NHL Playoffs 2012: Why the Coyotes and Kings Went Deeper Than the Sharks

Since 2007, the Pacific Division has belonged to the San Jose Sharks. Well, at least during the regular season.

For four straight years, San Jose finished on top of the Pacific, twice finishing first in the entire Western Conference. But it was the 2007-08 Dallas Stars who knocked the Sharks out of the Conference Semifinals, and the 2008-09 Anaheim Ducks that knocked San Jose out of round 1.

In 2009-10, the Sharks finally followed through on their division title. That is to say, they went deeper into the playoffs than any other Pacific Division team. In 2010-11, they took it a step further, beating a division rival (the Los Angeles Kings) in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.

In 2011-12, San Jose took a couple steps backward. First, they relinquished their reign atop the Pacific Division standings, finishing one point behind the Phoenix Coyotes. Second, they exited the playoffs before both Phoenix and L.A., despite finishing above the Kings in the standings.

Now, as the Coyotes and Kings battle for a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals, a Pacific Division team will go to the finals for the fifth time during the Sharks' existence. If Phoenix advances, San Jose will be the lone Pacific Division team to never make the Finals.

Early playoff exits are always disappointing, but when two bitter rivals enjoy the success that you thought you'd be enjoying, it's especially tough to swallow.

Here's a look at why two Pacific Division teams with lower expectations than San Jose have surpassed the Sharks this postseason.

Seeding

The Phoenix Coyotes won the Pacific Division, and earned the No. 3 seed because of it. Each time the San Jose Sharks have gone to the Conference Finals, they've done so as a division champion.

The difficult part is that San Jose was one win away from winning that all-important division title. If the Sharks had been able to score one more late goal or hold off one more third-period onslaught, they would have drawn the Chicago Blackhawks in Round 1 instead of the St. Louis Blues.

The Sharks were 2-1-1 against the Blackhawks this season, and could have overpowered Corey Crawford and Chicago's suspect defense. They then would have faced the Nashville Predators, another team they went 2-1-1 against. Nashville presents some unique challenges, but the experienced Sharks would have likely taken advantage of home-ice and won that series as well.

Instead, they drew the St. Louis Blues; the one team in the NHL that they simply had no chance of beating. The Blues were 4-0-0 against San Jose this season, and that was no coincidence—the Sharks simply couldn't get any downhill momentum going against the Blues' stifling neutral zone defense and crisp puck-moving, quick skating attack.

Being the lower seed didn't help, as the Blues went 30-6-5 in St. Louis during the regular season.

The Los Angeles Kings were a lower seed than San Jose, but they drew a more favorable matchup in Round 1. They were 2-2-0 against Vancouver during the regular season, and the Canucks were down Daniel Sedin through the first three games. In Round 2, the Kings swept the Blues, a team they went 3-1-0 against during the regular season.

Had the Sharks finished in eighth, they could have upset the shorthanded Canucks, while the Kings would have likely taken the Blues out for them.

Goaltending

Antti Niemi is a bona fide No. 1 goaltender in the NHL. He can handle a heavy workload and is a proven playoff performer.

That being said, he's no Mike Smith or Jonathan Quick.

The fact that seeding was even discussed in the this article can be traced to goaltending. If the Coyotes and Kings had anything less than two of the top three goaltenders in the NHL, they wouldn't have competed with the Sharks for the Pacific Division title.

San Jose had a significantly more potent offense than either team during the regular season, and had comparable defensive skill among their skaters. Granted, the Sharks' penalty kill was dysfunctional, and they gave the puck away more than either team, but Antti Niemi's save percentage (.915) was far enough below Smith (.930) and Quick's (.929) that it's safe to say that Phoenix and L.A. had better goaltending than San Jose.

Of course, the Sharks still got to the postseason. But once you're in the playoffs, goaltending is even more important. While Niemi's performance against St. Louis was strong (.914 save pct.), he did not play well enough to steal San Jose any games after Game 1.

By contrast, Mike Smith (.946) and Jonathan Quick (.947) have been absolutely unbeatable so far this postseason. In Smith's case, his nightly head-stands have become so reliable that no one even notices when the Coyotes are being dominated for long stretches every game. Quick, meanwhile, is so good that he frustrates opponents to the point where their gameplan goes down the drain.

Antti Niemi is not to blame for the Sharks' early exit, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't still be playing had Niemi played like a Vezina candidate (or like he did in Game 1) every night.

System

Dave Tippett's Coyotes have mastered the "bend but don't break" style of play. During the regular season, the 'Yotes were outshot by two shots per game. This postseason, that number has ballooned to an astonishing 11. The Coyotes have allowed a playoff-high 37.5 shots per game while taking a playoff-low 26.6.

How, then, has Phoenix made it to the final four? Because they know exactly what they're doing.

The Coyotes let their opponents shoot and shoot, but they don't let them score. They do so by playing excellent positional defense, keeping Mike Smith unscreened, working relentlessly on the penalty kill and of course relying on Smith to be the elite goalie he established himself as during the regular season.

After surviving a wave of shots against, Phoenix's excellent puck-moving defensemen start the breakout, while their speedy forwards stretch the ice. By doing this, the Yotes get a number of great chances in transition every game. When they get offensive zone faceoffs, they send out their dangerous top line, win the draw (best faceoff team left in the playoffs) and often capitalize.

The Kings play a more similar system to what the San Jose Sharks play. They forecheck hard, try to limit shots against and rely on special teams. The difference is that Los Angeles' PK—the key to their special team's success—is at 93.6 percent this postseason, while San Jose's was at 66.7 pct.

The Sharks survived their weak PK during the regular season thanks to a lethal power play, but their playoff PP (11.8 pct.) was hardly better than L.A.'s (10.2 pct.).

The Sharks also try to overwhelm opposing defenses five-on-five with offensive zone time (winning faceoffs) and a high number of shots against. The St. Louis Blues beat them in the faceoff circle and outshot them.

The Sharks have much more talent on their roster than Phoenix and even a little more than L.A. However, they were ineffective in the phases of their game that they relied upon to win during the regular season, while Phoenix and L.A. have played to their strengths even more effectively during the  postseason.

Leadership

It's an age-old saying in sports, and it never fails to be true: In the biggest games, your best players must be your best players.

This has mostly been true for Phoenix. Radim Vrbata and Ray Whitney have been underwhelming, but the Coyotes have thrived off of their captain (Shane Doan), their best player (Keith Yandle) and their defensive leader (Mike Smith). 

The Kings have exemplified this concept better than any other team, so it's no wonder they're 10-1 so far this postseason. Their captain, Dustin Brown, has been the best player in the entire postseason, while their key players, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, have been absolute forces. Their defensive leader, Jonathan Quick, has been better than ever.

By contrast, the Sharks' best players did not play like the Sharks' best players. Captain Joe Thornton was awesome, but the team's other stars—Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle—did not rise to the occasion.

San Jose has so many stars that a great series from Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Antti Niemi and Brent Burns could have covered up the poor play from their leaders, but not one of the Sharks' "best players" played like a "best player" except for Joe Thornton. Unfortunately, this age-old saying proved to be as true for the Sharks as it has been for the Coyotes and Kings.

Effort

There was a time when NHL teams could win on talent alone.

Those were, of course, the days of the original six.

Since then, NHL hockey has been primarily a mental game. But no era of the NHL has been as mental as the one we're currently in.

With 30 teams, a surplus of physical talent and a hard salary cap, it is impossible for any team to build a roster so stacked that they can waltz to the Cup. Just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers or San Jose Sharks.

The Kings and Coyotes have talent. That's the bare minimum needed to win. More importantly, both teams play the same way all the time—desperate. Neither the Kings or Coyotes have taken their foot off the gas pedal this postseason, and they have driven through every roadblock and red light that's stood in their way as a result.

The Sharks—to continue the car metaphor—spent the entire regular season and postseason driving completely legally. They stopped at stop signs, yielded to pedestrians and paid their tickets when pulled over.

They played dirty and relentlessly in Game 1 against St. Louis, and they gutted out a road win because of it. Then, all too predictably, they came out satisfied in Game 2. The problem is, once you let a car pass you, you aren't getting back in front of them unless they slow down. And when the Sharks let the Blues pass them, they were tied 1-1 on paper, but eliminated in reality.

The Coyotes and Kings have not once slowed down. That's why they're a combined 4-0 in playoff series' so far this year, while most people expected them to finish 0-2.