The Sharks had a big Monday night, grabbing a 5-2 win over their most heated rival, the Los Angeles Kings, while clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
And it all happened in front of their home crowd at SAP Center, nonetheless.
The Sharks and Kings have a colorful history. And after San Jose won the year's rubber match to take the 2015 regular-season series, Los Angeles defenseman Rob Scuderi reacted, tipping his cap to the Shark Tank for playing a role.
"There’s definitely a couple things different than they used to," Rob Scuderi told LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen. "But in the Shark Tank, it’s a tough place to play.
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"I can probably count the wins on one hand, maybe in my career, that the teams I’ve played on have had there. It’s not an easy place to play," the veteran defenseman added. "They’re physical, they chip the puck in deep. It’s not an easy game."
San Jose is back in the playoffs under new head coach Peter DeBoer, along with a few new acquisitions in Joel Ward, Joonas Donskoi, James Reimer and Roman Polak.
And it's possible that these two rivals meet again at some point in the postseason.
"It’s great," Scuderi added. "As a player, you like to play in a good atmosphere. You’d rather have it be your home ice — and I do think we have a great atmosphere on home ice — but if you go away, it’s more fun to play in a place that has a good environment rather than a dead fish type of place."
Scuderi, 37, has won two Stanley Cups in his career, including one with the Kings in 2012. After beginning the 2015-16 season on the Chicago Blackhawks roster, he was reacquired by Los Angeles on February 26, 2016 in exchange for former San Jose Sharks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff.
