3 Pivotal Games Down the Stretch for the San Jose Sharks

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 03: San Jose Sharks Center Tomas Hertl (48) gets congratulations from the bench after scoring in the 1st period of the game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. (Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 03: San Jose Sharks Center Tomas Hertl (48) gets congratulations from the bench after scoring in the 1st period of the game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. (Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The San Jose Sharks are in the midst of the final full month of the season when each game matters more than the last. However there are a few games that have a little more significance than others…

Team Teal is heading down the final stretch of the regular season on fire going 18 – 6 – 1 since January first. They’ve recorded the leagues 4th best point percentage during that span, per naturalstattrick. Overall the San Jose Sharks have played well as season establishing themselves as one of the few legitimate Stanley Cup contenders

The Sharks have shown that they are able to win regardless of the situation at hand. They’ve had the leagues worst save percentage, been without their best player for a fifth of their games, and got dealt one of the toughest road schedules in the entire league.

They’ve persevered throughout it all and have positioned themselves nicely with playoffs set to begin in about a month. However at the moment the San Jose Sharks are trailing the Calgary Flames for first place in Western Conference. Surpassing the Flames for first place is even more important this year because it means that they get to avoid the 3 seed in their division which will more than likely be the red-hot Vegas Golden Knights.

The Calgary Flames have the easiest remaining schedule down the stretch according to powerrankingsguru. This put tons of pressure on Team Teal who own the 22nd easiest schedule with 16 games remaining. Every game counts but a few matter more than the others. Here are a few examples of those games that the San Jose Sharks have circled on their calendars.