San Jose a Legit contender?
Posted 4:19 PM ET | Comments 0
Desptie the first round being over, not much has been solved in terms of a front runner to walk out of the West. Detroit, San Jose, and anheim all have a legit shot at making it to the Cup finals. Vancouve ris on the outside looking in.
San Jose has been extremely impressive though. Their young players have come through with big goals. The power play wasn't even really needed in the first round in an impressive 5 game ousting of the Nashville Predators. They already have taken Home Ice advantage away from detroit in round 2 by winning the opening game. Heres the scary part though...
Jonathan Cheechoo still hasn't even scored yet. If Cheechoo starts lighting up the goal like he did down the stretch, every team is going to be in trouble. Sharks should have walked into the finals last season after round one of the playoffs, but they fell apart after game 3 of the 2nd round. I think they have learned from that though, and that they will probably meet Anaheim in the Conference Finals (and it would be a memorable one).
The Sharks outstanding road record is also cause for concern for the opposition. They had the most road wins in the league. Tampa bay won their first Cup in 2004, Carolina in 2006, can Shark's win their first Cup in 2007 and follow synch?
San Jose has been extremely impressive though. Their young players have come through with big goals. The power play wasn't even really needed in the first round in an impressive 5 game ousting of the Nashville Predators. They already have taken Home Ice advantage away from detroit in round 2 by winning the opening game. Heres the scary part though...
Jonathan Cheechoo still hasn't even scored yet. If Cheechoo starts lighting up the goal like he did down the stretch, every team is going to be in trouble. Sharks should have walked into the finals last season after round one of the playoffs, but they fell apart after game 3 of the 2nd round. I think they have learned from that though, and that they will probably meet Anaheim in the Conference Finals (and it would be a memorable one).
The Sharks outstanding road record is also cause for concern for the opposition. They had the most road wins in the league. Tampa bay won their first Cup in 2004, Carolina in 2006, can Shark's win their first Cup in 2007 and follow synch?