There are only five games left in the 2013 NHL season for the San Jose Sharks. Some of their competitors have six, but all are close enough to get a fairly clear image of the Stanley Cup playoff picture in the Western Conference.
The Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks have basically wrapped up the first and second spots, respectively. The Vancouver Canucks could be caught by the Minnesota Wild but are two games up and will in all likelihood finish third.
The Sharks are in fifth in the official standings but would be sixth if the NHL did their standings reasonably. Point percentage is the measuring stick in every other sport and should be all the more in a league that averages more than a point per game in hand because of overtime losses.
Either way, their magic number is down to five prior to hosting the Wild Thursday, April 18. That means .500 hockey guarantees them a berth even if the teams outside the playoff picture win every game.
Thus, San Jose will be in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. But making what could become an NHL-leading active streak of nine tournaments in a row has never been the goal of this team.
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Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by MJ Kasprzak
Breaking Down Potential First-Round Foes for San Jose Sharks
April 18th, 2013 by MJ Kasprzak Leave a reply »
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