Sometimes, bye weeks just come at the right time.
The Sharks are currently on theirs, but went into their vacation losers of four of their last five games. Some of those losses were, well, odd. The throw away 6-0 blowout in Dallas, the shootout loss in Toronto in which the Sharks outplayed the Leafs in every category except goals, and the seven second OT loss in Ottawa in which the Sharks gave up a three goal lead in the third period – something they’ve never done in franchise history. To top it off, Winnipeg skated circles around them in a 4-1 loss entering this week.
I’m honestly not sure I take any heed in three of these four losses. It’s a long season and you lose games. The Sharks didn’t get off the plane in Dallas. And at Toronto and Ottawa they were victims of a road back to back at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, one of the toughest places to play in the league. I’m actually OK with them getting the two points from both OT losses there.
The game that worried me the most was the game against Winnipeg. This is a team the Sharks will be measuring themselves against. The Jets are currently second in the Western Conference with 59 points, only trailing Vegas’ 60 points. Winnipeg plays in the toughest division in hockey, the Central division, along with the likes of Nashville (56 points), St. Louis (55), Dallas (51), Minnesota (50) and Chicago (48). For frame of reference, the Colorado Avalanche – the division’s last place team, is one point behind San Jose with 47 points.
The Jets are the measuring stick. If this team is to be a Stanley Cup contender, they have to play well against teams like the artists formerly known as the Atlanta Thrashers. The Sharks did shut them out in their first bout of the season at SAP in what was one of their best performances of the year. But for Winnipeg, revenge was a dish best served cold, like their city. They left San Jose in the dust with a 4-1 win at Bell MTS Place in Manitoba after some “controversial” comments made by Tim Heed, Tomas Hertl and Justin Braun. The gist of it being, that Winnipeg is cold sometimes, and its wifi doesn’t work every now and then.
The Sharks come out of this bye week with a very winnable game at home against the Phoenix Coyotes, then a back to back against The Kings (one of the measurables) and another bout with Phoenix. They round off the week with a tough road game in Colorado on Thursday, followed by another odd home/road back to back over the weekend. The Sharks will host the Penguins in a rematch of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals, only to play the next day in Anaheim.
If this team is to be a Stanley Cup contender, the time to prove it is now. The Sharks have some winnable games this week, and must capitalize on those. The real tests are going to be against Los Angeles and the tough Eastern Conference teams they have later in the month. And yes, January 23 at the Tank. The rubber match against the Jets.