San Jose is failing the season and has firmly established itself at the bottom of the Western Conference table. The play-off zone is already a precipice and even in the wildest fantasies the Sharks do not dream of returning in the fight for relegation games. The visitors have lost their last 4 matches, conceding 15 goals. If we subtract purely away matches, the losing streak is even bigger. The next game is against Pittsburgh and the Sharks coach can’t count on Shimek, Nutivara or Kanin. The losses do not seem to be the most serious, but Łukasz Kanin started the season very strongly for himself, who collapsed in mid-December and is still recovering.

Pittsburgh is a mix of wins and losses at this point in the season, but it’s important to remember that all of the recent losses have not occurred in regular time. The “Penguins” may not boast a streak of victories, but they score points in every game, which is extremely important in the context of the fight for the play-offs. I’m glad Malkin is finally stable and injury free, he and Crosby are the team’s main strikers and I’m hoping for more goals and assists from them in this match. Until Letanga finds his best form, I expect much more from him than he is showing now. But the important thing is that all the leaders are in the cage, there are injured players, but they did not play a key role.