The San Jose Sharks have won three straight games and are starting to see some improvement in their standing in the NHL’s Western Conference. It’s certainly way too early to discuss playoff positioning in serious detail, but it’s still worth considering the performances in the rest of the conference. Every point counts towards positioning for the playoffs so any ground the Sharks can gain is a plus.
The Sharks stepped up with a big time performance against the conference leading Los Angeles Kings, defeating them 6-3 at HP Pavilion in San Jose. The win improved the Sharks to 9-5-2 with 20 points, leaving them tied with Chicago for sixth in the Western Conference. Of course, the first place Kings have 24 points so it’s not like they’re all that far behind.
The team directly ahead of the Sharks is the St. Louis Blues who find themselves struggling through a four game losing streak capped off by a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche last night. The Blues have been either incredibly hot or incredibly not as this four game losing streak was preceded by a seven game winning streak. With a road game against the second place Detroit Red Wings on, the Blues could find themselves dropping behind the Sharks. San Jose faces off against Colorado in Denver, which will certainly be a tough matchup.
Wednesday is a big day in the NHL as there will be 12 games that day as all the top teams in the West will be playing that day. A Sharks road win could potentially jump them a couple spots in the standings. Of course, a loss could drop them out of the top eight. It should be an interesting evening of hockey.