San Jose Sharks: Manifest Destiny, How the Sharks Will Conquer the Pacific

For the San Jose Sharks, the 2011-2012 has been a nightmare.

The four-time Pacific Division champs were looking to take the next step after falling in the Western Conference Finals the past two years. Racing out to wins in eight of their first nine regulation decisions, fans from Modesto to Los Altos felt like NoCal would be representing the West in the Finals this year.

Hard times befell the Sharks as inconsistent goaltending and uninspired play saw the Sharks fall from perennial President Trophy contenders to playoff outsiders. A free-fall in their last 20 games (6-10-4) has the Sharks on the outside looking in with eight games to play.

So now for the good news. Good news?!

The Sharks are literally two points out of the three seed in the West. The LA Kings currently hold the lead in the division after a goaltending showcase 1-0 win over conference leading St. Louis.

Perhaps a better target might be the other two teams ahead of San Jose in the division.

The Sharks are two points behind Phoenix, and a point behind Dallas. Better news is that the Sharks play Los Angeles twice (one home/one away), Phoenix twice (one home/one away) and Dallas twice (one home/one away).

So the cliche of "controlling their own destiny" certainly applies to the Sharks as they head down the homestretch.

Captain Joe Thornton acknowledged as much when questioned about the playoff hopes. "We’ve got nine games left and fate rests in our hands," said Thornton. "And that’s a good thing. We’ve got games against teams in front of us. We just have to play well in these last nine games, and that’s all there is to it."

While there is certainly an uphill climb to get to the postseason, the Sharks most certainly have the talent on their roster to get the job done. Martin Havlat, is back from injury and is playing well. Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski have put together solid seasons.

The key down the stretch will be goaltending and penalty killing—areas that the Sharks have sought to improve lately.

Cliches aside, the Sharks have to be considered favorites to get into the second season, either as Pacific Division champs or swiping the seventh or eighth seeds.

San Jose clearly has the talent to beat the best in the league on any given night. Thursday night's win over defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston was particularly encouraging with a stingy defense that surrendered only 17 shots.

Once in the postseason, San Jose poses tough matchups against any opponent. While a run to the Conference Finals seems like a pipe dream to Shark loyalists, "taking it one game at a time" is exactly what the defending division champs need to do.