<div align="center"> </div> 1. Tigers or pussycats? Veteran Jeremy Roenick went from the press box to the score sheet to push the Sharks over the hump in Game 7, but San Jose displayed an alarming lack of killer instinct against Calgary. There was the debacle in Game 3, when the Sharks blew an early 3-0 lead with backup Curtis Joseph in the Calgary net and lost 4-3. They did bounce back to steal Game 4 after trailing 2-1 late in the third period, but couldn't close out the Flames in Calgary with a strangely dispassionate performance in Game 6. If they can't do better than that against Dallas, the Sharks will reinforce their leaguewide reputation as chokers. 2. The kids on the blue line. One of the reasons many believed the Stars wouldn't go far this postseason was the preponderance of young, untested blueliners. With Sergei Zubov not yet ready for action after hernia surgery on the eve of the playoffs and Philippe Boucher able to play in only three games, the pressure fell on Mark Fistric, Matt Niskanen and Nicklas Grossman. Trevor Daley played like a grizzled veteran and Stephane Robidas (six points) looked more like Scott Niedermayer than Scott Niedermayer did in the first round. But the youngsters' poise helped pave the way for the Stars to reach the second round for the first time since 2003. Their confidence against a Sharks team that boasts more depth and talent up front will be tested again. 3. Jumbo Joe. It's become almost a caricature, the annual wondering about Joe Thornton's ability to lead in the postseason. The questions dogged the former No. 1 draft pick all his days in Boston. Thornton had seven points in the first round, but until the Sharks can advance to at least a conference final, those questions will linger. No one questions the big man's talent, but at this stage of his career, he'll have to show more to stop the questions from being asked. 4. Home, sweet home -- finally. The Sharks established themselves as a dominant road team during the regular season, but puzzled fans with their often mediocre play at the Shark Tank. That puzzlement didn't lessen when the Sharks lost Game 1 against Calgary on home ice. But they did rebound to win three in a row in San Jose, including Tuesday's 5-3 clincher. Meanwhile, the Stars' recent history at American Airlines Center hasn't been all that rosy, either; although, they did shake some of that home-ice rust in the first round by winning twice in three tries. The Stars also managed to win the first two games of their series against Anaheim at the Duck Pond, so it will be interesting to see if home ice really has any value. 5. Coaching questions. Both coaches, Dallas' Dave Tippett and San Jose's Ron Wilson, entered the postseason with the proverbial sword of unemployment hanging over their collective heads. Wilson's Sharks have been knocked out in the second round in both post-lockout playoff seasons. In both cases, they blew series leads in doing so. When the Sharks started slowly this regular season, Wilson was rumored to be on the coaching hot seat, but the Sharks ramped it up and posted a 20-game unbeaten streak down the stretch. Still, Wilson's job pretty much depends on the Sharks winning this series. Tippett, meanwhile, probably extended his coaching life by ending a string of three straight first-round departures.
