The San Jose Sharks had a narrow edge with just a third left to play in tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Then San Jose fell apart in the final stretch to lose 4-2.
That’s unfortunately become a great metaphor for their season. With roughly 61% of the campaign in the books, the San Jose Sharks had a 27-17-6 record and were on track to narrowly make the playoffs. Similarly, Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks hope of at least squeaking by with a win tonight after his power-play goal in the second period allowed them to enter the intermission with a 2-1 lead.
The Ottawa Senators came charging back in the third though with three unanswered goals. Ottawa’s Mike Hoffman was the hero tonight with two goals and an assist, including the game-winner.
While the 2014-15 campaign hasn’t reached its conclusion, if San Jose continues down this path it will be remembered as a team that squandered its postseason aspirations in the final third of the season. As it is, the Sharks finished February with a 3-8-2 record. Given that the second Wild Card seed Minnesota Wild won tonight, the Sharks are now five points shy in that race. However, they’re still only two points behind the Los Angeles Kings and the third seed in the Pacific Division.
There’s enough time left for San Jose to dig itself out of this hole, but the team is running out of chances.
