Blades of Teal
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Five Potential Playoff Opponents for the San Jose Sharks

By Michael Gutnick

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 21: Anze Kopitar #11 of the Los Angeles Kings and Brenden Dillon #4 of the San Jose Sharks battle for the puck during the third period of the game at STAPLES Center on March 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NHLI via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 21: Anze Kopitar #11 of the Los Angeles Kings and Brenden Dillon #4 of the San Jose Sharks battle for the puck during the third period of the game at STAPLES Center on March 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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CALGARY, AB – FEBRUARY 07: San Jose Sharks Center Tomas Hertl (48) and Calgary Flames Left Wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) compete for the puck during the third period of an NHL game where the Calgary Flames hosted the San Jose Sharks on February 7, 2019, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB – FEBRUARY 07: San Jose Sharks Center Tomas Hertl (48) and Calgary Flames Left Wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) compete for the puck during the third period of an NHL game where the Calgary Flames hosted the San Jose Sharks on February 7, 2019, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames are arguably the hottest offensive team in the NHL… and no, that was not just for the pun.

The Flames are right behind the Lightning with the second-highest scoring offense in the league, averaging 3.58 goals per game.

On top of that, Calgary is the only team that has four players with 70 or more points – Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk.

With that offensive firepower, the Flames can bring the heat and stand toe-to-toe with any Western Conference opponent when the playoffs roll around.

The Flames find a hidden gem with their top marksman from the point too.

13-year veteran defenseman Mark Giordano is on a tear in a career year. The Norris Trophy dark horse candidate has racked up a season-best 54 assists and 69 points in 72 games.

Giordano ranks second among defensemen in scoring, only behind the San Jose Sharks Brent Burns and is a legit threat quarterbacking the No. 11-ranked power play in the league.

While their offense is nearly unstoppable, Calgary’s lone weakness is their goaltending. David Rittich and Mike Smith have been shaky all season long, evenly splitting time manning the net with a combined 2.72 GAA and .905 save percentage.

The Sharks have a goaltending dilemma as well. If Martin Jones can return to his 2016 playoff ways, then San Jose will be just fine. But, with a struggling 5-on-5 save percentage, Jones will need to use these final games of the regular season to find a solid rhythm to return to stardom.

Sharks hold a 2-1 series lead in the high scoring affairs during the regular season, but the top two teams competing for the Pacific Division will lock horns one more time for the last game of March.

However, if the Flames and Sharks go head-to-head in the postseason, the winner could move on based off one simple question: Which goalie has the hotter hand?

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