Sharks propelled by Kane trade, goaltending

The San Jose Sharks are headed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 13th time in 14 seasons and 20th in their history, clinching a berth when the Colorado Avalanche lost to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
A late-season surge that included an eight-game winning streak, their longest since winning seven in a row twice during the 2012-13 season, has the Sharks (44-25-10) second in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Kings, with three games remaining.

Here are five reasons the Sharks clinched a playoff berth:

1. Kane fitting in

The Sharks are 11-4-1 since acquiring forward Evander Kane in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 26. Kane has fit like a glove with 14 points (nine goals, five assists), including a four-goal game (his first NHL hat trick) against the Calgary Flames on March 16. He is the fourth player in Sharks history to score four goals in one game (Owen Nolan, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl) and first since Marleau against the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 23, 2017.
"Speed, physicality, a shooter, goal scoring, hits," defenseman Brenden Dillon said. "Just a guy that brings a different element that we maybe didn't have right off the hop. He's just seemed to add that extra little punch that we need. I know from playing against him all those years, he's a guy you've got to be aware of and a guy who that can [create] a lot of danger."

2. Secondary scoring

Others were counted on to contribute after Marleau signed a three-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 2 and 38-year-old center Joe Thornton had arthroscopic surgery to repair the medial collateral ligament in his right knee Jan. 25.
Centers Hertl (21 goals) and Chris Tierney (17), along with forwards Timo Meier (19), Joonas Donskoi (13) and Kevin Labanc (11) stepped up with 188 points (81 goals, 107 assists), more than doubling their combined numbers from last season of 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists). Donskoi had six points (two goals, four assists) in seven games playing with Kane prior to missing eight games with an upper-body injury.
"I think more guys like me and Donskoi, guys like that, obviously were challenged a little bit at the beginning of the year and the end of last year to have good years," Tierney said. "I think we really took that to heart and wanted to come out and show we can be good players in this league."

3. Logan Couture

The 29-year-old center leads the Sharks with an NHL personal high-tying 32 goals and eight power-play goals, and his 58 points are third behind defenseman Brent Burns (63) and center Joe Pavelski (63). Couture had eight points (four goals, four assists) during the winning streak. His 207th NHL goal on March 14 moved him past Nolan for fourth on the Sharks' all-time list behind Marleau (508), Pavelski (316) and Thornton (228).
Most importantly, Couture has stayed relatively healthy; he has appeared in 75 games this season and 73 last season after injuries limited him to 52 in 2015-16.
"He's a critical piece here and has been since before I got here," coach Peter DeBoer said. "I think that's heightened with [Thornton] out of the lineup, but it's nothing that he can't handle. He's been excellent all year."

4. Goaltending

Martin Jones is 7-2-0 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in his past nine appearances since March 12, and the first Sharks goalie with a winning streak of at least seven games since Antti Niemi went 7-0-0 from Nov. 29 to Dec. 20, 2014.
Jones is also 15-9-2 with a 2.27 GAA and .926 SV% since the All-Star break.
"We wouldn't be where we're at and we sure wouldn't have an eight-game winning streak [without him]," DeBoer said of Jones after a 4-3 shootout victory at the Chicago Blackhawks on March 26. "He's been our best player a lot of nights here the last month, and that's where it starts. When you get goaltending like that, you have the confidence to take a few more chances offensively, and it usually leads to a few more goals. He's been great."

5. Division dominance

San Jose is 21-5-3 against Pacific Division opponents, including 10-1-1 against the Kings, Ducks and Calgary Flames.
"Familiarity, obviously," DeBoer said. "We know how those teams play. Our guys know over the years what's worked and what hasn't worked. You learn that the hard way sometimes with losses. Obviously, you have heightened awareness to your game plan in those games because they're four-point games. I think we've done a good job executing our game plans in those games, particularly."
NHL.com correspondent Eric Gilmore contributed to this story.