With all of the media around Super Bowl XLVII, there is one
team that is quietly dominating the NHL. The San Jose Sharks are off to their
best start in franchise history having won their first seven games this season.
The NHL record for most wins to start a season is 10 and the Sharks are playing
like that record could be broken.
The Sharks
were the 7th seed in the NHL playoffs last year and lost to the St.
Louis Blues in the first round. This season, the Sharks have given up only
eight goals in their first five games before winning back to back shootouts.
They are led by their first line of LW Patrick Marleau, C Joe Thornton, and RW
Joe Pavelski. Marleau leads the NHL in goals with 9, Thornton leads with
assists with 11, and Pavelski is tied for 6th in the league in
points with 12. G Antti Niemi would win the Vezina Trophy if the season ended
today which is given to the best goaltender every year. He has played in six of
the seven games, allowing only 12 goals and has a goals against average of 1.95.
The San
Jose Sharks have never won a Stanley Cup in their 12 years of existence. They
have never even won a conference championship but head coach Todd McLellan, in
his fifth year with the team, has the Sharks playing the best hockey and their
record shows that.
As long as
their dynamic trio of Marleau, Thornton, and Pavelski keep producing, the
Sharks could win their first Stanley Cup. The Sharks host the
Nashville Predators tonight at 8:30 MT.
image was used from sbnation.com
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