The tone is a bit different from last week's San Jose Sharks stream, but it's still better than the tone of many before it. It's been a season marred by inconsistencies and uncertainty, as covered in the recent midseason report, but a recent hot streak has put them in a much better place in the standings - with the NHL and their fanbase. Fans are beginning to ease up on the talk of potentially missing the playoffs, and are once again considering what it would mean to be a top three seed or which matchups one would like to avoid early on in said playoffs. It's an easy mode to revert to for Sharks fans who may be a little spoiled.
But it really isn't smooth sailing from here, and wasn't last week. After posting a five-game win streak in which they thoroughly beat two divisional rivals in the Anaheim Ducks and Phoenix Coyotes in offensive-oriented games, the Sharks went just 1-2-0 last week. Both losses were hard-fought affairs that just didn't seem to go the Sharks way as the length of their seven-game road trip began to wear on them.
Their most recent outing was their last win, a 2-1 overtime affair over the Nashville Predators. Patrick Marleau scored the game winner in overtime, taking the puck from the neutral zone and beating Pekka Rinne one-on-one. Devin Setoguchi also scored for the Sharks, and it's a wonder the score was so low. The Sharks unleashed an offensive onslaught with fifty shots put on Rinne for the night. As a contrast, the Sharks' Antti Niemi stopped 30-of-31 to go his way.
San Jose has a two-game homestand against the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche before taking to the road once again to the notorious Joe Louis arena to take on the Detroit Red Wings. They're right in the thick of things, and wins over these foes would be great for them going forward.
The duration of this stream will carry us through these aforementioned three games with previews, news, recaps and more. Stay tuned to this stream and follow @sbnbayarea to keep updated on all things Sharks for the next seven days.