San Jose headed into the playoffs last season hotter than any other team in the National Hockey League. However, despite the addition of Brian Campbell, the Pacific Division crown, and the 20-game string without a regulation loss, an unshakable doubt still lingered over the team. Why? Because they couldn't deliver when the rain fell, tide rose, and thunder rolled. Simply put, the Sharks won when they played well and lost when they didn't.
It's only been eight months since the Sharks stumbled to their third consecutive second-round playoff loss, but it might as well be eight years. The Sharks added another impressive chapter to the 2008-09 season on Tuesday night, rallying for a 2-1 overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Perhaps they were looking ahead to the six-day break, the vacation flights to Las Vegas or Hawaii, but the Sharks didn't play well against Vancouver. Still, championship teams charge through the obstacles and find a way to win, and that's exactly what they did.
Most of the credit goes to San Jose's top unit, affectionately dubbed the "Two Goats and a Kid" line. Joe Thornton set up Devin Setoguchi for the tying goal in the final minute of regulation time. Then, minutes later, Patrick Marleau sealed the victory with a picture perfect one-timer from (who else?) Thornton. It wasn't pretty, but the most satisfying victories, the ones that reveal a team's character, rarely are.
With the win, Team Teal reaches the All-Star break with an immaculate 34-6-5 record and 73 points. It's unfathomable to think the Sharks are going to suffer another playoff collapse. There's just no way it can happen. Not this time. Not this year. Looking back on the team's 34 wins, you'll find a lot of the dominant, bashing weaker opponents like an oversized tetherball. But you'll also see a few of the desperate, overcoming long odds through sheer desire and a newfound resiliency. Those are the ones you love, the ones that will have the Sharks playing once June rolls around.
It's funny, but as I was typing this I flipped the channel over to "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." Sure Jan. 20 isn't ideal timing to watch the greatest Christmas movie ever produced, but I didn't catch it before Santa came down the chimney this year. Then again, I suppose it wasn't ideal timing for the Sharks tonight either, scoring their first goal with 40 seconds remaining. Come to think of it, it won't be ideal timing if the Sharks win the Stanley Cup this season, coming a year or two behind schedule. I guess in each instance we can agree: Better late than never.
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