Across the SB Nation NHL network this week, NBC Sports is sponsoring a series about playoff hockey and superstition. Here's our contribution, which also serves as our Friday night playoff open thread.

A breakdown of the "Rim" play commonly employed by the Sharks after a defensive zone face-off win.

Alongside Sergei Bobrovsky and Henrik Lundqvist, Niemi finished top three in general manager voting.

As he always seems to do in the playoffs, Patrick Marleau came through for the Sharks in overtime after Joe Pavelski tied it late, sending San Jose to the second round.

With a win tonight at 7PM on home ice, the Sharks can sweep the Canucks out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Somehow, the Sharks find themselves on the brink of eliminating the Canucks before the playoffs are even a week old. They'll attempt to complete the first sweep in franchise history tonight at the Tank.

A look at the numbers behind the Sharks' 5-2 win over Vancouver in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

With one of the greatest postseason performances in franchise history, the Sharks moved one win away from sweeping the Vancouver Canucks out of the first round.