Things are getting a bit hectic in Dallas. As the online March Madness betting begins, the Dallas Stars find themselves holding on to sixth place in the Western Conference by only one point. The rest of the NHL seems to be passing the Stars by as Dallas cannot get any consistent goaltending or consistent production out of their offense. The betting services are starting to wonder if removing the veteran leadership of Mike Modano and replacing proven NHL starting goaltender Marty Turco with a platoon of backups was such a great idea.
The San Jose Sharks have found their rhythm, and a lot of it has to do with the resurgence of goaltender Antti Niemi. When the season started, Niemi was repeatedly benched and making San Jose fans wish they had kept long-time goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. But Niemi’s play has improved so dramatically that the Sharks just offered the former Stanley Cup champion a three-year contract extension.
The rest of the Sharks seem to have fallen into line as the scorers are finally scoring and the defense is playing tough in front of the Sharks’ net. All of this has resulted in San Jose climbing to the top of the Pacific Division and into third place in the Western Conference.
Dallas Stars
It isn’t that the Dallas Stars are playing terrible hockey, it is just that they are losing critical games at the wrong times. The Stars are 6-2-2 in the last 10 games, which is a respectable run. But their most recent game was a loss to the Los Angeles Kings who the Stars were ahead of in the standings by one point until the loss. Now the Stars have fallen yet another spot and are holding on to sixth place in the conference by only one point. Dallas is currently tied in points with the Chicago Blackhawks and hold on to the sixth spot by virtue of a better conference record. But with Chicago posting a 7-1-2 record in the last 10 games, the Stars are going to have to do better if they want to stay in the playoff hunt.
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks have finally learned that regular season success does not always translate into playoff wins. When the wheels seemed to be coming off the Sharks’ playoff wagon early in the season, San Jose did not panic. They did not make any ill-advised trades or moves with their farm team. They rested Niemi from time-to-time, and kept working with their system. As soon as Niemi found his game, the Sharks got back on the winning track. The Sharks are 7-1-2 in the last 10 games and now lead the Pacific Division. San Jose trails conference-leading Vancouver by 13 points and that is not even an issue for concern in San Jose. The Sharks just want to enter the playoffs with some momentum.
The Bottom Line
Dallas is having problems closing the deal on a playoff spot and the Sharks are not going to have any sympathy for the Stars. Now that the Sharks have their winning groove going, they are probably going to be the last team that the Dallas Stars want to see.
Pick: San Jose Sharks
