At this early point in the NHL season, it’s really easy to make predictions that don’t have a very long shelf life. Trying to foreshadow how a season is going to play out at the end of October is truly a risky business.
Yet, everybody does it anyway. And when looking at the San Jose Sharks as they come off a three-game winning streak – especially with the huge comeback win over the Nashville Predators -- it’s hard not to predict they’ll take full control of the Pacific Division and give the big teams in the Western Conference a run for their money.
The Sharks are, without a doubt, playing really good hockey right now. But their biggest competition is still ahead of them.
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE Keep in mind that looking at the current Pacific division standings can be a bit deceiving. Big threats LA and Vegas have been pretty ghastly in the early portion of their 2018-19 campaigns. (The Kings have lost five straight games, for pete’s sake.) And the Sharks would be sitting atop the Pacific if it weren’t for the Vancouver Canucks, a team everyone expected to yet again be terrible and currently holds a 6-4-0 record. But there’s no reason to believe the tables won’t turn – that Jonathan Quick won’t right the ship for the Kings or that the Golden Knights won’t rediscover that dominance they played with all last season. Both of these teams will still be strong opponents for San Jose as the season progresses.
[RELATED: Thornton still out]
Let's not forget San Jose hasn’t even squared off with some of the conference’s fiercest competitors yet. They’ve yet to match up with big guns like the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche, two teams starting their seasons off in the top-10 in scoring league-wide. Plus, as great as the win over Nashville was, the Sharks still have to play them two more times this season. (We all saw on Tuesday night how overpowering the Predators can be when their top line leads the charge and crashes the net.)
And then, there are the upcoming matchups that don’t look as intimidating as they really could be. Like the Sharks’ Friday night opponent, the Hurricanes. Carolina may be sitting on a 5-3-1 record, but they have the best puck possession in the league – San Jose ranks second – and are superior to Team Teal in the faceoff circle winning over 50% of their draws. These two factors could play a huge factor in Friday’s game.
San Jose Sharks
Find the latest San Jose Sharks news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
So what’s a team to do with all this competition ahead of them? They’ve certainly found a winning formula over the past week with improved special teams and strong third period play that puts their opponents on their heels. They’ll have to keep that up with their biggest competition likely still ahead of them.