SAN JOSE – Over the last two decades in the NHL’s salary cap era, teams that have been in a playoff position by Thanksgiving Day have made the postseason 77.1% of the time.

Perhaps the same indicator holds for teams if they’re in a playoff spot just a few days afterward.

That’s where the Sharks could be as soon as Monday night if they beat the Utah Mammoth at SAP Center. After their 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, the Sharks, with 27 points, entered Sunday in a three-way tie with the Mammoth and Edmonton Oilers for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, and are only behind Utah because they have fewer regulation-time wins.

Regardless, it’s been a remarkable few weeks for the Sharks, who, behind some standout performances from center Macklin Celebrini and

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