Mike Brophy

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday on Sportsnet.ca and appears regularly on Hockeycentral.

Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov is one of those guys who turns ordinary in the playoffs.

If the Sharks lose Game 3 in Chicago, you can bet it will be the beginning of the end for the club.

This isn’t just a game to save a series for the San Jose Sharks.

It is a game that could save -- or cost! -– jobs. Making it to the conference final is simply not good enough for this team.

As if you didn’t know, this is a team that has done remarkable things during the regular season and then, for some reason, becomes rather ordinary in the playoffs. It is a team that has players who, rather than elevate their game the way the sport’s best stars do at this time of year, slip into a funk.

Having dropped two straight home games to the upstart Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference final, the Sharks now face the unenviable task of having to win in the Windy City. One win will be fine; two would be amazing. The way the Hawks are rolling these days, it won’t be easy.

None of this means the Sharks are dead in the water. In fact, you could make a strong case they deserved a better fate in Game 1 when they outshot the Chicago kids 45-40 in a game that resembled a pond hockey tilt. San Jose had more than enough chances to win that game, but skated away with a 2-1 loss.

Sadly, there are too many of those games on the Sharks playoff resume and if things don’t change on a hurry, you can bet there will be a massive overhaul in the off-season. Already there are rumblings that, win or lose, Patrick Marleau’s days are numbered in San Jose. It should be noted Sharks GM Doug Wilson has come to bat for Marleau in the past, particularly last summer when it was assumed by many he would be moved.

Wilson said he never entertained the idea of trading the 30-year-old Aneroid, Sask., native. After stripping him of his captaincy, Marleau responded with 44 goals, his highest regular-season total in 12 years. In 12 playoff games he has five goals and 10 points -- not bad, but not great, either. A loss in this round will likely be his last game with the Sharks.

Goaltender Evgeni Nakobov is also under the gun. Another impending unrestricted free agent, he has reached the point in his career where it is win or else. At 34, he’s another one of those guys who puts up sparkling numbers in the regular season only to turn rather ordinary in the spring. A 40-36 post-season record just ain’t cutting it anymore. There’s no denying this guy is one of the best stoppers in the NHL when he’s on his game; he just picks a lousy time of year to turn ordinary.

Of course you can’t talk about the Sharks misfortunes without mentioning centre Joe Thornton. He has been the lightning rod for all that has gone wrong with this team. Partially because of his salary, $7.2 million a season, coupled with the fact he won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 2006, the expectations for Big Joe are pretty high at this time of year and so far, he hasn’t gotten the job done.

Now watching Thornton you get the feeling he knows he’s under the gun. It is clear in the third round he is pushing harder to make things happen; carrying the puck to the net and getting more involved physically. His numbers (three goals and 12 points in 13 games) aren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. However, being minus-10 is downright embarrassing. If a couple of kids, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, can carry the Blackhawks, is it too much to ask that Thornton be the sparkplug for the Sharks? It’s all about results.

Of course the other guy on the hot seat is Wilson. As fine a gentleman as you’ll meet in this sport, Wilson has been in control of the Sharks since May 2003 and despite numerous player moves, he has yet to coax this club to the final. A loss in the third round will certainly be hazardous to his job security.

There is a lot to like about this particular version of the Sharks, starting with two lines that can score and some pretty decent support staff on the third and fourth lines. Blake and Dan Boyle give the team a nifty veteran presence on the blueline and Nabokov, when he’s on his game, can frustrate the league’s best shooters.

None of that matters now, though. All that matters is a win in Chicago tonight. Because if they lose, you can bet it will be the beginning of the end for this club.