My Two Cents: Sharks’ Road To The Cup Will Be A Difficult One

Feb 7, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau (12) shoots the puck against Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. The Sharks won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

As the NHL enters the Olympic Break, the San Jose Sharks find themselves again in the thick of the playoff hunt. The odds are very good that the Sharks will once again make the postseason baring an uncharacteristic team collapse. However, what the Sharks do once they get into the playoffs may be an entirely different story altogether.

The Stanley Cup is said to be the hardest trophy to win amongst the four major league sports, as the Sharks can certainly attest to. As the Sharks are positioned to once again be set to make a post season appearance, the obstacles Team Teal faces to get to the final will be very daunting at best. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks are the one team that everyone must go through to get to the finals out of the Western Conference. The Anaheim Ducks are fielding their best team since their championship run in 2006-07. The Los Angeles Kings have many of the components from their championship team of two years ago. Despite their regular season woes, the Kings certainly know how to win big games in the post season.

The mission for the Sharks is the knowledge that in order to get to the finals they will most likely have to beat at least two of those three teams, if not all three. All three of these teams have championship experience unlike the Sharks. Does this mean the Sharks can’t beat these teams? No it doesn’t, however what this points to is that the Sharks will have one helluva task ahead of them once the postseason begins in mid-April.

This is my two cents on how the Sharks could match up against the Kings, Ducks, Blackhawks and Blues.