the past. It appears to be less of an issue with each year, which is why Doug Wilson probably didn’t find it necessary to keep either Jody Shelley or Brad Staubitz around.

The Sharks still have their share of weaknesses to address, but team toughness is no longer one of them.

That finish warranted few alterations to the roster, but are the Sharks in any better shape to improve on last season’s breakthrough in the playoffs?

Despite a few changes, it’s hard to argue that the Sharks roster looks about the same, if not a little worse.

When they were eliminated, it was clear that some players wouldn’t be back the next season.

Change in Net

One of Evgeni Nabokov or Patrick Marleau was due to be left behind because of salary cap contraints. The team decided that player should be Nabokov.

They then proceeded to replace Nabokov with a much cheaper alternative in Antero Niittymaki. Niittymaki will join forces with Thomas Greiss to protect the Sharks net.

The judgement on this change won’t be determined until halfway through the season, or maybe not until the playoffs. Niittymaki is a proven goaltender but has never had a team of this caliber in front of him. It’s anyone’s guess how he’ll fair in the playoffs or if the Sharks will take a chance with Greiss instead.

Verdict: Undetermined

Defense/Captain

Rob Blake announced his retirement in early summer and the Sharks have yet to find a suitable replacement.

They will return seven other defenseman who saw action last season in Dan Boyle, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Douglas Murray, Kent Huskins, Nicklas Wallin, Jason Demers, and Jay Leach.

If no more moves are made on the back end, then it simply means that these players will see increased responsibilities from last year. One of which may include wearing the captain’s “C” in Boyle’s case.

The consensus is that Demers will have a greatly expanded role in taking over Blake’s power-play time. As to who will be playing alongside Vlasic this season, it could be any of the latter four players mentioned above.

The team has also yet to choose Blake’s successor as captain. Boyle appears to be the favorite, but Marleau, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski all have to be considered in the discussion.

It is well-documented that this unit is not as strong as it was last year.

The next step for the Sharks would be a Stanley Cup appearance. Looking at the teams who’ve accomplished that the last few years, they all have above-average defense-corps. As of right now, the Sharks do not.

Verdict: Downgrade

Bottom-6 Forwards

If there’s one fairly different look outside of the net, it’s in the Shark’s bottom six forwards.

Manny Malhotra was due for a big raise after the successful season he had at a huge bargain last season. His impact will hopefully be replaced by Logan Couture who made great strides in his rookie season between the AHL with Worcester and in San Jose.

Other familiar faces in the Sharks lineup from last season include Scott Nichol, Torrey Mitchell and Jamie McGinn. Malhotra, Jed Ortmeyer, Jody Shelley, and Brad Staubitz will not be back in teal.

That leaves two available lineup spots that will probably be duked out in training camp by prospects and camp invitees. Last season the Sharks got contributions from Benn Ferriero, Ryan Vesce, and Frazer McLaren. They should be front-runners for those spots.

Some of the Sharks’ success in the first two rounds last season was because their bottom-6 forwards made contributions in a number of ways. There’s nothing that really inspires any kind of new enthusiasm from this group right now. Again, it appears that players with limited experience will be asked to do much more as regulars this year (Couture, McGinn). The team appears to be banking on improvements within their own individual players.

Verdict: Downgrade

Top-6 Forwards

With Devin Setoguchi’s newly signed 1-year deal worth $1.8 million, the Sharks will return the same top two lines that drove their success through the regular season and into the playoffs last season.

Thornton, Marleau, Dany Heatley, Pavelski, and Ryane Clowe will join Setoguchi once again.

There have been some questions as to how these players will be arranged. Marleau, Thornton, and Heatley formed one of the best lines in hockey last season. Pavelski, Clowe and Setoguchi carried the Sharks through their first round series of the playoffs and were the team’s best line down the stretch during the regular season.

This is the same unit that was responsible for most of the team’s success last year. They’ll be expected to do even more this year if the team has any hope of reaching it’s first Stanley Cup birth in the franchises history.

Verdict: Equal

Based on those broad subgroups, it appears the Sharks are actually a little worse on paper than they were last season. Obviously, names don’t guarantee anything. Neither does “expected” outcome. Ultimately it will be up to this group to make GM Doug Wilson’s moves pay off when the season rolls around.

Last season Demers gave Sharks fans a taste of the offensive potential he has from blue-line, which will be even more vital this year if the roster remains as is.

Demers enjoyed a surprising rookie campaign last season posting 21 points (4 goals, 17 assists) in just 51 games. That was good for fourth among rookie defenseman. He added five more points (1 goal, 4 assists) in the playoffs.

Whether it’s a good thing or not, Demers will be the Sharks second-most prolific offensive threat from the blueline behind Dan Boyle this coming season. He’s a very good skater and showed last season that he enjoys jumping into the play; even as low as behind the net at times.

With Rob Blake’s retirement he will no doubt be asked to pickup most of the power-play minutes and play more minutes 5-on-5 as well. Even as a second-year player its safe to assume he’ll play a more prominent role than either Kent Huskins or Nicklas Wallin.

Playing alongside Marc-Edouard Vlasic would be a great complement. Considering that Vlasic’s forte is his defense, Demers wouldn’t be exposed as much for his defensive lapses and shouldn’t be hesitant to jump into the rush more often.

After the season, Demers mentioned learning a lot from Blake in his first season with the Sharks. If he continues to learn from Boyle in the same way his offensive production could reasonably be in the 30-45 point range on this team.

One thing in particular that Demers could really learn from Boyle is how to use his skating ability.

Boyle’s strong two-way play as a defenseman is created by him using his attributes to their full extent. He doesn’t just use his skating ability to join the play or lead rushes. He uses it to get back into position without leaving his partner out to dry on odd-man rushes and stay with players in the defensive zone.

This move also ensures that the Sharks want Demers to be part of their future plans. If he taps into the potential the Sharks see him achieving then this deal will end up being a bargain.

The importance of the little “C” that’s patched to a players sweater is debatable.

There’s evidence of a team’s captain being completely meaningless, especially when the player chosen is not suited for the position. A team can’t necessarily be led astray solely because of a bad captain but it can certainly mess around with chemistry and other aspects that directly influence a team.

However, there’s also been players who’ve become iconic for serving their role as captain. Those players embrace the duties that come with being a captain: talking to the media, providing a voice between the coaches and players, and being a leader on the ice and in the locker room.

There’s no set stereotypical mold that captains should fit into.

Usually experience and leadership are the key traits, but there’s other intangibles that can make a player a worthy captain. There have been examples of loud and quiet players, flashy and simple players, and superstars and role players being chosen as captain.

Age also use to be a criteria but with the recent youth movement in the NHL that’s no longer the case as evidenced by the success of some of the younger captains like Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Mike Richards, Alex Ovechkin, Rick Nash, Eric Staal, Dustin Brown or the newly appointed Shea Weber. At the same time seasoned vets still hold the position of authority on a number of teams like Nicklas Lidstrom, Jamie Langenbrunner, Daniel Alfredsson, Bryan McCabe and Adam Foote.

The Sharks have a good mix on their roster of players in the prime of their careers and some just entering that stage.

Here’s some of the potential candidates on the current Sharks roster:

Dan Boyle- Boyle has been thrown around the last couple years as a favorite for the position. He’s a tenacious player that leads by example on the ice and isn’t afraid to say it how it is. Of these possible candidates, Boyle is the only one to hoist a Stanley Cup as well. The old-school criteria of experience and leadership are Boyle’s forte.

Joe Thornton- Most people think of Jumbo Joe when they think of the Sharks. His leadership has been questioned at times because of his lack of production when the going gets tough. When a player leads his team in scoring every year he’s been on the team though there has to be some merit to giving him the captaincy. He is this team’s superstar and grabs the most attention from both other teams as well as the media.

Patrick Marleau- Oddly enough he’s the only one on this list to have served as a previous captain before. The longest-tenured Shark is an obvious candidate for a position he’s held for nearly 5 years in the organization. He’s a soft-spoken player who tends to be a quieter leader. He’s also as important to this team as any other person in the organization, hence why he received a new 4-year contract recently.

Joe Pavelski- The dark-horse candidate. Pavelski would be the logical choice if the team wants to head into a new direction and start fresh with a younger captain for the future. Unlike these other candidates, Pavelski is just entering his prime as a 26-year-old. In the playoffs he emerged as a player who knows how to step up when needed, and clearly plays his best hockey when it counts the most.

As of right now, the money is probably on Boyle.

The memory most-ingrained of the last post-season for Sharks followers is Boyle’s alleged own-goal in overtime of game 3 of the opening series against Colorado. That goal gave the Avalanche a 2-1 series lead with game 4 still in Colorado. Instead of crumbling like every other year, it was Boyle who came out the next game and scored the first goal of game 4. If that’s not a perfect example of what a captain is than what is?

There are a billion reasons why the offer sheet made sense.

It subtracted from the team that blocked the Sharks road to a Stanley Cup birth, improving their own roster. It came at a reasonable price and contract length for a player that’s young and provides excellent play in both ends of the ice. However, first and foremost it would have addressed the Sharks biggest need since Rob Blake retired and that’s a high caliber defenseman.

The Sharks were unable to land any of the top free agent defenders though it was clearly the team’s biggest need outside of an additional goalie. The offer sheet for Hjalmarsson proves that GM Doug Wilson knows that; its safe to assume he’s not satisfied with the current defense corps.

The lack of enticing candidates left in free agency means the Sharks will most likely explore trade options to upgrade. Names like Tomas Kaberle, Sheldon Souray, and Kevin Bieksa are on the tips of everyone’s tongues because they are players rumored to be available.

The ideal candidate would have attributes similar to what Hjalmarsson would have brought. Someone who’s a smooth skater, can make the first-pass from the zone like it’s second nature, capable of chipping in above 30 points, and still be responsible enough in their own end to take on 18-22 minutes of ice time.

Those attributes aren’t exactly the easiest thing to find and that’s why Chicago couldn’t let a player of that caliber leave even with a shaky cap situation.

Don’t be surprised to see the Sharks settle for a defenseman if they can’t locate a puck-moving offensive one to help Dan Boyle contribute from the back end. The existing group around Boyle provides some nice elements but nothing equivalent to even what the 40-year-old Blake brought in his 20th season.

Boyle’s defense partner, Douglas Murray is a road block. He provides a very physical, hard-hitting defenseman that can’t keep up with the quicker teams.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic is a young, solid shut-down defender. Perfectly suited for a 2nd pairing defenseman but don’t expect a huge offensive push unless he learns to jump into the play a little more often. Perhaps he learned something from playing alongside Blake and with Blake’s absence will take it upon himself to fill that void.

Then there’s a slew of bottom feeders in Kent Huskins, Niclas Wallin, Jason Demers, and recently re-signed Jay Leach. Players from that group don’t even instill much confidence as 3rd-pairing defenseman, let alone anything higher. If you’re lucky, you could piece together those attributes above from all 4 of these players combined, but no individual one will.

Most fans would prefer the Sharks look internally rather than overpay for another defenseman that the Sharks were forced to add right now.

For example, instead of scooping up Marc-Andre Bergeron, why not give Demers more ice time and responsibility. Demers has a similar make-up and style but would come much cheaper and younger.

There are also players at the AHL level in Worcester that aren’t the worst options in the world.

Derek Joslin has had NHL-level experience off and on the past two seasons. Danny Groulx very quietly led all AHL defenseman in assists with 52 and points with 66.

If Wilson’s past dealings have taught hockey fans anything it’s that he isn’t predictable. The trade for Dany Heatley was rumored numerous times. However, it didn’t seem like many teams were aware Joe Thornton was available at the time of his trade either.

For Sharks fans, Wilson pulls the Jekyll-Hyde’s frequently. He’ll make you pull out hairs after dishing out dollars for bottom tier defenseman like Huskins and Wallin. At the same time, he has your full trust when he pulls off trade steals like the Thornton and Heatley deals.

Assuming Devin Setoguchi signs somewhere in the $3 to $3.5 million range, the Sharks will have somewhere between $2 to $4 million left to add to the roster. Unfortunately, top-4 defenseman the Sharks need don’t come at that discount. The Sharks need to fill out the rest of the roster as well with a few more forwards for the third and fourth lines.

When the Sharks were eliminated from they playoffs, it looked as though their roster for next season would be radically different. However, GM Doug Wilson obviously decided he’d like to retain as much of the team that took them to the conference finals as possible.

Changes have been made, but not to the extent many expected. Evgeni Nabokov’s space will be filled with Niittymaki. Rob Blake retired. Manny Malhotra got a lucrative deal from the Canucks and won’t be back.

As of right now this is a possible scenario for Todd McLellan’s lineup card:

Patrick Marleau- Joe Thornton- Dany Heatley

Ryane Clowe- Joe Pavelski- (Devin Setoguchi)

Jamie McGinn- Logan Couture- Torrey Mitchell

??????- Scott Nichol- ?????

Dan Boyle- Douglas Murray

Marc-Edouard Vlasic- Nicklas Wallin

Kent Huskins- ?????

Antero Niittymaki

Thomas Greiss

All things considered, it looks like virtually the same lineup.

This is just a few days into free agency. There’s still some holes on the Sharks roster that need addressing. Some of which will be filled internally but never mistake Wilson for someone who shy’s away from big trades.

The past two offseason’s Wilson has gotten the Sharks their biggest need to reach the next level through trades.

Two years ago Wilson managed to pry defense-man Dan Boyle from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Matt Carle, former 1st-round prospect Ty Wishart, a 1st round pick and a 4th round pick. Boyle filled a glaring need for an offensive defense-man that Sharks fans got a taste of for 30 or so games with Brian Campbell only to see him leave.

Last summer it was Dany Heatley that came out to the coast from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a 2nd-round pick. Heatley was brought in at the time to provide that consistent scoring threat when the playoffs came around. In this situation, Wilson’s hands weren’t exactly tied. The team he had just got knocked out of the first round after a President’s Trophy-winning season.

Besides the fact that Wilson has a habit of giving away draft picks to his own delight, it’s obvious how he felt each off-season. He saw opportunities that could potentially improve the team in a way he couldn’t through free agency or internally.

This year the void isn’t as obvious. The team needed minor tinkering but that’s more because of financial contraints than a missing piece.

The emergence of prospects like Logan Couture, Jamie McGinn, Jason Demers, Frazer McLaren and others also instilled more confidence in Wilson. He doesn’t necessarily have to fill spaces with veteran players in free agency who might cost the team more.

Couture in particular is expected to have a much bigger role in the coming season. The initial assumption is that he’ll take over a lot of Manny Malhotra’s responsibilities.

McLaren is might take over the enforcer role with Jody Shelley and Brad Staubitz finding their names on new teams.

The Sharks still need to get a contract worked out with Devin Setoguchi but it’s clear that both parties would like to keep him in San Jose. If this deal gets done the Sharks will have their top six forwards for another season.

Assuming Setoguchi doesn’t get overpaid, there may be a couple million dollars worth of wiggle room to add to the roster.

Another defenseman or a bottom six forward wouldn’t hurt. This is where Wilson’s trading ability comes in handy.

Trading may allow the team to unload contracts like Torrey Mitchell’s and Kent Huskins’ that have been deemed overpayment for what they provide. Each player is easily replaceable as well.

The Sharks have been tied to the multiple Tomas Kaberle rumors and before being waived they were said to be interested in Sheldon Souray as well. Both of those cases would involve hefty salaries coming to San Jose.

As far as the remaining free agents are concerned, there have been rumors about bringing back Owen Nolan to San Jose.

Shortly after declaring that Nabokov would not be re-signed, Sharks GM Doug Wilson retained his two biggest playoff performers from this past season.

Patrick Marleau will continue his long-tenured career with Team Teal after signing a 4-year deal worth $27.6 million. Joe Pavelski also signed a 4-year deal worth $16 million.

Each player could have reasonably expected a little more money to go somewhere else or at least test the waters. However, each was adamant about staying with the Sharks and bringing a Stanley Cup to San Jose.

Bringing back Marleau was a crucial decision. When thinking about what both Marleau and Nabokov bring to the team, there’s too much to list because both have been integral parts to the teams success over the years. Marleau leads the franchise in virtually every category a skater can, and Nabokov holds most of the franchise goaltending records. It appears that it came down to which player could be more easily replaced.

Marleau plays in all situations; he gets lots of ice time on the power-play and penalty kill. Speed is an element that killed the Sharks against every opponent in the playoffs, so losing Marleau’s would make the team appear even slower. Though he lost his captaincy, Marleau still holds a leadership position on the team. Marleau started slowly in the playoffs but was basically the only player contributing offensively by the end of it.

Nabokov consistently established himself as a dominant goaltender in the regular season, but could not continue that success in the postseason. This past season it became more evident than ever that Nabokov just can’t make the big save when he has to, and his untimely goals allowed were the major turning points in the sweep at the hands of Chicago.

In this situation, losing Marleau would’ve created a bigger void than Nabokov. With a deep pool of free agent goalies and a pipeline of potential stud goalies in the system, the Sharks felt more comfortable trying to replace Nabokov than Marleau.

For the first time in the last decade the Sharks’ net will not be housed by Nabokov. Who it is manned by remains to be seen.

Thomas Greiss played well in his limited action last season as Nabokov’s back-up. He’ll get first crack at taking over the reins. Greiss doesn’t have to be great but he can’t kill the team with inconsistency or weak goals. Greiss may have to battle with Alex Stalock for playing time after Stalock’s stellar season with Worcester in the AHL.

The Sharks have been actively searching for a veteran net-minder to assist one of these two young goalies at a low price. Names being tossed around the rumor mill are Michael Leighton, Chris Mason, Dan Ellis, and Josh Harding.

Wilson put emphasis on the fact that teams are winning the Stanley Cup with lower-paid goal-tenders. He believes the Sharks can do the same, pointing to the two teams who reached the Finals this year with a combined salary less than Nabokov’s.

One thing he failed to comment on is the fact that both those teams had arguably the two best defense corps in the league. That’s one thing the Sharks will not have next season the way Wilson is assembling his starting six.

Losing Rob Blake will make this unit even worse this season on paper. After Dan Boyle, Douglas Murray and Marc-Edouard Vlasic the remaining three spots instill even less fear. Kent Huskins is serviceable as a bottom-pairing defenseman. Jason Demers showed promise in his rookie campaign but has a long way to go needing to become more defensively responsible. Then came the signing that made everyone scratch their heads.

Wilson felt it necessary to bring back Nicklas Wallin for a year at a $2.5 million cap hit. Like the Huskins signing a year ago, this move makes fans believe that Wilson is trying to justify his trade-deadline acquisitions that didn’t pan out the year of.

Huskins was acquired from Anaheim two years ago at the deadline but did not play that season because of injury. Wilson re-signed him to a 2-year deal worth $1.7 million a year.

Wallin was acquired this past trade deadline from Carolina. He was a solid defenseman playing on alongside Huskins on the bottom pairing but he wasn’t anything special. He certainly is not worth a price tag of $2.5 million on a cash-strapped team.

Loyalty is one thing, but this trend for overpaying players might cost Wilson his job at season’s end if it doesn’t pan out. It’s not as though he’s overpaying to convince a superstar to come to San Jose. He’s overpaying players that could be signed for less or could be let go in favor of a better player who deserves that contract.

Paying that much for the defenseman who will ultimately take over most of Blake’s minutes and duties is fine. Making Wallin that player is not. It seems like a very premature move on the verge of free agency where there are plenty of better options.

This also makes re-signing restricted free agent Devin Setoguchi and unrestricted free agent Manny Malhotra extremely difficult. The Sharks hoped to retain the services of both players and could have logically done so before the Wallin signing.

Now things get very interesting because Wilson will likely need to trade another player if he wishes to make room.

The Simcoe, Ontario native’s career can’t be summed up in single words or numbers.

During the 1988 NHL Draft, Blake was selected in the fourth round (70th overall). He went on to play 1,270 career games with the Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche, and San Jose Sharks.

He quickly earned respect around the league for elite skill level and dedication to the sport. His career was stamped by his booming slap-shot, bone-rattling checks and strong leadership.

The future Hall of Famer finished his career with 777 NHL points, placing him 18th all-time among defensemen. His 240 goals are tenth all-time among defensemen, 136 of those coming on the power play which is good for third all-time.

His mantle is decorated with more than his Norris Trophy from 1998. He was picked for the All-Rookie team in 1991, named a First Team All-star in 1998, and Second Team All-Star from 2000-2002. Blake was also selected for seven additional all-star games spanning over a decade.

Blake is  also part of a select group of players to win the hat trick of championships. He won World Championships with Canada in 1994 and 1997, an Olympic Gold Medal with Canada in 2002, and the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001.

That Stanley Cup win was accompanied by 146 career playoff games; during which Blake contributed 73 points, tying him for 25th best all-time among defensemen.

Blake accomplished virtually everything he could during his 20-year career. He excelled at many different levels and aspects of the game but in the end he was the consummate professional hockey player.

Sharks

The Sharks owe a lot to Rob Blake and his contributions to this team go deeper than the numbers. It will be difficult to replace what he represented on this team, especially with all the side issues to address with free agents and the salary cap.

The mission is to somehow replace Blake’s 20 minutes per game, hand over the captain’s “C” and it’s responsibilities to another player and get his presence in the locker room as a leader.

Though Blake wasn’t the same player with the Sharks as he was in his prime, his level of contributions to the team in other areas meant more to the team than numbers.

Following a disappointing playoff exit last season, GM Doug Wilson assembled arguably the best Sharks roster to date. No group was better equipped for a long playoff run than this one.

Wilson put the pieces in place, head coach Todd McLellan had to create the strategy to help them succeed.

Regular Season

The difference between this team and past teams was evident from the opening face-off.

New captain Rob Blake was the veteran voice of reason. Through the ups and down’s of both the regular and post season, Blake’s presence provided the guidance to step up and meet the challenges head on.

Alongside Blake a new emergence of leadership came from some unsung players rather than the group of stars. Blake, Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe, and Douglas Murray were all mentioned at the end of the season for showing improved leadership.

The grit and tenacity of players like Scott Nichol and Jed Ortmeyer provided a toughness not seen for many years. Teams no longer came away from games against San Jose unscathed. Sharks fans even got the pleasure of seeing Marc-Edouard Vlasic fight.

Ortmeyer’s individual story is inspiring in itself. It earned him a nomination for the Bill Masterton Trophy given to a player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

Manny Malhotra played the ultimate wild-card. As a training camp invitee, the Sharks got more than a bargain out of all the elements Malhotra brought to the team.

Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Dany Heatley formed one of the most daunting lines in recent memory. They carried their play into the Olympics as a group.

Evgeni Nabokov carried the Sharks through multiple games and once again provided the x-factor for victories. Nabby became only the second goalie to record three straight 40-win seasons.

The impact of rookies like Jason Demers, Logan Couture, Thomas Greiss and Jamie McGinn couldn’t have gone better.

San Jose was represented in full-colors at the Olympics by eight members. Five of those players played in the championship game between the US and Canada with four coming away with gold medals.

They returned to the top of the podium in the Western Conference, locking up the number one seed. But none of that really meant anything at that point.

Playoffs

The real season began with a first-round match-up against the Colorado Avalanche. This round featured one knee-buckler after another.

After a crippling defeat in game 1′s final minute, the Sharks battled to tie game 2 in the waning seconds and eventually win in overtime. With clear momentum on their side in game 3, the Sharks were dismantled by Boyle putting a puck behind his own net-minder to give the Av’s an overtime victory and 2-1 series lead. This is the highlight that will most likely be most-ingrained in everyone’s memory:

Click here to view the embedded video.

That was the turning point of the entire playoffs, and the separator from past playoff failures.

However the most exemplary moment of the Sharks post-season is what unfolded in game 4. Boyle scored the first goal of the game early. In a situation that would have unraveled past Sharks teams, they pulled through with a victory lead by Boyle and Pavelski.

Throughout the series it was the presence of San Jose’s second line of Pavelski, Clowe and Devin Setoguchi that provided the extra lift to get the win.

In the second round the Sharks battled through the Detroit Red Wings in an impressive five games. There was no getting by the Wings without the best players leading the way. That’s exactly what they did. No goal was bigger than Marleau’s overtime winner in game 3:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The volume at the Shark Tank for game 5 was on a whole other level. Someone cranked it up to 11 for that game as the fans knew what could result from a win. The 2-1 victory officially crushed the label of playoff chokers while simultaneously threatening the disappearance reputation of the teams stars in the playoffs.

Unfortunately their luck run out after that.

Most experts predicted the Western Conference Finals coming down to the Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks and that’s exactly what it was. Though the games were close, hard-fought battles the Sharks were never able to solve Antti Niemi or have an answer for Dustin Byfuglien.

If there’s any minor consolation in losing this deep in the playoffs, for the first time in around five years the Sharks lost to a better team they weren’t legitimately suppose to beat.

This post-season fans saw the Sharks players elevate their games when if counted for the first time in who knows how long.

Off-season

Once again the Sharks will face some difficult off-season decisions. Wilson will decide whether he just wants to tinker with this team or dramatically change the culture of it.

Both Nabokov and Marleau are unrestricted free agents. So is Blake, Nichol and Malhotra. Add in the restricted free agent status’ of Pavelski and Setoguchi and there’s reason to believe next years team will look very different.

Recap

The outcome isn’t where they wanted to be, but the Sharks have every reason to be proud of this season. Everyone involved played a part in getting them this far. Next year the bar will be set higher.

Now fans wade through another tumultuous summer hoping for mediocrity from the other Bay Area sports franchises. All the while waiting for the encore to one of the San Jose Sharks’ best seasons in franchise history.

Are the San Jose Sharks ready to play do-or-die hockey for the first time this postseason? Though the coaching staff and players have never acknowledged must-win games to this point, there’s no doubt that Game 4 in Chicago is just that being down 3-0 in the series.

Game 3 was a great effort. Virtually everything went right outside of the outcome.

The line shuffling worked well at generating more scoring chances, but didn’t phase Antti Niemi at all. The only goals however were scored when the Olympic line was reunited. Scoring chances have been there, now it’s just a matter of putting some in the net.

Evgeni Nabokov had easily his best game of the series. He stopped opportunities that would have been sure goals and kept his team in it. He can’t really be blamed for any of the three goals he allowed.

However, all of that is not enough anymore and to be honest, it doesn’t hold much water on the Sharks game 4.

The Sharks need to forget that 3-0 series lead. Only game 7′s remain now.

This is the team’s first game facing elimination. They’ve responded well to adversity throughout this postseason but now they face their biggest challenge yet.

Someone needs to beat Niemi. If anything just to prove that he’s beatable to players not named Patrick Marleau. Save after save without blemish or soft play, Niemi needs to be solved if the Sharks want to stay alive.

Chicago will get their chances. There’s too much offensive fire power on that team. Limiting those chances as much as possible will be crucial to the Sharks forcing a trip back to HP Pavilion for game 5. Nabokov needs to be as close to flawless as possible.

Leaders lead by example. Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, Rob Blake. When these four go, so does the rest of the team. They’ve played well thus far, but in game 4 they need to be outstanding; difference-makers/game-changers.

The Sharks may need to deploy a bend-not-break mentality here on the road. Simple strategies like keeping the game close, making the most of your opportunities and try to get established and ahead on the scoreboard early.

There’s no margin for error. There’s no we’ll come back to fight another day. It’s now or never, backs against the wall, all-out playoff hockey from here on out.

Some, many of whom are Sharks fans, believe he is an elite goaltender in the NHL. Others believe he is an average goalie; a product of the system who benefits from being surrounded by talented teams.

So far in the postseason, Nabokov hasn’t really been asked to steal any games for the Sharks. Now they face an 0-2 whole in the Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks. He needs to steal a game.

Nabokov has let in very stoppable goals in the first two games, while on the other end, Antti Niemi is coming off back-to-back marvelous starts. It’s reminiscent of how Jonas Hiller outplayed Nabokov in the first round last year.

Sometimes people tend to read too much into the statistics. People see the stat sheet from game 1 and see that Nabokov made 38 saves on 40 shots. Then they assume he had a great game and kept the Sharks in it.

The truth is that Nabokov should have never let in that first goal that relinquished a 1-0 lead. Yes he faced 40 shots but most were of the routine variety. Facing a lot of shots doesn’t mean the goalies keeping his team in the game, it also depends on the quality of shots coming through.

Add in the fact that Nabokov didn’t have to face one power-play in game 1 and that just adds to the fact that he didn’t face an abnormal amount of pressure considering he faced 40 shots.

He didn’t fair any better in game 2.

Nabokov is a confident, cocky goal-tender. When his pride gets damaged and he’s not on his game it has a domino effect, especially if the team can’t bail him out and pick up a win in the process.

Not to look too much into it, but Nabokov’s best game of the season probably came on December 22, in Chicago. In the 3-2 win, he finished with 45 saves, and didn’t allow a power-play goal on 7 chances. That was a game he stole and basically won single-handedly.

He needs to repeat that game again in game 3 or this will be a short series.

Solving the Blackhawks Defense

On the other end of the ice, Niemi has had his A-game from opening face-off of the series.

The Blackhawks present a new challenge for the Sharks offense.

In the first round, they faced a hot goalie who was also on top of his game in Craig Anderson. The Sharks persevered and managed to scrounge out wins with the few pucks they got past him.

In the second round, they faced a daunting defense group in the Detroit Red Wings. A group of six that does everything well and are as good in their own end as they are in the opponents.

This round the Sharks are facing both. Niemi will continue to be very difficult to solve and obviously will not be giving up any gifts. He has gotten help on top of that.

Their defense is as good, if not better than the Red Wing’s defense, or any other in the league for that fact.  Add in an efficient shut-down line that is getting under the skin of the Sharks stars and there’s an obvious obstacle for putting the puck in the net.

The Sharks are doing the Hawks a few favors too. As all the players and coaches mentioned in the post-game for game 2, their execution has to be better. They also can’t afford to keep turning the puck over, more so because of the way Nabokov is playing than anything.

It’s not time for a dramatic overhaul on offense but mixing up the lines right now might not be the worst idea. The Hawks are countering the Sharks attack by putting scoring line on scoring line to keep the puck away from the Sharks stars.

Whichever line is having the best night gets the luxury of trying to go on the attack against Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook once they do get the puck. Dave Bolland’s line is thrown into the mix too. That’s layer upon layer of defense strategy to counter the Sharks top-heavy lineup.

When the Sharks struggled to score goals in the regular season, they went to a lineup that broke up the Olympic line onto three separate lines. If they have trouble scoring again in game 3, look for Todd McLellan to perhaps juggle the players again.

The San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks will finally meet for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

After sitting and watching the Eastern Conference unfold as the polar opposite of their conference, these two teams must be aching for some game-action.

Things to look for in Game 1:

Which team flicks off the rust quicker:

Both teams have had a fairly long break between their last game. When game 1 finally gets underway the Sharks will have had a full week off, and the Blackhawks a good four days.

The Sharks are a traditionally slow-starting team, though have been less-so in the playoffs. Ideally for Chicago, scoring first would be a great boost being on the road. It may take a while for the first goal to come, but once it does things will pick up quickly.

Goaltenders Battle:

These two teams are virtually as equal as it was going to get in the Western Conference Finals. Goal-tending can carry a team and steal a series. Each goaltender will have a solid group of defense-man in front of them, but neither has faced a consistent offensive threat like they will in this series.

The Blackhawks defense, specifically Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook did a number on the Sedins and the rest of the Canucks attack. The Sharks collective group did a similar job of stymying the Red Wings attack.

Each of these teams has too many weapons to be able to focus attention on just one line. Both have 1A and 1B scoring lines at least.

Game 1 could indicate which of goalie is more on top of their game. For the Sharks to win this series Evgeni Nabokov has to be the deciding factor as he was in the single win the Sharks had over the Blackhawks in the regular season. Chicago may be able to get away with just some timely saves from Antti Niemi and still win the series. Regardless both goalies have to be consistent more than anything. They can’t have lapses in even a single game as they have in prior series.

Where will the scoring come from?

Will a new player get hot for these teams, or will the same players carry their teams through game 1. With such a long lay-off there’s a strong possibility that someone struggling finds their game. Maybe a player like Patrick Marleau gains some added confidence from that last game against Detroit. Perhaps Troy Brouwer builds off his emotional goal in the last game against Vancouver.

Two players that might be influential in Game 1 were once traded for each other. Marian Hossa and Dany Heatley haven’t had horrible playoffs but probably are expected to be doing more for their clubs. This would be the perfect game to find a hot streak that leaks into the rest of the series.

Many of these factors will be repeated questions for the series as a whole. There’s a reason these teams finished just one point apart in the regular season.

This is a match-up that was pegged from the beginning of the season. Finally, we’ll all be treated to this clash of the titans.

After years of watching the team look like fish out of water, Sharks’ fans are pinching themselves trying to let the thought of this team advancing past two rounds register.

This arguably was the biggest series in franchise history. Over the last three to four seasons the Sharks have boasted Stanley Cup favorite teams. They were anointed playoff chokers after being unable to advance beyond the second round after 2004′s Western Conference Finals.

In the two rounds, they’ve faced virtually every tribulation that did them in over that time. They’ve learned from their mistakes, and put the pieces together to make this years team the most memorable one the franchise has ever seen.

The Sharks are attracting as much attention from the hockey world as my playoff beard is from my college of over 30,000 students comparatively (added incentives to me since the Sharks are now almost guaranteed to be playing when graduation rolls around).

While the reality of the Sharks being in the conference finals settles in, lets look ahead to the two potential opponents.

Chicago Blackhawks

What the Blackhawks bring is a very similar to what the Detroit Red Wings brought from an on-paper standpoint:

A team that has scoring depth to spare. Their second scoring line would be most teams first option. Jonathan Toews is every bit as good a two-way forward as Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Dustin Byfuglien’s becoming the net-front presence that’s made Tomas Holmstrom notorious.

Facing that factor before-hand will help San Jose. However, the Sharks had issues with the Colorado Avalanche’s speed in the first series. The Blackhawks bring that same element, but they can’t be grinded down as easily as the smaller Avalanche team was. Evgeni Nabokov will have to be more than a no-mistakes kind of goaltender if this is their match-up. He will have to steal a game or two, possibly the series.

A defense-corps without blemishes that can contribute equally as well in the offensive zone as in their own. Duncan Keith is a franchise defense-man that brings the same multiple dimensions that Nicklas Lidstrom does; only Keith is 26, not 40.

Keith and Brent Seabrook are one of the league’s best defense pairings and are often played against an opponents best line. This particular match-up would be interesting to see because it’s unclear which of the Joe’s they’d be matched up against based on the way the playoffs have gone.

A rookie goalie holds fort between the pipes. The Sharks were helped on occasion by Jimmy Howard with some soft goals. That can’t be blamed on a lack of experience. Nabokov is advancing to the finals after allowing some suspect goals in games. Antti Niemi hasn’t clearly shown that he can carry the Blackhawks through a series to this point.

This is the match-up where the series would be decided. Neither starting goalie has had to really carry their team through a series thus far. They each have enough talent in front of them. It’s merely a matter of whomever let’s in less of those goals they shouldn’t.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks have a neatly fitted team that can beat you in many different ways.

Their forwards play their roles to a tee. It doesn’t matter if they play 20 minutes or 8, forwards 1-12 know what they’re asked to do while still being able to contribute offensively. Once again the match-ups would be interesting to see in this series. Would shutdown forwards like Ryan Kesler be utilized against Joe Thornton’s line or Joe Pavelski’s? Or would the Canucks elect to put their dominant puck-controlling Sedin line out to keep the puck away from those players in the opposite zone?

Vancouver’s defense doesn’t get the accolades of Detroit’s or Chicago’s but they’re as solid a group as any in the NHL. Sharks’ fans should be well-aware of what Christian Ehrhoff can bring. Both the good and the bad. The depth at defense means the Shark’s might not get the contributions from second tier players that they’ve been getting thus far.

Players like Kesler, Alex Burrows, Kevin Bieksa and Shane O’Brien will test just how much pestering the Sharks players can take. They’ve shown they can get under the skin of the opponent. Though the Sharks may not crumble to that strategy the way they used to, they don’t exactly keep their heads calm, cool, and collected either. If anyone needs a reminder look back to the regular season meeting on April 8.

Roberto Luongo can control the outcome of any given game. His consistency hasn’t been there this postseason but that’s not to say he wouldn’t find it given the circumstances of a conference finals series. The Sharks have faced a goalie on top of his game in their first-round series against Craig Anderson. No bashing on the Av’s, but Anderson didn’t have the help in front of him that Luongo would.

Waiting Game

Once again the Sharks will play the waiting game. Whether it benefits them or not will be determined in game 1 at the Tank, regardless of the opponent.

Sharks fans are genuinely excited. To this point it’s been a lot of “this is nice, but we’ll wait and see how they do when it counts.” Now they walk the streets like giddy children squealing over the next round of book to movie revelations.

They’ve cleared every hurdle thrown at them to this point. They are not like the teams of old. This San Jose Sharks squad is like none before. Here’s to more pinching in the near future.

There’s already been an array of mollusks thrown onto the ice. After the Wings’ 7-1 trouncing in game 4, that’s probably doubled or tripled. The catalyst of such events was “the Mule.”

Johan Franzen put in 4 goals, and could have easily had more. His presence in the first five minutes of the game really decided the outcome right there.

Before any of this happened, there was a gam of Sharks. Some played on the ice, and others eventually made their way there with some guidance from friendly Finnatic’s at HP Pavilion.

Through it all there has been one constant: the Zebras. The men in black and white have garnered all sorts of attention for calls in this series. Many of which of been of the poor variety, and the majority of those have gone against the Wings.

In an effort to balance out the series, will the calls start going the other way?

Many aspects of this series have been lopsided thus far. The series stands at 3-1, but only after a 7-1 blowout for the team that’s down. Game 4 got chippy because of that little detail.

Neither of these teams is infamous for thuggery. It’s hard to imagine another game where one team falls apart and gets so frustrated that they transform into blockheads.

Joe Thornton might have had a slight lapse in that department. The intensity is great to see from Jumbo, but a shove to Tomas Holmstrom and trying to yank Nicklas Lidstrom into a penalty is an odd choice of shenanigans to engage in.

One team’s a mere win from advancing. The other is in it’s ultimate desperation mode.

It’s unfamiliar territory for both teams.

We as hockey fans haven’t been privileged to seeing a talented and experienced Red Wings team attempt to crawl out of a big hole. Over the last few seasons they’re frequently the team in control of a series.

No one’s really become accustomed to the Sharks having playoff success in a 2nd round series period; especially against a team that pretty much represents what they’ve been unable to become.

This sets up an interesting scenario for game 5. The outcome presents two very different scenarios for the Sharks in particular. Either they eliminate the Red Wings and get a mile closer to extinguishing the “playoff choker” label. If they lose that label gains some traction again and people will begin to start the old dooming chants.

Based on a recent Sports Illustrated survey of 272 NHL players, HP Pavilion was voted the toughest road arena to play in.

Game 5 is sure to have a packed house Saturday. We’ll all have to wait and see what animals show up for that game.

Pavelski contributed his third straight multi-goal game to give him an NHL-leading 9 in the playoffs thus far. He’s the first player to do so since Mario Lemieux back in 1992. It’s easier to do that when he puts 11 shots on goal.

He also added an assist on a Ryane Clowe goal that the power forward shot between his legs.

However, even the stars came out to play tonight for the Sharks.

They reunited the Olympic line, who finally put in a meaningful goal. Joe Thornton scored the game-winner on virtually a three-on-one because Nicklas Lidstrom’s stick snapped at the point. Dany Heatley had 3 assists, and Patrick Marleau made a noticeable impact on the game after missing game 1.

The pressure is starting to peel off this trio now.

The Pavelski line with Clowe and Devin Setoguchi is no longer just a fluky couple of performances but a line that is playing on fire. They’re in the zone, both figuratively and literally most of game.

Even Evgeni Nabokov has caught a bit of a breather. With the team putting on so many shots, he has been put in the situation of making timely saves rather than winning games single-handedly. The time will come though, most likely in one or both of the games in Detroit, that Nabokov will face a barrage and have to stand on his head.

Side note: As if no one expected this to happen. After a Joe Pavelski goal, a shark was thrown onto the ice at HP Pavilion. Rumor is that later in the game another was thrown onto the ice with a baby octopus in it’s mouth. Clever.

I’m waiting for for this to get to the point where animal activists start complaining about the extinction of species due to playoff hockey games.

A surprise invitee to the playoffs based on season-predictions, the Avalanche provided multiple tests that old Sharks teams most likely would have crumbled to.

The Sharks faced a young, fast, hard-working team that would test their determination every shift. The Av’s didn’t make things easy in the stereotypical 1 vs. 8 match-up sense, and they tested the Sharks’ past weaknesses consistently.

Once again, the Sharks ran into a goalie who for the most part was at the top of his game during the series. At times Craig Anderson looked as though nothing was getting past him.

At certain points they couldn’t get one bounce to go their way.

The top players who routinely choke when the playoffs come around did so again.

They fell behind in the series 2-1 on a detrimental goal during a game they dominated.

These aren’t new obstacles. The Sharks have been through them before but have been unable to face the adversity and find ways to compensate for their own shortcomings.

This year’s Sharks model is different.

The secondary scoring turned into the Sharks new #1 line, while the original #1 line of superstars was broken up. Joe Pavelski became Captain Clutch capping the series off with two goals and an assist in game 6. He finished the series with 5 goals, and 3 assists.

Ryane Clowe scored a goal and added 7 assists in a series where he emerged as an unlikely leader both on the ice and emotionally.

Devin Setoguchi had 3 goals and 3 assists, shrugging off his off-year. Setoguchi seems to have learned the vital lesson that goals don’t come naturally even if you’re gifted. You have to put the work in to stay efficient and score goals, and over the last few months few players on the Sharks have worked harder than Setoguchi.

This line epitimizes everything the Sharks didn’t have the past few seasons: secondary scoring, grit and determination, solid two-way play, coming up big in crucial moments and thriving when faced with a challenge by meeting it head on, not shying away.

Evgeni Nabokov progressively got better as the series went on. He saved his best play for the overtimes when his team needed the big saves. After struggling through a horrid game 2, Nabokov settled and looked as good as he has at any point this season.

Dan Boyle fought through his game 3 debacle to score two huge goals while adding 4 assists. The defense-corps as a whole really buckled down as the series went on and even managed to provide some occasional offense. This was suppose to be the teams weakness coming in, and it didn’t show.

The off-season additions that GM Doug Wilson bought in to add grit did exactly that. Scott Nichol and Manny Malhotra in particular threw their weight around, played great defensively, won a ton of face-offs and even chipped in goals.

Young guns thrown into the lineup contributed and provided that extra energy to give the team their second wind. Logan Couture is a star in the making. Jamie McGinn, Dwight Helminen, and Jason Demers all added unique elements to the team that helped over the course of the series.

Coach Todd McLellan won his first playoff series. Learning from last season, he didn’t wait to pull the trigger on changing lines and consistently rolled the lines so that no one group got overused. This probably has as much to do with the play of the top line as it does anything else.

Joe Thornton continued to repeat instinctive moves that other teams are now expecting. Patrick Marleau rarely showcased his speed, and really displayed an inability to put the puck in the net on scoring chances. Dany Heatley played hurt and will probably benefit the most from the possible extra days off.

Outside of that, the Sharks got a great scenario in this series. They faced their obstacles and came out on top.

The next series will come with it’s own unique set of challenges and to move on the Sharks will have to conquer those as well. It’s still a long way from removing the “choker” label and from exorcising playoff demons. This was pretty much the perfect way to start though.

The winning goal in game 1 went off of Rob Blake’s skate with less than a minute to play. The first goal of game 2 went off of Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s face and into the net. If there weren’t enough fluky bounces going against the Sharks as it is, tonight’s game was the cherry on top.

Less than a minute into overtime, Boyle tried to pass the puck back to Douglas Murray behind the net, with no one around. The puck found an opening on Evgeni Nabokov and went into the net for the game winning goal. Ryan O’Reilly was credited with the goal.

After a fairly even first period, the Sharks took over the game. They outshot the Avalanche 42-7 in the second and third periods and finished the game with a 51-17 margin. Craig Anderson stopped every single one of them.

Coach Todd McLellan tried juggling his lines to find some way to solve Anderson but it didn’t work. The pressure was sustained in the Avalanche zone, but every scoring chance was denied.

To their credit, after giving up over 5 goals each in game 2 of the series both goaltenders came up big in this game. Anderson was the star for holding fort but Nabokov made a couple goal-saving stops as well on the few shots he faced.

This game unleashed a lot more physicality than the previous two. Neither team shyed away from the checks, or the confrontations after the whistle. It seemed like Scott Nichol and Darcy Tucker were involved in every other tussle after play stopped.

Throughout the season, the Sharks talked about how facing adversity was good for them. Adversity is staring them in the face once again. They can’t get a bounce to go there way, but they aren’t helping their own cause. Shooting yourself in the foot isn’t exactly a quick healer.

Games like these give all the momentum to the other team. The Av’s didn’t play their best game overall, but managed to eek out a win and you can bet they won’t come out the next game and rely on Anderson to win it for them.

Winning game 4 will not only win home-ice back –though that appears to be irrelevant in the playoffs thus far– but it will help them forget this game quicker. The Sharks will say game 4 isn’t a must-win game because they “never panic;” that’s half their problem.

There’s no way to predict how either team will come out in game 4 after an ending like that one. Hopefully the Sharks will come out in a way that fans haven’t seen yet and pull off a win of their own.

Injuries

The Sharks played without Dany Heatley and they could’ve used his knack for finding the back of the net. Milan Hejduk and Ryan Stoa both left the game for the Avalanche due to injuries. Hejduk appeared to suffer an upper body injury after colliding with teammate Paul Stastny entering the zone.

These three don’t get killed in their own end. For all the offensive punch that the superstar line provides, they make up for it with terrible shifts defensively. Lots of high turnovers, and odd-man rushes are the result of poor decisions from trying to be too fancy. Just because you have the skill to make those plays doesn’t mean you try for them every time.

The second line also sticks to the system in a way that keeps the game simple for them collectively, even though individually they are three very different players.

Pavelski is the two-way forward who usually knows where to be and what to do when on the ice. Clowe is the power-forward who is great at controlling the puck and playing along the boards. Setoguchi is the scorer, though he’s struggled this season, he’s showed flashes of what he brings to the team with both his speed and tenacity.

They are relentless on the fore-check and back-check. They’re excellent along the boards, simply cycling the puck until a scoring opportunity arises. They don’t have set “roles” on the ice, reserving one player to be the passer or scorer or grinder. Each partakes in whatever role necessary at the time to sustain pressure in the offensive zone. It sounds simple, but it’s something the first line has gotten away from.

Though they have some parallels to that second line, they often find themselves bearing the burden of carrying the scoring for this team. Something that they’re not dealing with well over the past month or so.

Thornton is very similar to Clowe; a much better passer with more offensive abilities and yet Clowe has been arguably the Sharks best player since the break. Marleau is faster than Setoguchi and usually better in his own end but isn’t showing the same determination and compete-level that Setoguchi does. Heatley and Pavelski both have fantastic shots, but for some reason, Heatley’s been reluctant to use his during this goal-scoring slump.

Sticking with that style of play, the second line also knows how to enter a zone with speed. Pavelski and Clowe are average skaters at best, with Setoguchi providing the speed element. Yet dumping and chasing works for them; they don’t slow down as they enter the zone. The game-winning goal by Setoguchi in overtime was a perfect example of that even though it came on the powerplay.

The first line tends to come into the zone very slowly, looking for that perfect pass across the ice. They also tend to pull up as they get into the zone instead of attacking the net. It’s not the greatest strategy against a team with the speed and tenacious back-check that the Avalanche possess. Those entries result in turnovers and quick transitions in the other direction.

The moves GM Doug Wilson made in the off-season are already paying off. Last season the Sharks didn’t get a point from either the third or the fourth lines in 6 games. Through two games already, Manny Malhotra and Scott Nichol have scored goals and Jed Ortmeyer added an assist.

The Sharks top line doesn’t have to be as good as in the past because of these additions. However, if this team is going to go deep in the post-season, let alone beat the Avalanche, they need to do more. Simplify the game and use those skill-sets to make the smart plays, not the 1 out of 100 chance of success plays.

The final period was a completely different game altogether. A total of 76 penalty minutes were dolled out in the third period alone. At one point, the Sharks had six players in the penalty box. That almost matched the eight that were on the bench at the time.

The Sharks jumped out to a 4-0 lead going into the third and that’s when the game started to get chippy. While killing a penalty, Scott Nichol slashed and cross-checked Mikael Samuelsson to the ice, resulting in a 5-on-3.

Jamie McGinn’s penalty expired after a whistle and he skated to the bench only to collide with Henrik Sedin. Some pushing and shoving came out that situation. Then came the real fun.

In a span of about 40 seconds, 56 of those penalty minutes were received. Rob Blake got into a punching match in front of the Shark net with Samuelsson. They each got 4 minutes.

About 20 seconds later Joe Thornton was decked by Alex Burrows, then as they got into an altercation Daniel Sedin got involved. Thornton knocked Sedin’s helmet off trying to bait him into a fight that everyone knew wouldn’t happen.

Not 20 seconds after that Niclas Wallin took down Ryan Kesler in the corner and the two of them wrestled with each other for a few minutes. Ryane Clowe managed to get a misconduct in the scrum around the two players when he mixed it up with Aaron Rome. The two fought earlier in the game as well.

The Sharks got goals from Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Thornton, and Manny Malhotra.

Vancouver made it interesting by pulling to within two in that third period, but the Sharks managed to hang on for the 4-2 victory.

The third line in particular was easily the Sharks best of the game. Couture and Malhotra contributed goals, and Torrey Mitchell assisted on each of them for his first career multi-point game.

It’s good to see the Sharks close the season with some emotion as opposed to the lull they did last year. Hopefully that edge will carry over to the postseason because many of the players are at their best when highly agitated.

Season Finale

The Sharks will cap off their regular season on Saturday when they face the Phoenix Coyotes. Unfortunately the fate of the Sharks’ seeding is out of their hands. If Chicago wins out there games they will be the #1 seed and the Sharks will settle for #2. Not finishing first could potentially mean the difference between getting everyone’s favorite first-round match-up with the Detroit Red Wings or not.