San Jose Sharks: Ranking the Current Playoff Matchups the Sharks Could Encounter

The San Jose Sharks helped their playoff cause on Tuesday with their win over the Dallas Stars on the road, but barring any terrible turn of events, it is now time to look forward to who San Jose would want to see in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.


As of right now, the Sharks will either own the third, seventh or eighth seeds in the Western Conference playoffs, which would match them up against either the first, second or sixth seeds, all of which pose scary situations for San Jose.

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San Jose Sharks Control Their Own Destiny in Final Eight Games of the Season

So we know the San Jose Sharks have at least a little fire left in them.  A gritty and determined win against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference will do that to a team, though, as the Sharks beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday night at the HP Pavilion.


But as we look to the rest of the games this season, there is a clear idea that the Sharks must win, and win when it matters.

There are eight games left in the NHL season, and every game seems to be that much more important to the Sharks, who are in dire need of a break down the stretch to ease their way in the Western Conference playoffs.

The teams that stand in their way are the Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings.

Put them in any order you want to, but including the Sharks, the six teams are separated by three points and are battling for three spots with eight games remaining.

One beat guy's guess: Scoping out the schedule ahead as #sjsharks likely need to go 6-3-0 to reach the post-season. See mercurynews.com/sports/ci_2023…

— David Pollak (@PollakOnSharks) March 22, 2012

For better or worse, the Sharks control their own destiny the rest of the season.

With seven of the eight remaining games against the Pacific division, and one against the playoff contending Avalanche, the Sharks hold their playoff hopes on their shoulders in a desperate attempt to make this season somewhat of a success.

However, desperation is exactly what the rest of this season will entail.  We finally saw a sense of that against the Bruins on Thursday night.  The urgency, the grit and determination were all there, and it was like the season finally clicked for this team that needed to be in desperation mode about three weeks ago.

The defense and hustle was great, the goaltending was what we expect from Antti Niemi in big games and the offense was getting shots to the net against a superb Boston defense.  It felt like the beginning of the season again, or last season at this time.  Whatever it felt like is how we should feel about this team because they are built to succeed this time of year.  It simply has not clicked this season.

One of the reasons for the sudden burst in productivity on the ice is Martin Havlat, who returned from injury and has provided speed and offense to a team in desperate need of a pick-me-up.  It is because of him that the Sharks are still in a good position to make the playoffs.

How?  I do not know.

This team has played so terrible over the last few weeks that they should not even have a chance to salvage their season, yet we see them in a late-season playoff push for the first time in what seems like forever.

The win against Boston came in a big game with playoff-type pressure.  If the Sharks can apply that type productivity against the Pacific division foes in these final eight games, then we should be seeing them slide their way into the playoffs.  But if this was simply the usual flash in the pan that we have become so accustomed to over the past couple months, then terrible things are bound to happen to this franchise at the conclusion of this season.

For now, they control their own destiny in these final two weeks.

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San Jose Sharks: Where Is Rock Bottom?

Rock bottom is such a harsh word to use for a team with so much talent and the playoff normality that this franchise and fan base have come to expect, but the word describes exactly how it feels these days to be around the San Jose Sharks.


Watching the Sharks' Joe Pavelski score a goal with just under two minutes to play in a crucial Pacific Division battle with the Dallas Stars Thursday night was as hyped as this team has been in just over a month.  However, when it rains it sure does pour on this team that is clearly in a mental and physical rut.

Moments later, the Stars responded with a game-tying goal, as has been per usual as of late for Dallas, and coincidentally per usual for the Sharks, as well.

Again, the Sharks had an opportunity to strike on a power play late in overtime, yet could muster nothing despite several great opportunities in front of the Dallas net.

Low and behold, the game went to a shootout, and it was then that we all knew what was coming next.

What were the odds a team with a lackluster mental game was going to pull out a win in a shootout on the road against one of the hottest teams in the NHL?

It did not matter at that point.  We all knew the loss was coming sooner or later for this team on Thursday night.

The Stars added to their Pacific Division lead, which is now a four games, and the Sharks continue to cling to the seventh or eighth spots in the Western Conference.

Sharks getting some help tonight from MN Wild beating Phx & Columbus beats LA Kings! Going to be a great finish in the West!

— Bret Hedican (@BretHedican) March 9, 2012

It is simply the way things are going for this San Jose team.  When things seem to go right, they tend to go wrong quickly.  It has become the norm these days.

But the Sharks did not play bad on Thursday, and that is the point of this whole ordeal.  They outshot a screaming hot team 48-35 on their opponent's home ice in the middle of a road-trip that has no choice but to come out a success.

Finally, we saw some significance from the Sharks, finally we saw some urgency and finally we saw some hard-nosed hockey.  It was the best game the Sharks have played since their Feb. 28 game against the Philadelphia Flyers, and i cannot remember when the best game before that occurred, and for good reason.  The important part is that the game against the Stars on Thursday night -- the best game they have played in recent memory -- still ended in a loss and a drop in the point standings in the Pacific Division.

Has panic set in for this team yet?

Better yet, where do we consider rock bottom to be?

No, the Sharks are not at rock bottom.  However, when a team has a handle on the division at the mid-season point, then proceeds to drop several games in a row while the rest of their division starts playing aggressive and competitive hockey, it might be just about time.

San Jose is a playoff hockey team, and despite these losses that seem to be inevitable to some extent, we can expect the Sharks to be playing in the Western Conference playoffs at one of the eight seeds, no matter how unlikely that seems to be these days.

But rock bottom is not far off, which shows you just how far this team has collapsed since they embarked on that miserable nine-game road-trip in mid-February.

Changing the momentum of this season starts with defeating their own division, and there are a lot of chances for that coming down the stretch of this season.

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NHL: Predicting Where the San Jose Sharks Will Finish in the Western Conference Playoff Picture

For so many years, the question of where the San Jose Sharks were going to finish in the Western Conference was never up for discussion. San Jose is consistently one of the best teams in the NHL, and despite the ups-and-downs the 2011-12 season has carried, this season is no different.

It was the Sharks' penalty kill that first worried all involved about how this team would officially fair this season after making bold trades for Brent Burns and Martin Havlat, while sending Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi to Minnesota.

Minnesota has since made a move for the top spot in the Western Conference before falling back to earth and now currently holding onto the No. 8 position.

The Sharks have yet to get in that groove we have come to expect for several years now. The absence of a good penalty kill has since evolved into a weakness on the power play, an aspect of the Sharks' game that has seen consistent success over the years.

However, this year is different, in some way or another. GM Doug Wilson traded offense for speed and defense in an attempt to prepare this team for a Stanley Cup run. No word on if that will pan out yet, but we can still expect a great finish from an elite team in the Western Conference.

8. Minnesota Wild

The Wild currently sit in the 8th spot in the Western Conference, backed by a solid defensive effort, ranking 8th in goals against per game.

However, this team has yet to impress on offense, despite their notable trades this offseason for Heatley and Setoguchi. The team ranks 29th in the NHL in goals per game with 2.2.

But this team has what it takes to make the crowded Western Conference playoffs. The Colorado Avalanche, who currently sit in the 9th spot just two points behind the Wild, should have a less than mediocre second half of the season.

If Minnesota can hold off a surprising Dallas Stars team, this team should meet the No. 1 seed in the first round.

7. Los Angeles Kings

As much as a Pacific division triumph is still securely in their grasp, the San Jose Sharks have yet to both play to their potential and get injured players back in their line-up.

Currently, the Kings are two points behind the division-leading Sharks and they should stay at just about that distant throughout the rest of the 2011-12 season before the Sharks go on their surge to the finish line that we have become so accustomed to.

Los Angeles has so much more promise and potential than a 7th seed in the Western Conference, but we have yet to see that supposed talent shine through on a consistent basis.

6. Nashville Predators

The Predators are riding high into the NHL All-Star break, going 9-1-0 in their last 10 games, including winning their last four games.

They have been an overall good team, grabbing success in nearly every category this season on both offense and defense. But this team was built primarily on their defense and it was nice to see an elite power play gain some notoriety throughout the NHL.

We should see this Nashville hype take a step back in the second half of the season, but this team will be dangerous yet again come playoff time.

5. St. Louis Blues

We all knew this team had it in them, we just did not expect them to be firmly contending for a division title against the Detroit Red Wings just yet. They sit just two points behind Detroit going into the second half of the season.

Make no mistake, St. Louis has the best defense in the NHL in terms of goals against, as let up an average of two goals per game. Goalie Brian Elliot may have something to do with that. What does need help is their offense, which hardly complements their strong defense and will need to step up if they want to surge any higher than a fifth seed.

If this team wants to steal the division away from the Red Wings, they will need more of a push from their front lines on offense. Until then, this team will be sitting in the fourth or fifth positions come playoff time.

4. Chicago Blackhawks

The Central Division in the Western Conference has turned out to be a four-horse race heading into the second half of the season, with the Blues, Red Wings, Blackhawks and Predators all three points apart.

The Blackhawks certainly have the offense to make a run at the favored Red Wings, but it is the uncertainty in net and in certain aspects of their defense that has this team's ceiling only reaching so high.

However, a hot goalie at the right time can make a move in the Western Conference playoffs, as we witness with Antti Niemi a few years ago. We could see much of the same with Corey Crawford or Ray Emery to complement that relentless Chicago offense.

3. San Jose Sharks

As mentioned before, the Sharks' up-and-down year still has them sitting in the top spot in the Pacific Division, which currently earns them the third seed in the Western Conference.

Although this team has a ton of things going for them in the second half of the season, including players returning from injury and their usual second half surge through the Western Conference standings, it may not be a match for a more or less surprising Red Wings team and the impressive Vancouver Canucks.

The Sharks should have no problem holding off the Kings in the Pacific Division, but anything else may be asking too much for a team with so many current holes in the game.

2. Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings currently own the top spot on the Western Conference coming out of the All-Star break. Their consistency in nearly every aspect of their game makes them a dangerous team for the rest of this season.

It is hard to argue with ranking fifth in goals scored per game and sixth in goals against per game. They are a tough opponent every single night.

The only question is can they keep it going?

For the most part, they should, although we can expect the Canucks to snatch the No. 1 seed from them in the last month of the season or so.

Detroit will be a dangerous team in the playoffs if they continue to play to this level for the remainder of the season.

1. Vancouver Canucks

Something about this team's offense and relentless defense will not let many think about putting this team anywhere but the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference come the end of the season.

They have encountered some rough defeats within the last 10 games, but rising to the occasion against the Sharks and Bruins shows this team is poised for an elite postseason run.

The regular season is one thing, but running into the No. 1 power play and top-3 goal scoring team in a seven-game series is a tall task for any team in the Western Conference this season. Whatever happens in the remaining regular season, the Canucks can be sure to have a spot in the Western Conference Finals.

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