San Jose Sharks await Ottawa Senators at the HP Pavilion – NHL Preview
After winning their last three games at home, the San Jose Sharks are confident that they can snap Ottawa Senators’ four-game on-road winning streak as the two sides prepare to meet at the HP Pavilion on Thursday, January, 19, 2012.
Senators defeated Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, and are now ready to add the Sharks’ name to that list.
After playing 48 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) season 2011-2012, the Senators are ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference with 58 points.
This month, they have only lost two out of their nine games and the players think that their captain, Daniel Alfredsson, should be give credit for leading the team impressively.
"I think it's just the character of what we have in the room", goalie, Craig Anderson, said. "Our leadership, our guys that find ways to bring it every day. You know, I think it's a credit to our captain Alfie and how he comes to the rink every day, battles
hard. That guy never takes a day off and he's just a great role model for everybody else".
Despite being in exploding form, the Senators must fear the Sharks, who have the capability to end their winning run.
The Sharks have played 43 games and are ranked third in the Western Conference with 57 points. However, they are slightly bothered by the victory margins.
Even if they sometimes manage to score four or more goals, San Jose allows the opponents to rally.
Their last game against Calgary Flames was tied till the final period as both teams failed to score any goal in the extra period forcing the game to be decided in a shootout.
After Sharks’ victory, left winger, Tony Mitchell, was of the view that his team should score more goals and he maintained that even a one-goal lead might be helpful for them in the future.
"These one-goal games hopefully down the road will help us in the playoffs. It seems like we can't find a game where we score five or six goals. Every game has been tight. Our team, we're resilient", Mitchell said.
These two teams are evenly matched, which certainly calls for an exciting game on Thursday.
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