Time to panic? Not yet.

All the way from Los Angeles, I can hear all the sighs emanating from San Jose. "Here we go again."

With Dan Boyle ending the game in overtime last night putting the Sharks down 2-1 in the series with the Avalanche, critics everywhere are licking their chops ready to label the Sharks as the official joke of the NHL. With a 1-0 overtime loss, the Sharks are facing an uphill battle with the possibility of failing to pass through to the second round while boasting the best regular season record in the Western Conference.

But there's no reason to Panic. The Sharks have steadily increased their play through the first three games. Game 1 was cleanly won by the Avs and Game 2 was a toss up in which the Sharks got the lucky break. The Sharks dominated the Avs for the entire game including overtime. With 51 shots compared to the Avs measly 17,the Sharks launched an 61 minute attack and without the impressive performance of Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson, the game could have been 5-0. Oh, and that's without the help of Dany Heatley who's due to return for game 4.

So, without a freak blunder, the Sharks should have won game 3. But like I said before, the Sharks are beginning to play like the best in the West and for Game 4 we should see an angry group of Sharks looking to punish the Avalanche. And you can bet that Boyle will be leading the charge.