Tonight, on an ice rink far, far away…

SHARKS WARS

EPISODE XXXII

It is a period of extended travel. The SAN JOSE SHARKS, on the first leg of a five-game road trip, have won two critical victories against the MONTREAL CANADIENS and TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS.

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Sharks face the struggling OTTAWA SENATORS. Ottawa has lost three of their last four games, but possess an elite offense with enough power to destroy an opposing team.

Pursued by five teams separated by six points or less chasing two divisional playoff spots, the Sharks race into the Canadian Tire Centre, custodian of the second playoff spot that can please the fans and restore the postseason in San Jose….

Tale Of The Tape

	@
16-14-1	Record	16-11-5
2nd in Pacific	Rank	4th in Atlantic
51.6%	Score-Adj. Fenwick	45.5%
99.3	PDO	102.1
19.2	PP%	20.4
82.5	PK%	78.3

4:30 PM PDT | Canadian Tire Centre | Ottawa, Ontario
TV: CSNCA | Radio: SJSharks.com, 98.5 KFOX
Know Your Enemy: Silver Seven

Last Meeting

It was revenge of the fifth, as the Senators scored five goals to ensure their fifth straight victory and jump into the East’s final playoff spot, downing the Sharks 5-2.

Storylines

• Last night, the Maple Leafs realized that letting the Wookiee win is even wiser in hockey than it is Dejarik. Brent Burns scored the game-winner for San Jose, and added two assists. Burns had only posted points in two other games this month, and hopefully this means Burns is out of his small funk.
• There has been an awakening on the blueline. Have you felt it? After adding an assist in last night’s win, Justin Braun now has five points in his last four games. The former seventh-rounder is getting more pucks on net, with 20 shots on goal this month after posting 26 total in October and November.
• Ottawa’s offense is reminiscent of the Death Star: so far this season, they haven’t needed a lot of chances to score, but the early success masks some critical flaws. Ottawa does rank fourth in the league in goals per game, but are doing so in large part to a league-high 10.6% shooting percentage. With the third-highest PDO in the league and abysmal possession numbers, Ottawa’s likely due for regression, though likely not at the hands of a pair of well-timed proton torpedoes.
• Apparently a new Star Wars film comes out tonight? I wouldn’t have guessed it based on this game preview. In all seriousness, please keep your discussion of the film in today’s threads spoiler-free, or feel free to make a fanpost to post spoilers to your heart’s content!