Sharks say focus is not wavering

DeBoer plans to ‘ throw our best game out there’ as team looks to clinch

SAN JOSE — The Sharks mostly insisted Thursday that clinching a spot in the next round wasn’t their main focus as they prepared to head to Los Angeles for Game 5 of their playoff series with the Kings.

As has been the case for the better part of the season, the Sharks said they’re more concerned about the process than the end result.

“There won’t be any special speeches or anything sig- nificant that we haven’t done already,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “It’s just show up, and let’s throw our best game out there, and if it takes another two or three games to get this

done, we don’t care. We want to move on.”

Up three games to one in the razor-close first-round series, all of the incentives the Sharks would ever need for Friday’s game are now wrapped up in one tidy little package.

They can eliminate their closest rival, earn a day or two of rest before the next round begins and perhaps even vanquish an old playoff demon or two. If the Sharks win the series, they would face either Anaheim or Nashville in the second round and get home-ice advantage if the Predators move on.

But the Sharks say it’s business as usual right now, as they try not to concentrate on what the Kings might present as much as they want to repeat the things that have put them in this position.

“That’s really the main focus. Staying with that process and competing to our strengths,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “If we can get on the forecheck, be hard on those battles, defend well, we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”

The Sharks put the building blocks in place for what they hoped would be a successful season during training camp in September. From the outset, DeBoer wanted the Sharks to be tougher to play against at even strength, be sharper on defense and pressure the puck in all three zones.

DeBoer sought a deep team with players up and down the lineup who could be trusted to play in any situation. Getting back to the playoffs was always the goal, but their intention was to not look too far ahead.

They began to see tangible results in January. Starting with a 7-0 win over Toronto on Jan. 9, and coinciding with the return of Logan Couture, the Sharks went 28-12-4 in the second half of the season and finished with the NHL’s best road record at 28-10-3.

Now that they’re on the brink of moving on to the second round for the first time since 2013, that attitude hasn’t changed.

“From the start of the season, we’ve really concentrated on day to day,” Sharks center Joe Thornton said. “Worry about today, and when tomorrow comes, worry about tomorrow.”

“We tried to lay a foundation in training camp for this time of year, so we would be able to withstand the highs and the lows and the ups and the downs, and keep relying on that,” DeBoer said “I think that’s what we’re doing.”

The Sharks might have played their best all-around game of the series Wednesday, when they scored three times on the power play in their 3-2 win at SAP Center.

But what the Sharks saw in the third period from the Kings, who largely controlled play at even strength in the final 20 minutes, is probably what they’ll see all game with Los Angeles on the brink of elimination.

Combining the regular season and playoffs, the Sharks are 4-0 at Staples Center this season.

Not that the record will mean much when the lights dim inside the cavernous arena.

“This is just business as usual,” DeBoer said. “I’m a big believer that you approach every game one, game four, game seven the same way. You put your head down and go to work. When you look up, hopefully you’re on the right end of it, and the series is over.”