Sharks Lose Season Finale

Sharks 2, Stars 4

The San Jose Sharks lost the last game of the regular season, and like the previous game, I couldn't care less. Some fans worry that having lost two in a row is a bad thing, especially just before the playoffs. However, I'm not worried...and here's why.

The Sharks have been using these last two games as an opportunity to rest/work those players who need it. In both the loss to Los Angeles and Dallas, the team on the ice wasn't the playoff lineup.
Even though the Sharks only scored four goals over the last two games, three of them have come on the powerplay which is a great sign that San Jose may be working out the kinks while with the man-advantage.
The right players (Thornton, Pavelski, Marleau, Cheechoo) are still scoring during this mini-losing streak. I know it's important to have goals coming from all lines, but I think it's even more important that our big-time players take some momentum into the post-season.
The PK is still looking solid after having killed all 12 powerplays over the last two games. This performance includes almost two full minutes while 5-on-3.
The team is looking healthy (*knock on wood*), at least from what I can see. I know that everyone's a little banged up, but overall, San Jose is looking pretty good.
In the game against Dallas, the Sharks were tagged with 95 penalty minutes. Usually, this is a bad sign of a lazy team. However, of 20 penalties, only Marleau's Holding call fell into the lazy category. The rest were called thanks to aggressive play (roughing, fighting, cross-checking, charging) which I don't mind so much. This game had little consequence, so it's good that San Jose showed some toughness which is what many experts feel the Sharks lack. In fact, toughness is going to be even more important when they face the Calgary Flames in the first round. Calgary is the 2nd most penalized team in the league, and there's no question that they've made a conscious decision to play mean and with a lot of grit. All one needs to do is to look at the fact that the Flames lead the league in fights (70) to see what they're all about.

A San Jose Sharks Blog