Stanley Cup Playoffs 2012: 5 Things the San Jose Sharks Need to Do to Win

As the song goes, Saturday night was alright for fighting for the San Jose Sharks.

And fight they did.

Entering Saturday night's final third period of the regular season, the Sharks found themselves once again trailing to their bitter Pacific Division rival, the Los Angeles Kings.

With a goalie change and a bench shortening, the Sharks came out and played a completely different style of hockey than fans had seen the previous two periods, and were rewarded with a 3-2 overtime victory in the conclusion of the season.

Inconsistency is something hockey fans in San Jose have almost grown accustomed to.

But playing in the NHL's postseason is something else hockey fans in San Jose have grown accustomed to, and this season was no different in that aspect.

With their victory over the Kings, the Sharks secured the seventh seed in the Western Conference, and found out their opponent would be the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Sharks' inconsistencies could yet again be the main reason why the club may fall short of winning their first Stanley Cup. But even with the issue, there are certain things they can do to keep them alive to at least fight another day and maybe just advance to the next round.

In many sports, there's a saying that goes, "one game at a time." If the Sharks play with that mentality, and execute these five strategies, they could even advance past the overpowering St. Louis Blues.

Goaltending

Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi gets a bad rap from Sharks fans everywhere, including myself once in awhile.

But there is one thing you should remember: Niemi is a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender.

By my count, there are only three other teams in the NHL's postseason this year that have a goalie who has won his team a Stanley Cup—that's an impressive statistic in its own right.

Sure, we've all been witness to Niemi's lackluster play this season, but when the playoffs start, it's an entirely new season that begins—and it's one where Niemi traditionally makes his money.

Active Sticks

Perhaps one of the most important things the Sharks need to execute against a team like the Blues is the use of "active sticks."

What does "active sticks" mean? Well, the term is self-explanatory.

By keeping their sticks moving, the Sharks will force the Blues to play a faster game, essentially allowing less time to think and, naturally, causing them to create turnovers and possibly even goals.

It's something that the Sharks of yore used against the Blues back in the 2001 series to help them defeat the President Trophy-winning team.

Youth

As the seasons tick away, the time the Sharks have spent on the NHL's list of Stanley Cup droughts gets extended.

Fans in San Jose have gotten to the point where the things they will sacrifice to have Lord Stanley paraded through their streets are unlimited. If you're a season-ticket holder, you'd agree with me if you saw what you paid for playoff tickets this year.

The Sharks have an extremely talented group of youthful core players, like Logan Couture, Jason Demers, Andrew Desjardins and Tommy Wingels.

Now, more than ever, the Sharks need these men to step up and make even contributions. A hockey team functions as one unit. We've seen players like Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau make their contributions in the postseason.

If the youth of the roster piles what we all know they can do on top of that, it essentially makes the Sharks unstoppable.

Play the Puck Deep

We are all familiar with the devastating effects the trap that Blues head coach runs with his St. Louis team.

The trap Hitchcock runs is no different than the trap that the USSR Soviet team ran during their endless era of wins.

How were the Russians finally defeated? Dump-and-chase hockey.

Getting the puck deep will force the Blues to skate, and skating is something that they don't do very well as a team. Getting the puck deep will allow our younger players to engage their legs and start a cycle. Starting a cycle is one of the most important strategies you want to use against a team like the Blues and, more importantly, a coach like Hitchcock.

Several Sharks fans have looked at the Sharks' regular-season record this year as reason to be worried about this series. The Sharks have fallen in all four of the games where they've faced the Blues this year, in scores of 4-2, 1-0, 3-0 and 3-1.

All but one of those games was during a series in which the Sharks had played back-to-back games.

Leadership

This is perhaps one of most important factors into the Sharks defeating the Blues.

Players like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Ryane Clowe and hell, even a player without a mass amount of postseason experience like Martin Havlat bring a very important trait to the Sharks locker room: leadership.

Players of high caliber are used to being under the spotlight, so naturally they make the best leaders on a team—hence why they wear the letters on their jerseys.

Keeping morale high and insecurities low, will be one of important factors in securing the Sharks' advancement. It has been said that 80 percent of this game is mental. Well, if that's true, it can never be anymore true during the postseason, when it's win or go home.

The Blues want to win as much as the Sharks do, as they also are still trying to capture the franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup championship. It will boil down, as always, to who wants it more.

David is a life-long Sharks fan. He's had season tickets since the team's inception and has also been playing competitive hockey since the age of six.

Please feel free to comment, leave feedback on his articles and always engage in conversation on Twitter! @TheReal_DB3