San Jose Sharks Ending Stretch of Pacific Coast Travel

The San Jose Sharks were fortunate that the Christmas holiday came in the middle of a stretch at home. January will not be so kind.

The Sharks had to head to Vancouver right after the New Year, were in Anaheim Wednesday. They will head back to San Jose immediately following the game to host the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight.

Next week the Sharks will not get to swim in their Pacific Coastal environment: Minnesota, Winnipeg, Columbus and Chicago await them.

That is why the success of this trip is of such importance. It got off on the right foot Monday.

The Vancouver Canucks have had the Sharks number, winning nine of the last 11 battles, including four of five last May to take the Western Conference. The Sharks earned a point for just the second time in their losses Friday, dropping the home game in overtime 3-2.

This time they turned the tables on their nemesis. The momentum was typical of the Sharks' season—a slow start, frenetic middle, and the trying to hang on at the end.

The Canucks won eight of the first nine faceoffs and established a 1-0 lead with a 9-7 edge in shots on goal by the first intermission. But the Sharks survived with of all things their penalty kills, enduring a full penalty and part of two more.

Once the second kill was over in the second, the Sharks went to work. In the first-full shift following the penalty, San Jose attempted five shots, put four on net, and got one through to tie the game—Ryane Clowe got the puck from Logan Couture along the backboards and fed Benn Ferriero in front of the net; he sprawled out to backhand his rebound over Roberto Luongo's right shoulder.

It was the beginning of a 13-minute stretch when the Sharks put 17 of the 21 shots taken in the game. Just beyond the mid-point of the game, Patrick Marleau cycled the puck behind the net and planted in front of it. Joe Pavelski moved it to the point, where Justin Braun's one-timer came right to Patty for the backhand.

But Vancouver attempted the final five shots of the second period and got three of them through. Their pressure continued early in the third and led to two penalties under a minute apart.

That is when they inexplicably called a timeout. This allowed the Sharks PK unit to rest, fending off seven shot attempts by blocking two and making four saves.

The two teams played pretty evenly from there on, but a penalty on Clowe led to the game's only power play goal and tied the score. It is hard enough for most teams to play Vancouver evenly in special teams, much less one with an awful PK taking twice as many penalties as it draws.

The Sharks also struggled in the faceoff circle (24-38) yet managed to out-shoot Vancouver 35-29, thanks to five more takeaways, only one more giveaway and a 24-7 edge in blocked shots.

San Jose brought that momentum into their fourth matchup of the season against the Anaheim Ducks, winning 3-1. Their Southern California rivals, that have taken the first three in regulation—two 3-2 victories at the Shark Tank and one 1-0 shutout at the Duck Pond.

But if the Sharks can find success against an elite team like the Canucks who they were struggling against, and turn around to defeat the Ducks, then perhaps they also can continue their streak tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.