The San Jose Sharks are now out of the top eight in the Western Conference, which of course means they're not at the top of the Pacific Division. They were all geared up to make a busy week a productive week, but instead were outscored 10-5 over two outings between their division rivals in the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. The most recent of those outings was a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of the Kings, in which Martin Havlat's hot streak and Dan Boyle's strong third-period goal meant absolutely nothing.
After making some trades at the deadline to "get better," the Sharks are looking pretty helpless out there. But the season isn't over, and there's plenty of time left to get back into things ... it's just that "plenty of time," doesn't mean there's room to slack and lose some more games. They need to get back into the win column now. Having plenty of time just means that there's still time for them to win some games.
They're up against the Boston Bruins, who just dominated the Toronto Maple Leafs to the tune of 8-0. They're on a west coast three-game trip, looking to jump ahead further in the Northeast Division. Brian Rolston had four points against the Maple Leafs while Tim Thomas got his fifth shutout of the year.
Thursday's game marks the second meeting between these two teams this season. Benn Ferriero had the heroics in game one, with an insurance goal coming later in a 4-2 San Jose victory in Boston. This game is set for 7:30 p.m. pacific on Thursday.