The perception of the NHL Pacific Division is one of team who perform very well in the regular season over the past decade, but do almost nothing in the playoffs. Not once has the division failed to supply a top-two seed in the West, twice earning a top seed and once a President's Trophy.
In that time, the division has claimed just one Stanley Cup championship, however, and the division winner has been knocked out by a lower seed in every other season, including twice in the first round. That being said, the division is not without its playoff success, having represented the Western Conference twice in the Stanley Cup Finals and made the conference finals four times in the past nine seasons.
Perhaps no team exemplifies this somewhat misguided perception more than the San Jose Sharks. The franchise has won the division five times but made the conference finals just twice in that span. They upset three higher seeds to get there, but in the two against the Nashville Predators, the Sharks were favored.
At the same time, while the Sharks were eliminated by a lower seed five times, three of those five teams went on to win at least three games in the St ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by MJ Kasprzak
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