Geoff JohnsonThe Western conference is going to have a close ending of the regular season and two teams that want to be in the postseason clash this Thursday night as the San Jose Sharks take on the Minnesota Wild, at 10:30 PM ET at the HP Pavilion center.
The Sharks and Wild are separated just by two points in the standings with San Jose on top, but there are plenty of teams behind them looking to get also a spot in the playoffs.
Minnesota has won their last two games at Calgary and at Edmonton, scoring four and five goal respectively.
“I think we’re starting to turn a corner,” Kyle Brodziak, who scored two goals against the Oilers said. “It feels good to get these two points. Our team needed it. We’re still in a real tough playoff race. We went through a definite lull where we weren’t playing the way we should, but as of late, we are starting to find our game again.”
“We are in the process of trying to get better every night,” said Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom, who only faced 19 shots. “There was a stretch where we had terrible starts, and that cost us the game, but we came out very quickly in this game. It is always nice to get the early lead. You aren’t chasing them and can play your own game.
The Sharks have won three of the last four, including two in a row; their last win came against the Los Angeles Kings in a shootout.
The season series between Minnesota and San Jose is 1-1 with each team winning their home game.
