San Francisco Bay Area

San Jose travels to Anaheim tonight to take on their hated-rival Anaheim Ducks.

Of course, the Sharks can always find other ways to win, like great goaltending or scoring six goals again. However, playing the Ducks is like playoff hockey, and it's going to be the small things that count.

If the Sharks are going to dominate the Ducks this year as they did the last, they'll have to keep their focus on three small things that will make a huge difference.

Ryane Clowe played in his 300th game for the San Jose Sharks, and scored a goal to celebrate.

Only one other player scored Saturday, with Devin Setoguchi getting his first career hat trick. Antti Niemi continued to make fans forget about Evgeni Nabokov, making 25 saves in his 16th straight start for his fifth shutout of the season.

The Sharks' power play, after going 0-12 over six games, ran a streak of three straight conversions with two tallies added in the first period before failing on one in the third.

After Patrick Marleau reached his 1000th game, he was rewarded with some new teammates.

The San Jose Sharks appear to have conceded that they lack the talent necessary to be a contender in the deep Western Conference, where 2.5 games separate the eighth-best (i.e. last playoff) team from the 14th-best (i.e. second-worst).

The Chicago Blackhawks have been the winners of eight of their last 11 games, stemming back from last month.  Returning west for a two-game road trip after winning three of four at the United Center, the Hawks face two teams that bested Chicago in their initial meetings this season.

A split would be acceptable, but the Blackhawks should be eying a sweep of San Jose and Colorado.

Less than a minute into Chicago's match up with the Calgary Flames Sunday night at the United Center, all eyes were focused near the Flames blue line.  Not on the puck, but at the young man clutching his left leg.

Patrick Kane's first shift Sunday was his last shift.  For how long, who knows?

Whether the Chicago Blackhawks are sailing on the wave of a winning streak or struggling as they have been of late, fans have many facets of the game with which to banter around the water cooler or bar.  The conversation can weave around new faces, injuries, leadership, scoring, defense, heart, complacency, or even the schedule. 

In the Windy City, the talk is eventually going to focus between the pipes.

The San Jose Sharks travel to St. Louis to take on a red-hot streaking opponent in the Blues Thursday after having a streak of their own ended in Minnesota.

Sportsnet is reporting on Wednesday afternoon that goalie Antti Niemi could sign with the San Jose Sharks as soon as Friday, according to a source.

Sportsnet also cites a $2M base salary amount, which is $750,000 less than an arbitrator awarded the netminder after winning the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in June.

Man, if you're a Sharks fan, this has got to be getting old.

Not only are the Sharks and their fans suffering through yet another year of shattered hopes and quashed dreams, but for the third summer in a row, the debate of whether or not to blow-up this team will begin to rage like a California fire.

I'm not a Sharks fan, but, as a Red Wings fan, I do have a soft-spot for elite, high-profile teams and, as a native Californian, have followed the Sharks closely over the years.

For the record, I really thought this year's Sharks team was going to finally get it done.

A bold statement to be sure, but a month ago I picked them to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Cup Final.

San Jose is a team whose time has come, mostly because it has to. Several key members of the San Jose team will be entering free agency this offseason and are literally playing for their lives.

Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau, Devin Setoguchi, Evgeni Nabokov, Rob Blake, Jed Ortmeyer, and 17 others may in fact find themselves playing for other teams next season.