Frozen Ponderings

Colorado's Joe Sakic might have been selected Player of the Week, but Brett Hull's last seven days were every bit as good -- if not better. Both Sakic (4-6-10) and Hull (8-2-10) had 10 points, but six of Sakic's were on the power play. Hull is on one of those scary streaks, and the Stars hope it lasts, say, another two months. After scoring just twice in 13 February games, Hull has nine goals in 12 March games. Kings goalie Felix Potvin emerged relatively unscathed from his first stretch of adversity in Los Angeles. Potvin, who has been incredibly inconsistent in recent years as he bounced from Toronto to New York (Islanders) to Vancouver and finally L.A., got shelled for seven goals on 17 shots on March 21. But since that 7-0 loss to Edmonton, Potvin has rebounded by allowing three goals in two games and stopping 35 of 38 shots. The biggest test was Monday vs. San Jose. Potvin only faced 15 shots, and a soft goal would have cost his team the game in the 0-0 tie. No soft goals, no loss, no slump. Speaking of goaltending slumps, Phoenix's Sean Burke hasn't fared too well since signing a new contract late last month. Burke is 1-3-2 in his last seven starts with a 3.35 GAA and .894 save percentage -- by far his worst stretch of the season. How close was Nashville from being a legitimate playoff team out West? Closer than you might think. Although games in hand are an issue -- the Preds have played more games (77) than anyone in the NHL -- Nashville is eight points out of the No. 8 spot. The Preds also are five games below .500 at home (13-18-7). Of all the teams in front of them, the worst home record belongs to San Jose (18-14-4). If the Preds had that record, they would have 81 points, leaving them one point out of the No. 8 spot.

Time for some free association.

What comes to mind when you think of Teemu Selanne?

After speeding cars, Paul Kariya and the term "Finnish Flash", what's next?

Goals. Lots of them.

Selanne has scored 372 goals in 630 NHL games -- just over 40 a season -- including a 76-goal rookie year in 1992-93.

But Selanne and the San Jose Sharks don't seem to score any these days. Entering Tuesday's key matchup with Los Angeles, the Sharks have just seven goals and no wins in their last six games (0-4-1-1).

"Almost every game, we're outshooting teams, but we're not getting goals," Selanne said.

Actually, San Jose only outshot teams three times in the last six games. Selanne, who hit the post during overtime in Monday's 0-0 tie with the Kings, has taken 10 shots and hasn't scored in five games as a Shark. He's also a minus-4.

Is he feeling the heat?

"I think the pressure is on all of us," Selanne said. Granted, Selanne had knee surgery immediately after being traded from Anaheim on March 5 and missed almost two weeks -- not an ideal way to join a team in the thick of a playoff race.

"The situation wasn't easy, coming to a new team and getting my knee scoped right away," he said. "My knee is not 100 percent, but it's good enough to play. I feel pretty good. I feel a lot more comfortable, getting a feel for things."

The Sharks acquired Selanne to score goals and to boost one of the league's worst power plays (13.3 percent). Through Monday's games, only Chicago (12.4), Tampa Bay (12.4) and Minnesota (9.7) score less frequently.

During their current six-game slump, the Sharks are 0-32 on the man advantage.

"We have to help (Selanne) out," said teammate Mike Ricci. "You can't expect one guy to score. He has to get better, and we have to play better."

According to Ricci, the Sharks' problems have nothing to do with Selanne and everything to do with the entire team's response to the late-season pressure.

"We're having trouble dealing with adversity, and we haven't scored any big goals lately," Ricci said. "If we're expecting 4-5 goals a game, we're in trouble. When we're up 1-0 or 2-0, we're not getting that third goal. When we're down 1-0, we're not making it 1-1."

Because the Sharks get spooked by the lack of scoring, they end up taking chances. In turn, the defensive game plan disintegrates, resulting in the losses.

"We have to bear down on our chances and play better defensively," Ricci said. "I think, sometimes, we've opened it up and given up easier goals.

"We can't worry about the results, just worry about working and doing what we have to do."

Not worrying about the results is like asking Selanne not to worry about his lack of scoring. However, like any slump, sometimes all it takes is one good day to change the bad karma.

An inch can change a lot, and there's little doubt that if Selanne's shot was a half inch to the left Monday night, the Sharks would be feeling more confident.

"But we're close to turning it around. We have a good team here," said Selanne.

With only three points separating San Jose from ninth place in the conference, the Sharks are as close to missing the playoffs as they are to turning it around.

Mailbag
During the season, a question or two from ESPN.com users will be answered in every edition of In the Corners. If you want to get a question answered, click here and ask away.

Question from Jesse McDermaid from St. Catherines, Ontario: Do you think the Minnesota Wild will be one of the top-10 teams once they get used to playing together?

Response: The last phrase of the question is the key. When will that be? When GM Doug Risebrough traded away Scott Pellerin, Curtis Leschyshyn and Sean O'Donnell the roster got thinner and younger. Acquiring draft picks and prospects for proven talent certainly extends the timetable.

Nothing is definite with a coach like Jacques Lemaire, but there's a good chance the Wild will lose more games next season. Minnesota was a lot more competitive than expected this season and has a solid core of young players. But being competitive and winning are two different things, and the prospect of the Wild being a top-10 remains inconceivable in the immediate -- three to four years -- future.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com.