When the San Jose Sharks take the ice tonight against the St. Louis Blues, it'll start a week full of games with major playoff implications.
Starting with the Blues, they've been on a roll as of late as they look to put themselves back in the playoff conversation with limited time remaining in the season. They've won four straight games, including a 2-1 win over the Sharks on Thursday. If St. Louis can pick up the win tonight, they'll jump the Sharks in the standings and put an additional team between San Jose and the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Then, the Sharks will host a very important back-to=back in the middle of the week. First, they'll face off against the top team in the Pacific Division, the Anaheim Ducks. While the Sharks certainly won't be able to catch the Ducks in the standings at this stage, it's important to pick up as many points as possible with just 11 games remaining in the regular season.
The following night, the Sharks will face the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs. Ironically though, despite their struggles it won't be an easy night for the Sharks regardless. Despite being out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, the Maple Leafs have more points than the Sharks on the season. If they were in the Western Conference, they'd be fighting for the wild card right alongside San Jose.
Arguably the most important game of the week will take place on Saturday. The Sharks will host the Nashville Predators, the current holders of the second wild card spot in the west. At the time of writing, the Sharks are just four points back of the Predators, but of course a lot can change in the coming week. Regardless, it's hard to imagine the Sharks will find their way to the playoffs without a couple of four-point swings going their way.
It's going to be a hectic week at the SAP Center, and with time running out on the 2025-26 season, the Sharks are going to need every single point they can get moving forward.