NHL Playoffs: Chicago Blackhawks Hold San Jose’s Key to Beating Los Angeles in Game 7?
By Josh Hill
The San Jose Sharks have looked like a better team than the 6-seed they are in the Western Conference they are right now, but while they’ve looked better than they are, they’ll need to go even further than that to pull off a crucial road win in Los Angeles if they want to keep their Stanley Cup dreams alive. The question Sharks fans are pondering is who will step up and save San Jose’s season?
Sharks’ fans should probably look no further than the series taking place tonight between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. While the series tally is different, the intensity and the way the two teams match up against one another isn’t and San Jose should study hard what Chicago does against Detroit on the road.
San Jose has yet to win a road game this series against Los Angeles — something that has eluded the Blackhawks as well. The Sharks are also going up against the best netminder in hockey while Chicago is facing perhaps the second best and both San Jose and Chicago need to win on the road in their next games to keep their season alive.
Obviously there are differences, but winning on the road against Quick has been a foreign concept so far the Sharks and it’s something they need to get a handle on. They’ve beaten Quick three times this series, so it’s not as if they’re under the impression it’s impossible to get anything past him. San Jose hasn’t been able to do it enough on the road this series and that’s the bottom line in Game 7 on Tuesday.
Like he Blackhawks, San Jose has powerful skaters and deadly shooters but it’s all about getting it to click at the right time in the right spot. Whatever is working for them when they’ve beaten the Kings in San Jose needs to be found and channeled Tuesday inside the Staples Center because there’s no more time left to say they’ll just get the game back on home ice.
Los Angeles has been stout at defending home ice all postseason long, particularly in this series. San Jose has broken the Kings before and they key to breaking the Kings crown for good may lie in what Game 6 of the Blackhawks and Red Wings series has to offer.