Sharks Try to Surface From Deep

The San Jose Sharks sit last in the NHL’s Pacific Division. An eight-point crevice separates them from the eighth-place Colorado Avalanche for the last playoff spot.

Yet, Western Conference teams still hear the “Jaws� theme, which grew louder after the Sharks acquired center Joe Thornton from the Boston Bruins in December. People are a bit nervous.

“They were picked as one the three top teams in the Western Conference and that was before they acquired Joe Thornton,� said King Coach Andy Murray, whose team has a double-digit point lead on the Sharks, yet lost four of five games to them.

The other people who appear a little edgy are the Sharks.

They have a 15-7-3 record since getting Thornton, yet have gained only a point on a playoff spot in that time.

“Sooner or later, if we keep letting games slip away, we’re not going to be able to say we can still get into [the playoffs],� team captain Patrick Marleau said.

The Sharks’ play in January has at times reminded everyone -- including themselves -- that this was a team that reached the conference finals in 2003-04, the last time the NHL played a season.

But the Sharks’ trouble remains their streaky nature. Earlier this month, they ran off five consecutive victories to close within four points of eighth place, then gave back that ground by losing four of six.

“We’ve given away a lot of points we would like to have,� said forward Scott Thornton, Joe’s cousin. “I wouldn’t say we are frustrated. I’d say we’re disappointed and a little upset.�

The roots of the Sharks’ problems are in net.

Evgeni Nabokov, considered among the NHL’s best, has struggled at times, partly because of groin and shoulder injuries. Vesa Toskala, who was so well thought of that the Sharks traded Miikka Kiprusoff to Calgary in 2003-04, has also battled a groin problem and his play has been inconsistent.

Both are unrestricted free agents at the end of this season, which may lead to one of the two being traded.

The Sharks, an NHL team official said, talked with the Tampa Bay Lightning about swapping Nabokov for a veteran defenseman two weeks ago. The trade speculation gained speed when Nabokov sat out the Sharks’ game against the Lightning on Jan. 16. The story was Nabokov had a sore groin, and goaltender Nolan Schaefer was recalled from the minors. Nabokov, though, declined to acknowledge the injury to reporters the next day, saying, “I feel fine.�

The deal seemingly fizzled and Schaefer was sent to the minors days later.

“Sometimes, I question the actual sanity of some of this stuff,� Shark Coach Ron Wilson said. “There are [teams] who try to gain advantage by saying some stuff that is absurd.�

Wilson, though, did point to goaltending as the cause of the Sharks’ early-season problems.

“Each tried to play games with sore groins, which ended not being a smart move. It hurt the team,� Wilson said “Now they caught up physically.�

Whether the Sharks, who play the Mighty Ducks twice this week, can catch up in the standings remains to be seen.

The Sharks have no one to blame but themselves. They lost 10 consecutive games in November, which resulted in the trade for Thornton.

“Frankly, I was surprised where the team was when I got here,� Thornton said. “They were picked as one of the top teams and I knew there was a lot of talent here.�

The trade gave the Sharks a lethal one-two punch at center with Thornton and Marleau.

Thornton went on an eight-game point streak after the deal. He is tied for fourth in the NHL with 67 points. Marleau has 31 points and Jonathan Cheechoo, one of his linemates, has 21 goals in the 25 games since the trade.

“We clawed our way back since the trade,� Wilson said. “I think that we’ll end up where we think we should be, if we keep paying attention to detail and stay disciplined.�

Capital Gains

Ottawa is the seat of Canada’s government, and the city’s hockey fans have long chafed at their second-city status to Toronto in Ontario.

The sight of so many Toronto Maple Leaf jerseys in the Ottawa Senators’ Scotiabank Place and the fact that Toronto has eliminated Ottawa from the playoffs four times made for sore topics of conversation along the Rideau Canal.

But the Senators are dominating the provincial rivalry, winning all six regular-season games against the Maple Leafs so far this season.

“There is huge rivalry between Ottawa and Toronto, so any time we play against them, we are ready,� Senator goaltender Dominik Hasek said. “Everybody talks about it and we know the history, especially in the playoffs.

“We feel we’re the better team. We feel when we play against them we can beat them.�

Ending a Blue Streak

The official cry of “uncle� came from the St. Louis Blues, whose woeful season and uncertain ownership status has resulted in contract dumping. The team on Monday shipped veteran center Doug Weight, one of the plums available around the NHL, to the Carolina Hurricanes.

A day earlier, Blues center Mike Sillinger was sent to the Nashville Predators, and forward Keith Tkachuk is said to be on the market. Meanwhile, TSN, a Canadian sports network, reported Monday that the Blues are on the verge of being sold to a group headed by former Madison Square Garden executive David Checketts.

The Blues have the fewest points in the league with 32, with no chance of extending their playoff streak. They have reached the Stanley Cup playoffs 25 consecutive seasons, the longest active postseason streak in the four major professional sports. That honor will now fall to the Detroit Red Wings and baseball’s Atlanta Braves. Both have reached the playoffs 14 consecutive seasons.

Weight is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and might be in Carolina only until then. His presence, however, should add credibility to the Hurricanes, who have 76 points, the most in the NHL, but remain suspect in many eyes because of the Southeast Division’s perceived weakness.