Sharks special teams were solid, ranking 4th in the league in power play and 5th in penalty killing.
[3] The Sharks' 3rd place finish enabled them to avoid a first round matchup with Bobby Hull's powerful Winnipeg Jets and earned them a series with the 2nd place Houston Aeros, who finished 2 points ahead of the Sharks in the standings.
After opening in Houston with an uninspired 7–2 loss, the Sharks bounced back to win game two by a 4–2 score.
Heading back to L.A. with a split, the Sharks won a thrilling game three by a score of 3–2; goalie Russ Gillow made several spectacular saves to preserve the win.
After the series, coach Terry Slater was criticized for starting George Gardner in games 1 and 5 despite the fact Gillow played better the second half of the season.