Joe Thornton was justifiably happy after two of his shots led directly to San Jose goals in Game 4. (Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

This time it wasn’t the goaltender. Or a snake-bitten offense. Or a “so-called Canadian” opponent beguiling the officials with craven attacks on the integrity of the game.

No, by the time the red light went on to signal Patrick Marleau’s decisive goal in Game 4, it was clear: the Vancouver Canucks, all of them, just weren’t good enough to beat the San Jose Sharks. Not even close.

San Jose’s 4-3 overtime win Tuesday night ended a season that, cruelly, lasted just four games more than those played by the Florida Panthers and the Colorado Avalanche and the rest of the dregs of the league. It’s a miserable fate for the Northwest division champs, but one they deserved, just as surely as the Sharks deserved to move on to the next round as one of the NHL’s elite eight.

Here are some observations from tonight’s series clincher:

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The matchup between Toronto’s Phil Kessel and Boston’s Zdeno Chara has been key this series. (Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• The biggest reason the Maple Leafs evened their series with Boston? Randy Carlyle played mad scientist with his lines in order to keep Phil Kessel away from Zdeno Chara. That was some serious tactical genius there.

• With the Game 2 win in Boston, the Leafs served notice they won’t be intimidated by the Bruins any longer.

• Nice moment in Boston before the game where Marathon bombing victim Jeff Bauman was honored as the team’s banner captain in a pre-game ceremony.

• The “bug-eyed, fat walrus” took center stage in Ottawa ahead of the Senators’ Game 3 meeting with Montreal on Sunday. Sounds like he’s not very good with numbers.

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The last time the Hawks met the Sharks, Jonathan Toews and Joe Thornton squared off. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)

By Allan Muir

Sharks at Blackhawks: 7:30 CST, NHL Network (US), CSN Chicago, CSN California

The set-up

The Blackhawks can lay claim to the best start in NHL history against the Sharks tonight. Their shootout win over Vancouver on Wednesday gave Chicago a point in 16 straight games and a share of the current mark set in 2006-07 by the Anaheim Ducks. They’ll face a feckless San Jose side that finally snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over St. Louis on Tuesday. After going unbeaten in their first seven games, the Sharks have seen their offense go cold, but they’re coming off two days of practice time that allowed them to work on the power play and at generating chances five-on-five.

This will be the third meeting between these two teams in 18 days, so familiarity may breed contempt. It’ll be worth watching to see if any hostilities carry over from their last get-together, when captains Jonathan Toews and Joe Thornton dropped the gloves.

Keys to the game

• Blackhawks: Get a lead and stomp down hard on the gas pedal. They allowed the Canucks to dictate the pace early on Wednesday, then coasted through the third period after a thoroughly dominant second, ultimately coughing up a point with sloppy play and lazy penalties as the game wore down. They can’t afford to let the Sharks circle and wait for them to let up.

• Sharks: Commit to ugly, goalmouth hockey. There’s no offensive flow on this team right now. They’ve scored two goals or less in regulation in nine of their last 10 games and the power play that propelled their hot start has just two goals to show for its last 42 chances. So forget pretty and fight off the instinct to make that one last pass. Get as many pucks on net as possible and follow them to the crease with grim purpose.

• Probable starting goalies: Ray Emery (6-0-0, 2.27 GAA, .925 save pct.) vs. Antti Niemi (7-2-3, 1.86, .933)

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