Since 2008, the San Jose Sharks have spent most of their time in first place in the Pacific Division. After a win over the rival Detroit Red Wings Thursday, that is once again where they find themselves.
Sure, the NHL standings will not say that. They give two teams who are only four points above .500 the nod over the plus-five Sharks because of an ridiculous system that favours teams who it schedules for 25 percent more games than another team.
It never changes because it does not matter in the end, when every team will have played 82 games. Any coach or team official who focuses on the standings before that takes his team's focus from what is important—winning the next game.
San Jose is always focused on that task when that game is against the Detroit Red Wings. While the two teams have been very even in standings and in goals scored head-to-head over the past two-plus seasons, the Sharks have now won six in-a-row in the regular season and eight of 12 playoff match-ups in that span.
The Sharks followed the theme of the season by finding a different way to win.
The Sharks typically control the puck through winning faceo ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by MJ Kasprzak
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