Meet the 2007-2008 Pacific Division Champs

I'm thrilled about the Sharks' now-assured Pacific Division championship (clinched by the 3-1 win at Anaheim on Friday), but not because I think the title itself will be extraordinarily valuable. Yes, San Jose can now finish no worse than second in the Western Conference. (There's still a miniscule chance they can catch Detroit--the Wings would have to fail to earn another point and the Sharks would have to win out). This ensures that they will start the playoffs at home, and would also have home ice in any potential second-round matchup. Should they make it to the Western Conference finals, the Sharks would start on the road against the Red Wings but would host any other team.

This is all good, but it's easy to overstate the importance of home ice...home, road, North, South, East, West, wherever, to advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs you have to play excellent hockey, period. In my judgment, home-ice advantage is of relatively little importance. (The Sharks have certainly seen their share of playoff flameouts in series in which they had home ice).

Of even less consequence is what team you play. Again barring a wacky finish to the season that lands the Presidents' Cup in San Jose, the Sharks will begin the playoffs against the seventh seed in the West. Peril to any team that looks at a first-round matchup against a seventh seed (or an eighth seed, for that matter) as an easy pass to the second round. The teams in the bottom quarter of the playoff qualifiers have shown themselves to be perfectly capable of winning a playoff series (or two or three) over the past several years. Look at the top ten teams in the West and you'll see ten tough hockey teams, any one of which is perfectly capable of beating you in a seven-game series. Additionally, those teams that barely squeak into the playoffs have frequently been playing for their playoff lives for weeks or even months, and often enter the postseason playing their best hockey of the year.

So, now that I've trashed the importance of the Pacific Division title, you might be wondering why I would describe myself as thrilled. I'm thrilled because although a division championship is a modest goal, it's a goal that the Sharks put in the bank with considerable authority. San Jose didn't back into this title...they had an opportunity to clinch with wins on back-to-back nights against Dallas and Anaheim, and sure enough they won both games to salt the hardware away. As a Sharks fan, it's extremely satisfying to see the team set its eye on a goal and promptly go out and accomplish it. The fact that the clinching victory came against the defending champions made it just that much sweeter.


Sharks 3, Coyotes 1

Good win tonight against a game Phoenix team that I'm quite certain will be a force in Pacific Division races of the future, possibly as soon as next season. With the second seed wrapped up, I was very pleased to see San Jose come out with some fire tonight--Joe Thornton scored only fourteen seconds in and the Sharks generally controlled the play throughout the game. Regardless of whether or not any further progress in the regular-season standings is possible, it's important for the Sharks to keep up their high quality of play...you can't ease back your effort and then just magically ramp it up again when it's time for the playoffs.


Brown and Clowe...sounds like a law firm...

Two valuable Sharks are back in the lineup after extended absences due to injury. Both contributed tonight. Curtis Brown returned to the ice during the March 19th game against Minnesota, scoring a goal that night, one on Friday in the course of the clinching win against the Ducks, and tacking on another tonight. Brown's goal scoring won't continue at this pace, of course, but his leadership, penalty-killing skills, and hockey savvy will be valuable in the playoffs.

Returning against Phoenix tonight was tough winger Ryan Clowe. Clowe injured his knee way back in October and had to have surgery shortly thereafter. He brings that great combination of nasty physical presence and goal-scoring touch that is so valuable at any time but especially during the postseason. Clowe assisted on Thornton's first-shift goal tonight, and was all over the ice for the remainder of the game. It's great to have both of these guys back.