March 31st Versus the Calgary Flames
It’s a no brainer that this would be a critical game for the San Jose Sharks. The Calgary Flames have been outpacing the western conference for most of the regular season. But Team Teal is now within striking distance with only a chunk of games remaining.
This match-up is the second of yet another back to back for the San Jose Sharks. The night before they face another divisional foe and potential first round opponent the Vegas Golden Knights. That makes this game quite an undertaking for Team Teal but it’s a great opportunity for them to accumulate points and gain ground quickly in the standings.
The Calgary Flames have the easiest schedule but will have a difficult time overcoming some lackluster goaltending of late. Since the beginning of February Calgary is recording the leagues sixth worst save percentage, according to naturalstattrick. It appears that they are burning out at just the right time giving the San Jose Sharks an opportunity to leapfrog the current Pacific Division leader.
Unlike the Sharks, Calgary didn’t do much of anything at the trade deadline except for adding a depth piece in forward Oscar Fantenberg. They signaled that they have confidence in their current group, but standing pat could potentially be a huge mistake with the other teams in the western conference loading up for a significant playoff push.
Nevertheless Calgary has a strong defensive core, deep forward group, and game breaking talent. So San Jose Sharks fans shouldn’t underestimate the Flames potential to keep Team Teal at bay for the rest of the season.
If there were only three games to pay attention to down the stretch for the San Jose Sharks it would be these. Match-up’s like these are legitimate tests for Team Teal’s depth with these teams being potential opponents in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.