A Tough (but Triumphant) Triplet

After a relatively soft start to their schedule, the Sharks have faced tough opposition in their last three home games. Back-to-back games against Pittsburgh and Detroit saw them face last year's Stanley Cup finalists, and last night's matchup pitted them against another division leader--the Minnesota Wild. And there was a road game against Colorado thrown into the mix as well.

The Sharks won all three of those home games in convincing style (and the game in Denver, too). They are still undefeated at the Tank. Yet as impressive a run as this is, there is still an important caveat to each win.

The Sharks dominated possession against the Penguins and won 2-1, holding the Malkin-and-Crosby-led defending Eastern Conference champs to only eleven shots...

...but the Sharks were facing Pittsburgh's backup goalie, Dany Sabourin, rather than first-stringer Marc-Andre Fleury, and the Penguins have a gaping hole in the blue line with Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney out with injuries.

The Sharks beat the defending champs 4-2, and hockey writers across North America breathlessly scribbled about how San Jose had successfully out-Winged the Wings with possession-oriented, puck-pursuit hockey and a ton of shots...

...but the Red Wings were tired, having lost a tough OT game in Anaheim the previous night. And, once again, the Sharks drew a matchup with Detroit's second-string goalie.

The Sharks clobbered the Wild with a dominant third period, outscoring Minnesota 2-0 and outshooting them by a whopping 22-5 margin in the final frame en route to a 3-1 win...

...but Minnesota was without Brent Burns, one of their top defensemen, and Marion "The Iron Man" Gaborik, who is, shockingly, injured (for the jillionth time in his career).

So that's the list of caveats. But some of them should be given little if any weight...Dany Sabourin played great against the Sharks, and it's not like Chris Osgood (Detroit's primary netminder) is exactly a brick wall this year. And anyway, even if San Jose did get some of these teams while they're a bit down...who cares? Hockey is fundamentally about being opportunistic, both tactically and strategically. If your opponent has a weakness, you have to make them pay. The important thing is that San Jose won all three of these games, and in reasonably decisive fashion. Any time you beat the Red Wings you've accomplished something. Any time you hold a team with Crosby and Malkin in the lineup to eleven shots, you've accomplished something. And any time you launch 49 shots against a Jacques Lemaire-coached team, you've accomplished something.

These were three great wins. I'm feeling genuinely optimistic about this team's chances.