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Sharks focused on Toews, Kane and Byfuglien

Image (1) Toews-thumb-200x300-11421.jpg for post 1586

Watching the Chicago Blackhawks agitate the Vancouver Canucks all the way to a series win the San Jose Sharks are certain to have taken detailed notes on just what exactly went wrong for Vancouver. The Sharks, fresh off of getting that elusive playoff monkey off their backs, now have the pressure on them to continue their run. The Blackhawks will be a much different test for the Sharks than the Avalanche or Red Wings, especially with the confidence they’re riding after some big wins in Vancouver.

At the top of the list of the concerns for the Sharks will be the top line of Dustin Byfuglien, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who wreaked havoc for the Blackhawks by getting under the skin of Roberto Luongo and the Canucks defense. The Sharks are far from the emotional team that the Canucks became, but it’s not just the agitation they’ll have to worry about. Toews and Kane were dominant offensively in the second round, and that is what has to worry the Sharks the most.

From David Pollack of the San Jose Mercury-News:

“He just works hard every shift,” Thornton said of Toews, the leading scorer in the postseason with 20 points. “He’s very skilled and is really turning into a complete player. Whoever’s line goes against him is going to have a real challenge.”

“He’s a big man who really started to make an impact in the series later on,” McLellan said of Byfuglien. “We’ll have a plan for him and figure out how to deal with him.”

Toews became a force to be reckoned with, but you have to wonder if the emotional aspect of the series against Vancouver is what drove the Blackhawks more than anything else. The Sharks and Hawks don’t have much of a history against each other and the Sharks have yet to face Antti Niemi this season.

Just like with any Conference finals, there’s going to be emotions flying but I doubt we’ll see anything close to what we witnessed in the second round.