Wednesday, March 19, 2008

3/18/08 sharks 2, LOS ANGELES 1

Make that a 13 game point streak.

Despite the L on Sunday, the Teal got right back to their recent winning ways by squeaking one out tonight in So Cal. Joe Thornton notched #20 on the year, his 8th season reaching that total, and big time goal scorer Patrick Rissmiller supplied the other goal, his 8th this season. Speaking of #20, Mr. Ironman Evgeni Nabokov had the night off, so superstud backup Brian Boucher got the start. Boucher, in his second game as a Shark, made 29 saves for the win.

The win, coupled with a loss from 9th place Nashville, has dropped the Sharks magic number to 2. 2 is the number of points the Sharks need to gain in the standings (either from a win or a Nashville loss) to secure a spot in the playoffs should they lose the rest of their games and the Predators win all theirs. The Predators next game is Thursday vs Detroit.

The Sharks, on the other hand, return home from Staples for their final non-divisional matchup of the season, when they'll take on the Minnesota Wild (7:30). As crazy as the Pacific Division race is, the Northwest is that much more insane. The Wild sit in 1st, with 86 points. Behind them are Calgary, Colorado, and Vancouver, all with 84. Lurking in the distance is the recently streaking Edmonton Oilers with 79. To say this game doesn't lack importance for both teams would be slightly extremely incorrect. Minnesota comes to town winners of their last 2 after losing 5 straight before that. The Sharks lead the season series 3-0, taking both contests played in St. Paul (3-2 on 12/31 and 3-2 SO on 3/9) and the 1 previous game in San Jose (4-1 on 12/14).

GO SHARKS (CLINCH THE PLAYOFFS)
-Jess

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