The San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings both needed to win on Saturday and they both got their way.
The Sharks have benefited recently from getting Martin Havlat back, who scored two goals to help them earn their third win in four games. After a rocky start to the month, San Jose seems to have finally turned a corner.
Los Angeles managed to pace the Sharks with their fourth straight victory and seventh win in their last nine games. The Kings are one of the hottest teams in the Western Conference right now, but they’re still only tied for eighth place with San Jose, despite the fact that Los Angeles has played in one extra game.
Of course, both teams are competing for more than the eighth seed. The Pacific Division is about as tight as it can be right now. San Jose and Los Angeles are a mere point behind the division leading Dallas Stars and only a point ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes.
That’s a logjam that might clear up a bit next week with the Sharks scheduled to play the Kings on Tuesday and the Coyotes on Saturday. The Stars are also getting ready for a match against Phoenix on Tuesday.
There’s something to like about all four teams. The Kings feature one of the best goaltenders in the game right now and they have a deceptively (given their overall offensive output this season) talented core of forwards. The Sharks have two strong scoring lines now that Havlat is back. Dallas has a solid combination of good goaltending with some great top-end talent in Loui Eriksson and Jamie Benn. Finally, the Coyotes have managed to defy the odds this season thanks in large part to goaltender Mike Smith. Phoenix is fading fast though and they’ll need to bounce back quickly if they want to stay in this tight race.
The point is that no division from one to four is closer right now and these teams might be the ones to watch over the final weeks of the season.