San Jose Sharks: Flame-Retardant Duck Hunters

Call the San Jose Sharks Flame-Retardant Duck hunters. And call me one happy camper.

The Sharks won the Pacific Division for the third year in a row. In the journey that brought them here, they had arguably more to say about the failure of the rival Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames to make the playoffs than anyone.

San Jose won both season series, albeit only by goal differential (thanks to a 9-1 shellacking in January) against the Flames. But the Sharks' victory in Calgary Tuesday was the first step in the Flames' elimination that night; coupled with Colorado’s victory an hour later, their hopes were extinguished.

The Sharks absolutely dominated the Ducks this season, winning the first five matchups before falling in the series finale. In the other 73 games they played this season, the Ducks had 84 points—a point percentage of .575. Had Anaheim gotten even the same percentage against the Sharks, they would be just one game back of Colorado for the final Playoff spot.

At least after being embarrassed by the Ducks in the first round of last year’s Playoffs, the Sharks can take solace in keeping the Ducks out for the first time in nearly a decade. Instead, all eight positions in the West are solidified.

Who Do the Sharks Want To Play in the First Round?

The Sharks will not know who they play in the first round for some time. They could finish as either the first or second seed, and could be planning a trip next weekend to Nashville, Detroit, Los Angeles, or Colorado.

The best destination might be Los Angeles. The short flights are a premium in the West, and more than enough to compensate for playing a division rival with a lot of talent in all three units: forwards, defence, and goaltending. The Kings also do not have the experience of adjusting to the intensity and pressure of the playoffs.

They also have already had a successful season by merely making it in. They may be playing with “house money” instead of the pressure of the Sharks, but that only comes into play if the Sharks start to lose; if the Kings do, they will not have the same desperation.

That being said, there are advantages to playing each of the other teams.

Flights to Colorado are not that much longer and they also lack the playoff experience. They have fallen from the fourth seed in March to the eighth (and are likely not to finish higher than seventh) in April because of their struggles, and that is not the best way to enter the playoffs.

Nashville is a long flight, but the Sharks have the Predators’ number: In 2006 and 2007, they beat the Preds in the first round, losing just one game in each series, despite being the lower seed (albeit still the favourite).

But my choice is actually the Red Wings. How could I want the Sharks to play the hottest team in the West, the longest distance away, and with all that playoff experience, the best record in the league post-lockout, three straight appearances in the conference finals, two consecutive conference championships, a Stanley Cup, and a victory over the Sharks in 2007?

Because they are the best. Beating the best will take all of the pressure off the Sharks in the second round, the one they usually struggle in.

If they cannot beat the Wings, they were not going to win the West anyway, so they may as well have to prove themselves right away. And if they cannot, everyone will know this team, with 12 potential free agents at the end of the season, is a failure and must be revamped in the offseason.

Do I think they will beat the Wings? I will examine that further when the time comes, but we can get some idea by examining how the team is playing, starting with this road trip—please see my accompanying article on Shark-Infested Blogger .