Talented teams with no Stanley Cup

In what has become a springtime ritual in San Jose, the Sharks capped a superb regular-season with a dispiriting playoff ouster, this year falling in the first round to the Anaheim Ducks. Joe Thornton (19) and Patrick Marleau (12) are the faces of a franchise that has now failed to advance beyond the second round for four consecutive seasons despite superior talent. Counting their loss to Calgary in the 2004 Western Conference finals, the Sharks are in the ranks of talented teams that were never quite able to take the final step to greatness.