No one predicted the San Jose Sharks would sweep the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not the Canucks, not the San Jose faithful and definitely not one single NHL expert.

Come to think of it, very few experts picked the Sharks to take the series. Eight out of 14 staff members from NHL.com and the NHL Network picked Vancouver to win, and not one of those who took San Jose had the Sharks making it to the championship.

Both teams were relatively even on paper: strong forwards, capable defense and excellent goaltending.  And even though San Jose took all three regular season games from Vancouver, that was not reason enough for people to bet on the Sharks.

They claimed San Jose would drown early because there was no way they could get around the Canucks’ impressive goaltending or the Sedin twins. Others claimed history would repeat itself and the Sharks would lose to the Canucks like they did in 2011.

But Vezina finalist Antti Neimi shut down the Canuck’s offense, making the Cory Schneider/ Roberto Luongo net duo look near amateur, and Henrik and Daniel Sedin took more penalties than they scored goals. Not to mention no other playoff team had more power play opportunities than the Sharks, who scored seven extra-man goals.

Before the series started, I knew San Jose was going to take it. And not because San Jose is my favorite team, my love for Sharks center Logan Couture or the fact that I look ridiculously good in teal. This is the Sharks’ year because they have the talent, the best goaltender in the game and most importantly, the heart it takes to win it all.

If we’ve learned anything about the success of Bay Area sports in recent years is that heart and determination have the ability to beat the most stacked teams in the league. The 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, American League West Champion Oakland A’s and the 2013 NBA playoff team the Golden State Warriors are evidence of that.

I am tired of so-called experts claiming big market teams are better than the teams here in the Bay. Whether it’s the Giants, A’s, Sacramento Kings or Warriors, experts and the national media are always picking the teams with the bigger payroll. No matter how many championship teams the area produces, those teams are not more than a minute highlight on ESPN and always picked last to win a title. Then again, ESPN doesn’t cover hockey: it’s too busy kissing up to Kobe Bryant and the over-paid Los Angeles Dodgers to report on a real sport.

For nine years the Sharks have earned a playoff berth, and for nine years the Sharks have fallen. But this year’s first series domination proves the Sharks are a force to be reckoned with this playoff season.

And if anything, they’ve got luck on their side: The last seven of nine teams to eliminate Vancouver have been Stanley Cup finalists. In the last three years it’s been the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings; all three teams took home the cup after taking down the Canucks.

It’s hard to argue against that type of statistic, though I’m sure the experts will. The Sharks are slated to play the Kings in the next round and even though both teams are relatively an even match, the expert tie seems to be going to LA.

But don’t they know: Northern California teams always BEAT LA!