SAN JOSE -- Remember way back in September, when the Sharks’ defense was the talk of the town?
It wasn’t that long ago they had a whole season ahead of them, and talking heads were calling them Cup contenders before a single puck had dropped -- and a lot of that hype was geared toward the Sharks' blue line. The trade for Erik Karlsson sent expectations into the stratosphere, as if it guaranteed San Jose’s blue line wouldn’t ever lose a puck battle.
With 33 games in the bag, it’s pretty safe to say that bar was set unrealistically high.