9/19/2020 - Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images I hate to admit it, but this is a pretty fun Final match-up. Given how unpredictable 2020 has been so far, I’m honestly not sure how I would rank a Stanley Cup Final where Barclay Goodrow faces off against Joe Pavelski while the San Jose Sharks are on a nine-month hiatus. It seems like in a year without coronavirus, this would just be one of those always the bridesmaid, never the bride moments that Sharks fans revel in, a familiar pain of being told “It’s not your turn just yet.” Instead, we’re here, with hockey being played in a bubble that I’m ultimately glad the Sharks were spared from, and two former Sharks players who, all things considered, have earned a right to a Stanley Cup Final. I’m happy for them, even if it’s because I’m cursed with a heart that won’t let me wish anything horrible onto any former Sharks — once you have my affection, that’s sort of a life-long deal that’s pretty hard to break, even if a certain two-time cup Collapse

9/16/2020 - Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images You think your quarantine has been long? Boughner’s been waiting on a job this whole time. As the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs finally start to draw to a close and free agency just around the corner with an October 9 start date, the future is suddenly a little less nebulous. That lack of certainty has allowed for the Sharks to take their time when it comes to several decisions going forward into what will surely be another strange season, including naming the franchise’s ninth full-time head coach. Interim coach Bob Boughner, who came into the position in December 2019 as the sole survivor of a coaching staff culling, has been the front-runner for the position, with reports in June that the “interim” would be dropped from his title. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson had nothing new to report in July when Darren Dreger of TSN reported that Boughner would be adding Rocky Thompson, former head coach of the AHL Chicago Wolves, to his coaching Collapse

9/11/2020 - Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images The Tampa Bay Lightning will go for a 3-0 stranglehold over the New York Islanders. One year after crashing out of the playoffs as heavy favorites, the Tampa Bay Lightning are just two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final. The Bolts were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2019 playoffs after finishing with a league-high 128 points. That loss seems to have Tampa Bay laser-focused this postseason. The Lightning have won six-straight playoff games, including a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final. Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov scored the game-winner with just nine seconds left in the third period to give the Bolts the victory. Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was sensational, making 27 saves for the win. It had to be deflating for New York. The Islanders played much better than they did in the 8-2 blowout loss in the opener, but couldn’t find a way to hang on Collapse

9/7/2020 - Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images We are down to the final four teams! The NHL playoffs are down to the final four teams. The Western Conference Final features the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars. Vegas beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 in Game 7 of the Western Conference semi-final. Defenseman Shea Theodore scored the winner with 6:08 remaining in the third period before Alex Tuch and Paul Stasny added empty-netters to close out the Canucks. Goaltender Robin Lehner had a relatively easy game against Vancouver, making 14 saves for the shutout. Although Lehner wasn’t tested often, he made a game-saving stop on Canucks’ forward Brock Boeser to keep it scoreless. The Dallas Stars had an unlikely hero in Game 7 of their series against the Colorado Avalanche. Left-winger Joel Kiviranta scored three times, including the overtime winner to give the Stars a 5-4 win. It was just Kiviranta’s third appearance in the postseason, but he definitely earned himself another game with his Collapse

9/2/2020 - Photo by Samuel Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images ESPN’s Emily Kaplan talked with people from around the league to get a sense on when the puck will drop next season. The NHL playoffs are approaching the conference finals, so the league is starting to look at options for proceeding with the 2020-21 season. The NHL’s regular timeline is not an option during the pandemic, with the schedule usually kicking off in October. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan wrote a piece detailing some of the ideas the league is mulling ahead of the next season. She caught up with a few NHL and team executives. Some of the things Kaplan is hearing are: Although NHL commissioner Gary Bettman believes an 82-game schedule is possible, many are skeptical. The situation is fluid, so the league will have to make adjustments on the fly. The more realistic option is aiming to play 70 games and then making changes as needed. San Jose Sharks’ president Jonathan Becher went over some of the ideas the team considering Collapse

8/27/2020 - Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images The players from the eight teams agreed to postpone their scheduled matchups until the weekend. The NHL playoff games scheduled for Thursday and Friday are postponed. The league announced it will move all four second-round games to the weekend, as a protest against racism and police brutality. This is a player-driven decision in response to the police-involved shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that more than 100 NHL players participated in a conference call with San Jose Sharks’ forward Evander Kane and Matt Dumba of the Minnesota Wild, who are both a part of the Hockey Diversity Alliance. More than 100 players in the bubble had a call with Evander Kane and Matt Dumba this afternoon.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) August 27, 2020 The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders were scheduled to play Game 3 of their Eastern Conference second-round series. The New York Post’s Larry Collapse

8/25/2020 - Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images The Bruins and Golden Knights will try and take 2-0 leads in each of their series. We down to the final eight teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs. There are two games on the slate today, one from each conference. In the early afternoon matchup, the Boston Bruins will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of their series. David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist to lead the Bruins to a win in the opener. Boston was up 3-0 before Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman scored twice in the third period to set up an exciting final minute. Jaroslav Halak held down the fort for the Bruins and they hung on to a 3-2 win. Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the Las Vegas Golden Knights will try and build off of their strong Game 1 performance and go for a 2-0 series lead over the Vancouver Canucks. The Golden Knights dominated a young Canucks team in the opener. Alex Tuch and Mark Stone each had a goal and an assist, while goaltender Robin Lehner made 29 Collapse

8/19/2020 - Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images Jumbo Joe is an unrestricted free agent, and due to a flat salary cap, he may not be back in San Jose. For just the 14th time in 16 seasons, the San Jose Sharks aren’t participating in the NHL playoffs. One of the players who played a big part in the Sharks’ extended run as a contender is center Joe Thornton. Jumbo Joe has recorded 1,055 points in 1,104 games over 15 seasons with San Jose. He is a fan-favorite who led the Sharks to three Western Conference Finals, and a Stanley Cup Final appearance since being traded to San Jose from the Boston Bruins. The 41-year-old can still produce. He mostly played third-line minutes last season and put up 31 points in 70 games. Thornton will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, giving general manager Doug Wilson a tough decision on whether to bring back Jumbo for one more year. Gavin Daly of The Hockey Writers wrote a piece on if the Sharks should bring Thornton back for the 2020-21 Collapse

8/14/2020 - Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images There’s five games on the schedule to get you into the weekend! Happy Friday! There are five games on the NHL schedule today as the playoffs start ramping up. The early matchup sees the Colorado Avalanche take on the Arizona Coyotes. The Avs exploded for three goals in the span of 1:23 in the third period in Game 1 to beat the Coyotes 3-0. The first Eastern Conference game of the day begins at noon when the Montreal Canadiens will try and even up their series against the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart was sensational in net for the Flyers in the opener, making 27 saves to lead Philadelphia to a 2-1 win. Meanwhile, the upstart Vancouver Canucks are coming off a Game 1 upset win over the defending champion St. Louis Blues. Captain Bo Horvat scored twice in the opener to help Vancouver to a 5-2 victory in the opener. St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington will need to bounce back after struggling in Game 1. The New York Islanders scored three Collapse