The San Jose Sharks have had a pretty good season overall. They got off to a hot start, similar to last year, with a 9 game point streak. The emergence of rookies Tomas Hertl, Matt Nieto, and the surprising performance of Bracken Kearns, have certainly aided the Sharks a lot. In addition to this, the Sharks have had the consistent play of Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture, and Joe Pavelski. It seems that the Sharks have all the pieces in place for a deep run into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

They have hit some bumps on the road to this point, losing rookie sensation Tomas Hertl to injury, as well as Logan Couture, Adam Burish, and Raffi Torres, but the Sharks have managed to remain as one of the NHLs elite teams through all these difficulties. Right now, some say, they are playing some of their best hockey that they’ve played all season.

The Sharks also have four Olympians in Patrick Marleau, and Marc Edouard-Vlasic, Antti Niemi, and Joe Pavelski, as well as three other players that could have easily been selected to their teams. (Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, and Logan Couture) On top of all this, the Sharks have locked down future hall of famers Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton for the next three years, so the future is looking bright.

The Sharks are riding a 6 game winning streak going into tonight’s match up against the LA Kings, and they are 8-2-0 in their last ten games. These last six games have included 2 shutouts from Alex Stalock, 7 goals from Joe Pavelski, and 11 combined points from Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton. The Kings are coming off of a 3-0 shutout loss in the NHL Stadium Series, which was played at Dodger Stadium, and are also 3-5-2 in their last 10. The Sharks have won 7 straight against the Kings at home, and we’ll see if they can do it again. It is always an interesting match up when LA comes to town, and I am certainly looking forward to it.