No one comes close to Vancouver for nights away from home during this pre-Olympic stretch, but the San Jose Sharks -- after sticking at or very close to home for the past six weeks -- are heading out on the road until after the Games, the toughest stretch of the season for the Western Conference's top team.
Tuesday night's loss to Detroit was the final home game San Jose will play for a month, and the tricky part for head coach Todd McLellan is that most of his best players will go straight from a six-game road trip (which ends in Buffalo) back across the continent to the Olympics. McLellan has to try some ways to get some rest for his eight Olympians while continuing to try to keep pace with the Washington Capitals, who took over the NHL's top spot with their 11th consecutive win Tuesday.
For weeks, McLellan has been asked non-stop about the Olympics and the potential impact on his team. No team is sending more players to the Games, and McLellan was an assistant coach with the Red Wings team that won the President's Trophy in the last Winter Olympics year, but fell in the first round of the playoffs. That 2006 Detroit club had numerous Olympians, including many of the gold-medal winning Swedish team.
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- When the Detroit Red Wings were at HP Pavilion less than a month ago, they were just getting Henrik Zetterberg and Daniel Cleary back from shoulder separations.
This time, it's Tomas Holmstrom who will make his return against the Sharks after missing six weeks with a broken foot. He's not expected to be able to keep pace with Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk because he's coming off a foot injury, so he might not start on their line, or so Detroit coach Mike Babcock suggested Tuesday morning. Holmstrom's ice time certainly will be limited. Still, Detroit moves one step closer to getting its projected team back together.
And in a week, Johan Franzen is expected to return after missing four months with a knee injury. That's a major development for the Red Wings; Franzen has become the net presence and goal-scorer that Holmstrom was in his younger days.
Even on the downside of his career, though, Holmstrom is dangerous when planted next to the crease, and the Red Wings flat-out need more scoring.
SAN JOSE -- This is the ugly part of the Blackhawks' season: eight consecutive road games and an itinerary that is, to put it kindly, creative. Game 7 is in San Jose Thursday, for instance, and Game 8 is Saturday at Carolina.
The Sharks game is the one the team has had circled for some time, Chicago coach Joel Queneville said after his team's practice at HP Pavilion. After all, as Quenneville noted, a win would put his team into a first-place tie in the conference (and atop the league) with the Sharks.
"It's a huge game," he said. "We have a lot of respect for San Jose and the way they play."
SAN JOSE -- On Wednesday, the Sharks learned that they landed a record four Olympians on Team Canada for February's games in Vancouver. Both of their goaltenders are going, too, with Evgeni Nabokov set for Team Russia and Thomas Greiss with Germany.
On Friday, San Jose center Joe Pavelski will find out if he will be a member of Team USA.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it," Pavelski said this week. "Especially since the other teams have been getting announced. But you have to be patient. It's a process. You just never know."
Brian Burke, Team USA's general manager, has seen Pavelski in person several times in the past month, and Pavelski has been playing some of his best hockey of the season of late, with four goals in the past five games -- including two in San Jose's win over Washington on Tuesday night.
The questions about the 25-year-old from Plover, Wisconsin (and the University of Wisconsin) generally involve his size. He's listed at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, and those might be optimistic measurements. Many believe that to seriously contend in these Games, the U.S. is going to need a bigger team, which makes Pavelski -- "Little Joe" to Joe Thornton's "Big Joe" -- less than a shoo-in.
"I know Pavelski and how much I trust him and rely on him. ... I believe he's a perfect candidate at that position." -- Todd McLellan on Joe Pavelski's Olympic HopesPavelski, however, might have one advantage: his first two years in the league, Ron Wilson was the Sharks' head coach, and Wilson is now Team USA's coach. Pavelski is familiar with Wilson's methods, his style of play, his terminology, so he'd be ahead of some other potential U.S. Olympians in adapting to Wilson's system.
Plus, Pavelski's current coach said that he is a coach's dream.
"I know Pavelski and how much I trust him and rely on him," San Jose's Todd McLellan said. "If Ron has the same feelings that I do about this player, I'm sure he's got a real good opportunity. ... I believe he's a perfect candidate at that position."
Pavelski isn't certain that his ties to Wilson will carry much weight. "It's hard to say," he said. "They'll take the best players, but we do have history together and he's been able to see me grow."
His numbers are a little down because Pavelski missed more than a month with a foot injury, but Pavelski is strong on faceoffs, and his recent surge could be the deciding factor. Pavelski said, "Hopefully I've shown enough to this point."
Canada's unprecedented four Sharks, include three men likely to make up one line: Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley, along with defenseman Dan Boyle.
"It would be awesome to play against them," said Pavelski. "Kind of a bonus. But just being on the team, competing for your country, that would be an unbelievable experience."
As for Team USA's chances in what is expected to be the glamor sport of the hockey-mad Canadian Games: "I think they're pretty good," Pavelski said. "All the U.S. guys will be NHL players, so we're all aware of what everyone can do. Everyone can play at a high level."
Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff is one of the best athletes at his position in the world. If you needed further proof of this statement, you got it in San Jose Saturday night.
Locked in a 1-1 draw with the Sharks, Kiprusoff made a desperate kick with his left pad to stop a puck from trickling into the net. The original shot came from Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle at the right point. Kiprusoff stopped it through a screen, but left a huge rebound for Scott Nichol, who was the victim of Kiprusoff's athleticism.
No one comes close to Vancouver for nights away from home during this pre-Olympic stretch, but the 
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- When the Detroit Red Wings were at HP Pavilion less than a month ago, they were just getting 
SAN JOSE -- This is the ugly part of the Blackhawks' season: eight consecutive road games and an itinerary that is, to put it kindly, creative. Game 7 is in San Jose Thursday, for instance, and Game 8 is Saturday at Carolina. 
SAN JOSE -- On Wednesday, the Sharks learned that they landed a record four Olympians on Team Canada for February's games in Vancouver. Both of their goaltenders are going, too, with Evgeni Nabokov set for Team Russia and Thomas Greiss with Germany.
Calgary 
