BoC Gameday: It's an Illusion, Michael

Another day, another Battle of California showdown. This time it's the Sharks and Kings, the two teams that many expected to break away from the pack and compete for the Pacific division title this season. And while there's still a good chance that the Sharks or the Kings will win the division when all this craziness is finally over, the whole "break away from the pack" thing clearly did not occur.

Here's a look at the tragicomic Pacific division standings:

Just...what? What? This can't be real, can it? It's not a trick (a trick is something a whore does for money...or cocaine) and I don't think it's an illusion, but I'm having a very hard time accepting these standings as authentic reality.

So what's the deal with the top four teams in the Pacific? Which ones are for real, and which are phony?

Is Dallas REALLY this good? Are the Sharks REALLY this bad? Did that magician REALLY just saw that lady in half?

(No, No, and Yes please somebody call the police he's crazy.)

In their final ten games the Sharks only play out of their division twice, and one of those games is against the Avalanche, so it's just as important as a division game. Every win against these opponents counts for double. Every game is huge.

The only possible way forward for the Sharks is to continue their Indiana Jones strategy. They can't worry about what other teams are doing. They can't waste time doing playoff math. All they can do is focus on the obstacle directly in front of them, and find some way around it.

Prediction: No one cares about the man in the box, the man who disappears.

My 10th-favorite movie is The Prestige, which I've previously featured in a gameday post.