The San Jose Sharks are tied atop the Pacific Division with 94 points after a come-from-behind 6-5 shootout victory at Pacific Division rival Los Angeles on Thursday night.
The Sharks also clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the eighth-straight season midway through the thrilling win thanks to losses by the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche earlier in the evening. Those losses eliminated Dallas and Colorado and guaranteed the Sharks would finish no lower than eighth place in the Western Conference.
A wild playoff chase culminates Saturday when the Sharks and the Kings meet in the season finale in San Jose. The Sharks, with a victory, can leapfrog Los Angeles into first place in the Pacific. To win the division, though, the Sharks need the Phoenix Coyotes to lose. The Coyotes need three points in their final two games to dethrone the four-time defending division champion Sharks.
The postseason berth is the 15th in franchise history. Playoff seeding for both the Western and Eastern Conference will be set Saturday night.
