by Susan Slusser, Chronicle Staff Writer , The San Francisco Chronicle

Fun scheduling. Along with having to contend with two of the toughest teams in the league, San Jose's continued lack of a Finals appearance is directly in the spotlight, contrasting as it does with back-to-back Finals showings by the Red Wings and Penguins.

No one doubts that the Sharks have the talent. Pittsburgh has the benefit of two of the top four players in the league in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but San Jose has three of the game's elite offensive players in Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and a leading defenseman in Dan Boyle.

There's no real talent gap there, especially considering that San Jose recorded the best regular-season record last season while the Penguins weren't even in a playoff spot in mid-February.

"That's a team that has done a lot of winning," Crosby said of the Sharks on Friday after Pittsburgh's practice. "They have a lot of speed and skill, they're physical, they have lot of depth."

Is there a big difference, then, with Pittsburgh? "Probably not a lot, to be honest," Crosby said.

"I feel very confident in saying when you go to San Jose, you know you're playing one of the best teams in the league," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said.

So is there something the Finals regulars are doing that the Sharks are not? San Jose coach Todd McLellan said there are some basics that all successful teams need, from relatively good health and a favorable travel schedule to just plain luck. But there might be another key factor that separates the top clubs from the pack.

"One thing those teams have is the will," McLellan said. "They will themselves through a lot of situations. They don't just rely on their skill, they don't talk about it, but their will gets them to the next level."

The Sharks have talked a lot about raising their intensity level - their strength of will - since last season's early exit from the playoffs. McLellan said that players always have choices in the game - Go hard for a loose puck or not? Get into the lane to block a shot or not? - and he never wants his to take the easy way out. That, he said, is will.

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said he does analyze what Finals-caliber teams do, and you'll note that he hired Red Wings assistant McLellan to run his club last year. He said he likes what Penguins GM Ray Shero has done with his personnel, especially in adding in a healthy number of young players.

"The results speak for themselves," McLellan said.

San Jose climbed back to the top of the league with a six-game winning streak that ended Thursday. The team is tied with Pittsburgh for the second most points in the league 24 and the playoffs are something of a foregone conclusion. Once there, can the Sharks finally burst through to the Finals?

"The last couple of years, they've had some disappointments in the playoffs, but to me, they still have the tools," onetime Shark and current Penguins forward Bill Guerin said. "They have everything, they do. It's just a matter of timing. The timing has to be right. ... If you take a team like Detroit, they just know how to get there. They just know . Some other teams need to learn. But it's there."

Sharks tonight Penguins 12-4-0 vs. 11-4-2HP Pavilion7:30 p.m.CSNCA/98.5

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