Sharks clinch Pacific Division title..

[Upton]

There was little celebrating for the San Jose Sharks after another convincing clincher as they know they still have so much more to accomplish to make this season truly a success.

Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist to give him 999 career points and help the Sharks clinch their fourth straight Pacific Division title with a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.

"We have a pretty darned good division, so it's a feather in your cap," Thornton said. "But we still have some work to do. We're still fighting to get that second seed. But it's a good step for us."


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/04/04/sports/s213305D28.DTL#ixzz1IefSZRLL

The Sharks are playing about as well as I've ever seen them. Since coming off a 6 game losing streak in Jan., they've now gone 26-4-4..

[JonLP24]

1. Congrats to your team

Looks like Phoenix can only hope for a 4th seed. The Sharks win over the Kings helps in that regard.

[Upton]

3. I see the Coyotes are tied with the Kings for 4th..

with Nashville only 1 point back and everybody having 3 to play. Problem for both Phoenix and LA is that none of the Preds remaining games is against a playoff team. I don't know how much difference seeding makes anyway, all these clubs in the West are so close...it would be nice to have 1st round home advantage though.

[Iggo]

4. I think the Kings slipped to 6th after that fine showing last night.

GO KINGS GO

EDIT: Nope. My bad. Listed as 5th but tied with Phoenix (4th) with 96 points.

[Upton]

2. delete..

[Forkboy]

5. They've managed to stay under the radar, amazingly.

Most people, myself included, have been focused on Detroit and Vancouver, but the Sharks have been the best team in the league over the second half.

Getting out of the West is going to be brutal this year, but the NHL is shaping up for one of the best playoffs ever.