Keeping tabs on the enemies...
Two stories of note appeared today regarding the San Jose Sharks' two most fierce rivals - and are worth noting to the Teal Town supporters at large.
Firstly, the Anaheim Ducks' Francois Beauchemin will be out SIX MONTHS with an ACL tear sustained against the Nashville Predators during a 4-3 O.T. loss. Defenseman Brett Festerling was recalled from Iowa, as was forward Bobby Ryan.
Secondly, the Dallas Stars traded defenseman Philippe Boucher for Darryl Sydor of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sydor returns to the first team with whom he won the Stanley Cup (the other being Tampa Bay).
Thirdly, in regards to recent matchups featuring each of our divisional rivals = the Los Angeles Kings lost 2-0 to the Anaheim Ducks at the Pond on Sunday, and the Phoenix Coyotes lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars at Jobing.com Arena on Saturday.
Finally, here's a look at the division records.
| Pacific | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Home | Road | L10 |
| San Jose | 19 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 69 | 48 | 10-0-1 | 5-3-0 | 8-1-1 |
| Anaheim | 19 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 57 | 58 | 5-5-2 | 5-2-0 | 6-2-2 |
| Phoenix | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 40 | 41 | 5-3-0 | 3-5-0 | 5-5-0 |
| Los Angeles | 17 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 42 | 45 | 5-5-2 | 2-3-0 | 4-4-2 |
| Dallas | 17 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 48 | 62 | 2-2-2 | 4-6-1 | 4-4-2 |
If you'd rather not compute all of that, here's the important stuff - Anaheim is in 4th place in the Western Conference, with 22 points in 19 games. Or, ahem, nine full points behind the Sharks, who have likewise played 19 games. Phoenix is in 11th place, L.A. is in 13th, and Dallas is just one point behind at 14th place, ranking temporarily ahead of the St. Louis Blues, who are one point behind with one game in hand.
Almost makes you wax nostalgic for the Pacific Division of yesteryear...
GO SHARKS.