Do you know the way to….L.A.?!?! The San Jose Sharks better figure out how to get to the Staples Center Tuesday night if they want to have a chance at reaching their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history. So far they haven’t shown up for a road game in the second round.
Three times the Sharks have reached the Western Conference Finals, only to falter. Tuesday night San Jose will try to book their fourth trip to the next round with the defending champs standing in their way. With Los Angeles and San Jose combining for an 0-6 road record, the odds are certainly stacked against the sixth seeded Sharks.
Even the most die-hard Shark fan will be quick to admit that their beloved hockey club has underperformed in the playoffs. Four Pacific Division titles from 2008-2011 produced losses in the first, second and twice in the third round (conference final). Coach Todd McLellan has come under fire during this time despite leading the team to unprecedented heights.
The Sharks have always had the talent on the roster on offense and defense and now goaltending. Of course the window is closing on the core of the talented roster. Captain Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle and Martin Havlat are all on the wrong side of 30. Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski are the future of the club and are each performing at an elite level this postseason. As the obvious successors to the Sharks’ leadership, they have blended well with the elder statesmen on the roster.
Time is clearly not on the side of McLellan and his veterans. In the sports world it is all about winning now. There are no more excuses and no new reasons for the Sharks to fail. The glaring disparity between home and away success defies explanation. It boils down to players and coaches being well prepared to win away from the comforts of home. Another early playoff exit could mean the end of the road for Todd McLellan.
With the parity that is becoming more prevalent in the NHL time is running out for the familiar faces in San Jose. Everyone around them is getting better, and there are plenty of younger teams that are improving rapidly. This might be the last shot for Thornton and his mates and they need to embrace it.
Game 7 is Tuesday night at 9 p.m. EST. The odds might be against the Sharks, but they will rise to the moment and send the Los Angeles fans home confused. I would say upset, but most Kings’ “fans” didn’t realize they had a hockey team 13 months ago. Hockey may still be a relatively new thing to California, but if a Golden State team wins another Stanley Cup, it will be from San Jose.