{"id":252990,"date":"2026-04-05T15:06:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/252990\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T15:06:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:06:29","slug":"what-sharks-fourth-straight-win-means-for-nhl-playoff-hopes-nbc-sports-bay-area-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/252990\/","title":{"rendered":"What Sharks\u2019 fourth straight win means for NHL playoff hopes \u2013 NBC Sports Bay Area & California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note:\u00a0Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California\u2019s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on\u00a0San Jose Hockey Now<\/a>, listen to him on the\u00a0San Jose Hockey Now Podcast<\/a>, and follow him on Twitter at\u00a0@Sheng_Peng<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The San Jose Sharks are back in a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s their first time since Mar. 14, after a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, their fourth-straight win.<\/p>\n

The Sharks are now tied with the Nashville Predators with 79 points, but San Jose has a game in hand.<\/p>\n

There are two ways that I look at this triumph.<\/p>\n

Credit, of course, to the San Jose Sharks for how they manhandled a sleepy Maple Leafs squad, clearly playing out the string. Toronto looked like a team that had just fired their GM and were playing for a potential lame duck coach. At times, in a clear role reversal from recent history, Team Teal was varsity and the Blue and White was JV.<\/p>\n

This also, however, felt like a learning lesson for the Sharks.<\/p>\n

This was a game, honestly, that should\u2019ve never been in question late, and was, until Adam Gaudette potted an empty netter. The Leafs looked that zonked out. This was a game that a superior opponent, after San Jose took a 2-0 first-period lead, could\u2019ve come back from.<\/p>\n

Download and follow the San Jose Hockey Now podcast<\/a><\/p>\n

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