Sharks stall in Motown

In the fourth and final battle between Western Conference's two top teams, the home team won for their fourth consecutive time.

The Detroit Red Wings once again pummeled the San Jose Sharks on their home ice, winning 4-1 Wednesday.

The Red Wings have outscored the Sharks 10-1 in their two games at Joe Louis Arena this year.

The Sharks have an NHL-high 91 points -- three points more than the Red Wings and one more point than the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins.

Special teams were the difference for the Red Wings in this game.

The Wings power-play was far more dangerous and efficient than the Sharks was. The Wings went 2 for 7 on the power-play, while the Sharks went 1 for 7.

The Wings also had a short-handed goal, when winger Henrik Zetterberg stole the puck, eventually performed a spectacular spin-move and beat Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov stick side.

The longterm affect of this loss is hard to gauge -- after all it is just one regular season game.
But the Sharks have to be worried about their inability to be competitive at "the Joe."

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson has plenty to ponder before the March 8th trade deadline.

The Sharks have shown solid scoring from their top two lines, but they get little to no contribution from their bottom two.

They could give up some prospects for an offensive star.

And of course veteran defensive players are always a good add to a playoff team, especially if that means Alexei Semenov does not touch the ice.

Ultimately, the Sharks are one of the best teams in hockey and no matter what they decide to do at the trade deadline, the big name players are going to have step up.

That means you, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle.