San Jose Sharks' Hot Streak Continues Into New Year: What We Should Expect

If you don't consider the San Jose Sharks to be a Stanley Cup contender, then you obviously haven't been watching a lot of hockey.

San Jose is looking to avenge last year's first round exit with strong play from everyone on the team.

Offensively, the team is solid, and has been playing some of the best hockey in the NHL. They have the second best offense, scoring 3.26 goals per game. They have a ton of talent on all of their scoring lines.

With players like Heatley, Thornton, Marleau, and Clowe, how can you not have a strong offense?

Defensively, the team hasn't been as good, although they've still been pretty solid. They are only seventh in the NHL, allowing 2.4 goals per game.

Nabokov has been a solid goalie this season as well. He's 5th in save percentage (.926) and 10th in GAA (2.26).

Right now, the Sharks are on an eight-game winning streak, and have not lost a game since December 12th against the Phoenix Coyotes. They have risen to the top of the Western Conference with 61 points, and have pretty much rolled over any team that got in their way.

Before that eight-game winning streak however, was a five-game losing streak. Although that's never what a team is looking for, I think it's going to serve as a reminder to the team that they still have to work hard every single night, against every opponent.

Take their last game against Edmonton, for example. Edmonton was obviously playing for respect. When the Sharks came out to an early 3-1 lead, we saw the Oilers try to gain that respect another way.

That's when we saw the fight between Clowe and Strudwick.

However, what I liked about that game was the fact that the Sharks came ready to play. They jumped out to a 3-1 lead and then shifted to a defensive style of play.

I know they were only up against the Oilers, but I liked that they came ready to play, even against the worst team in the Western Conference. There are a lot of other teams that would have been complacent and lost the game.

However, we're going to see a completely different style of play in the playoffs this year, just because of what happened last year.

Last year the Sharks learned that they can't count themselves as winners against any opponent. If they get the same opportunity this year, they're not going to sit back on their heels. You can expect them to play even more aggressively than they do in the regular season.

See more of my NHL opinions at Tips for Hockey