Sharks stay positive despite deficit

Coming off a disheartening 3-2 overtime loss the night before, a loss that left San Jose looking up at a 3-0 deficit to the Blackhawks in the Western Conference finals, Sharks coach Todd McLellan didn't know what to expect when he walked into the visitors locker room at the United Center on Saturday morning.

"I didn't know coming to the rink today where our group would be," McLellan said. "Would we be dealing with self pity, kind of feeling sorry for ourselves, or would we hold our heads high?"

Surprise!

"The good sign was the first guys that walked in, they didn't necessarily have a smile on their face, but they were holding their heads up," McLellan said. "And that was a real good sign. My job was a little bit easier after reading where the team was. I think some of the leaders took care of that."

A brief walk around the room seemed to confirm McLellan's feeling. The Sharks appeared to have that "what have we got to lose attitude?" as they prepared for possible elimination in Game 4 this afternoon.

"I think you'll see a looser team," Sharks forward Dany Heatley predicted. "It's going to be fun trying.

"If we turn the page a little bit and get on a roll we can easily win three or four straight."

Really?

"It feels realistic because we do tend to get really hot," said defenseman Douglas Murray. "I mean, this year as well as any other year, we are quite streaky. We have a lot of long winning streaks behind us.

"You know, when things get loose, nothing's impossible."

But winning four straight against a red-hot Blackhawks team?

"If you want to look at the big picture it gets to be a pretty daunting task," said veteran Manny Malhotra. "But whether you win or lose the last one, our mentality is you want to go on and win the next one."

Or at least have fun trying.