San Jose Sharks: Top Five Most Difficult Homestands
Last month, we took a look at the top five most difficult road trips the San Jose Sharks will face during the 2015-16 season. Today, let’s flip the script and look at the five hardest homestands that awaits the Sharks during the upcoming season.
5. November 3-10 (Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks, New York Islanders)
The San Jose Sharks open their November home slate with a week-long, four-game set against three Eastern Conference teams. They open against the Blue Jackets and Panthers, two teams who finished in a familiar position as the Sharks a season ago.
Then, the biggest game of the four comes as San Jose hosts Anaheim for the final time at SAP Center. The Sharks dominated the series against the Ducks a season ago by winning four out of the five matchups.
Finally, San Jose wraps up their four-game home slate with a visit from the New York Islanders and their star John Tavares.
4. December 28-January 9 (Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers, Winnipeg Jets, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs)
San Jose will be at home during the holidays as they host Colorado and Philadelphia to close out 2015, neither of whom reached the playoffs last year.
The Sharks kick off the 2016 portion of their schedule against a pair of playoff teams in the Jets and Red Wings. San Jose and Detroit have always matched up well with one another and this one should be no different.
San Jose wraps up their five-game home stretch against one of the worst teams in the league as Mike Babcock and Toronto visit the Bay Area.
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3. January 23-26 (Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche)
What makes this three-game homestand difficult is that it takes place in the span of four days. Throw-in the fact the Sharks will face the Wild in an afternoon tilt on Saturday, followed by a visit from the rival Kings on Sunday, and those first two games will should provide a stern test for San Jose.
The Sharks conclude their quick stay at SAP Center by hosting the Avalanche, a team that struggled to replicate their breakout success during the 2013-14 season.
2. March 19-28 (New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings)
The San Jose Sharks longest homestand of the year will start off with a visit from the Eastern Conference finalists, the New York Rangers. The Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist have played San Jose tough in recent years.
After a visit from the lowly Coyotes, the Sharks will be looking to avenge a pair of 7-2 defeats at the hands of the Blues last season. Then, San Jose will host their former coach in Todd McLellan and fans will get to check out rookie phenom Connor McDavid.
Finally, the Sharks will face Antti Niemi, who manned the nets for five years in San Jose, and the Stars before taking on the Kings for a final time during the 2015-16 season. This will be a big homestand for the Sharks as they will face four division opponents in the stretch drive for the playoffs.
1. November 25-December 1 (Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins)
The most difficult stretch of games the Sharks will face in the friendly confines of SAP Center will come at the end of November. San Jose will host the defending Stanley Cup champions in Chicago right before the Thanksgiving break.
Then, the Sharks will take on the upstart Flames, who took four out of five games from San Jose a season ago, before hosting Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to kick off December.
This three-game stretch featuring all playoff teams will give the Sharks a good barometer of where they stand next season and should give the fans plenty of exciting hockey during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Next: Top 5 Most Difficult Road Trips For San Jose Sharks