In a final weekend of the NHL season that can only be described as “crazy,” some teams got the matchup they wanted in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and some didn’t. I’ll gladly insert the San Jose Sharks into the “wanted matchup” category for a number of reasons.
The Sharks will play the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the NHL Playoffs that begin in San Jose at 7 p.m. Thursday.
From a distance, the Kings may be the most favorable matchup in the entire Western Conference playoff picture for the Sharks. The Kings were the only team to go down the conference ladder as of late, and most teams were dying to face them in Round 1 despite the young core and solid target the Kings have.
But the NHL playoffs are a different kind of beast, as the Sharks know all too well…and are reminded of each year.
But in a conference that saw the eighth seed and second seed separated by just eight points, it seems the Sharks were lucky with this draw (as lucky as a Western Conference playoff matchup can be).
4. BEAT THE
If the HP Pavilion isn’t loud enough, what do you think it will be like when a team from Los Angeles comes to play?
Sure, the Sharks/Kings NorcCal and SoCal rivalry isn’t as potent as the Giants/Dodgers rivalry, but I’m sure the fans in San Jose will make it that way.
You can be sure to hear the deafening sounds of “Beat LA” playing throughout the night and in your mind the next morning. Right now, any Los Angeles team is extremely hated in Northern California after last week’s beating of a Giants fan in Los Angeles left him in a coma.
You can be sure that the fans at The Tank will do their job to make sure the Kings are at an extreme disadvantage in Round 1.
3. The sharks are deeper this year; kings without weapons
This reason is on a larger scale and really applies to every Sharks playoff, but it’s essential that this point gets across against a Kings team that seems to be short on weapons of late.
The Sharks have the usual weapons of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley, like every year. They even had a terrific Joe Pavelski show in the playoffs last year. But this year, the Sharks don’t have to rely entirely on those original weapons because the Sharks have players who have contributed so much more this season.
I’m talking about ROY candidate Logan Couture, Ryane Clowe, Devin Setoguchi, and even shots in the dark like Torrey Mitchell or Ben Eager. Each has contributed to this team and is responsible for the Sharks’ resurgence in the second half of this season. They can’t trust Thornton, Marleau and Heatley because time and time again they have let down when the team needed them most.
But the Sharks have never had the backup weapons they have this year, so it seems that if one player doesn’t produce, another will. The Kings, on the other hand, seem to be lacking in weapons due to injury, which is why the Kings were a favorable matchup against whomever they played in the first round.
2. Ducks and predators are hot; Blackhawks are defending champions
By elimination process, the Kings were the most favorable matchup for the Sharks.
Before last weekend, the Sharks could have played anyone from the Ducks to the Blackhawks. It has been duly noted that hot teams continue to play hot in the playoffs. That would hint at the Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators as teams you’ll want to steer clear of come playoff time.
The Ducks went 7-3-0 over the stretch of the season, including a dominance against the Sharks in the two teams’ most recent game against each other.
The Predators were 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and have played in several close games with the Sharks this season. Sharks and predators seem to mix very well with each other. A good matchup probably isn’t the most ideal first-round opponent the Sharks wanted to face.
The Blackhawks snuck into the NHL playoffs by the skin of their teeth, but make no mistake, this team isn’t going down easily.
Although goaltending is an issue, neither team wants to face the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round playoffs. The Canucks will have their hands full in the first round.
The Kings, on the other hand, were a respectable 6-4-0 in their last 10 games, but lost three of four down the stretch, including a 6-1 loss to the Sharks in their most recent meeting.
1. Kings are hurt
Not the best reason, but injuries play a key role in the NHL playoffs when you have one less weapon on the ice. The Kings’ leader in points and assists, Anze Kopitar, has no schedule for his return. A blow for the Kings, as most of the scoring comes from Kopitar, who has scored 73 points this season.
Another blow: Kings forward Justin Williams has been sidelined since March 21 with a dislocated shoulder. Although Williams was supposed to be out for four weeks, it looks like the Kings’ second key man will be back on the ice sooner than expected and possibly in this series. But Williams won’t be 100% and will wear a harness on the ice if he returns.
These are arguably the Kings’ two best offensive players, and they will need everything they can get against a Sharks team that is fully healthy and ready to play.