With the Sharks swarming and gunning for win number twelve tomorrow vs. the never-say-die Oilers, I thought it might be time to look three weeks into our future and play another game of Who’d You Rather? Assuming we don’t go into total meltdown and San Jose finishes somewhere between two and five in the playoff seeding, here are my personal preferences for 1st round playoff opponents in decending order, from most desired to most dreaded. So – Who’d You Rather?

1) Minnesota Wild – They are skidding like Kirstie Alley at a Taco Bell, and as I’ve said before, I just don’t get how this team wins games. They are so boring and if we play the Wild, I will be “Wild” with excitement for a four game sweep. They can’t match up with San Jose at all. My clear first choice for Round one.

2) Vancouver Canucks – Beside Luongo, what do they really have going for them? The fact that the Sharks swept the season series in four games played in Sept-Oct, before they actually pulled their head out, means Vancouver might be easy pickings for San Jose in Round One. With no Ohlund and no secondary scoring after the Sedin line, the Tank will be chanting “Canucks-Suck” in Round One.

3) Nashville Predators – I think they will be on the outside looking in once the playoffs begin, but if they are in the picture – I wouldn’t mind dancing with them again. The Sharks own Nashville in late April and this Preds-Lite club would lose in five games to San Jose – Nashville is without a playoff tested backstop and really no scoring to speak of. The big thing that concerns me about playing Nashville is that the third time around, the Preds could just give up and go for cheap shots late in a series. As JR said, “Tootoo is a dumb dumb”.

4) Dallas Stars – Suprised? I was a little too after I read this over, but here’s the thing – I still don’t buy Marty Turco stock in late April. Shakira’s hips don’t lie and neither do Turco’s playoff numbers. 11 wins and two first round exits where his GAA was 3.35. Compare that with Nabby’s 24 playoff wins and lifetime 2.20 GAA and you can see why I wouldn’t mind pressing my luck against the Choker, Marty Turco. I think they might be regretting the Richards deal, since his initial 5 point outburst, he has three points and is a -3, while the Stars have gone 2-4-0 in the Richards era. Oops.

5) Colorado Avalanche – I would be dreading this match up in Round One. This team could have enough juice left to cause a lot of problems for a higher seed in Round One, if they don’t end up being the #3 themselves (I don’t they will, it should be Calgary). Forsberg, Sakic, Smyth, Foote and the revenge of Scott Hannan bring back playoff nightmares of seasons past. We should beat them, but I’d rather not put myself through the mental anguish. This series would go a brutal six games.

6) Anaheim Ducks – Simply put, we have to go through them at some point. May as well do it early.

7) Calgary Flames – My last choice for first round match up. I don’t think we match up well against Calgary and they have some emotional victories against us this year, so all the momentum is in their court. They play physical and have the skill players to beat you in transition. Add the fact that Kipper could shut anyone down at any point and Calgary is last on my list for desired first round pairings.

The Sharks must win the Pacific division! Sunday isn’t going to be like last night vs. St. Louis. While Edmonton has won three of their last four, their wins have come vs. Columbus, St. Louis and Chicago – not exactly the cream of the rink – but Edmonton is a true pain in the ass and won’t stand for getting their ass handed to them. It should be physical, and it will be a good warm up for next Friday’s physical affair with the Ducks. Let’s make it TWELVE!