The Sharks are finally feeling the home cooking

In the third frame of what would come to mark a 5-2 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals, the San Jose Sharks' PA erupted to announce that Saturday night's attendance was at capacity, a sold-out 17,562 patrons.

There have been a handful times that a sellout has been announced at The Tank this season, although most of the time the crowd is clearly thinner than that. On Saturday, however, for one of the first times in a long stretch this season, that 17,562 was actually reflected when you looked around at the packed house inside SAP Center's arena.

"You could feel it in warm-ups, the crowd was there," Sharks' captain Joe Pavelski said after the game. "Saturday night, (against) a great team."

Even through a predominantly successful season, the Sharks haven't played in front of quite as many packed houses at home. Now, with a return to the playoffs well in sight, Team Teal's fan base seems to be coming around.

"We've been playing well, and I think the fans are feeling our game a little bit," Pavelski said. "They're excited for it, and guys in the room have been excited for it."

San Jose entered the 2015-16 campaign with plenty to prove. After missing the playoffs for the first time in roughly a decade, San Jose got a slight makeover in the form of a new head coach, new starting goaltender and the addition to some key pieces that could help the team become a competitive force again. After losing some key players to injury and weathering some very long stints on the road, the Sharks find themselves back in a playoff spot and within striking distance of the rival Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.

Yet, despite playing better hockey and establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with, the stands at SAP have continued to have pockets of empty seats on game nights.

Is it because Team Teal still has trouble getting going in its first game home from a long roadie? Or is it the painful memories of last season when San Jose spent the bulk of the month of February on home ice and saw its playoff hopes all but dashed?

Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News has suggested a couple times over the course of the season that, even though the Sharks have played much better hockey as of late, fans still aren't buying in. Even with a glowing win over the Capitals, the home record is still not so glamorous:

For once, SAP Center felt like a true asset and not a curse for the Sharks. Nevertheless, the beloved Los Tiburones have still won just 13 times in 31 home games.  

Those numbers contrast greatly with the Sharks' striking 25-9-3 road record, superior to anyone else on the NHL continent this season. This reverses the normal hockey world order, where even mediocre teams tend to dominate in their own buildings.

However, if the Sharks have made one thing clear this season, it's that they can follow up a lackluster home loss with a convincing victory. Take the recent fall to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, followed up by the victory over the Capitals. The players can certainly tell you that the vibe was different.

"There was a lot more energy," Patrick Marleau acknowledged following the win over Washington. "I think you guys said you (the press) felt it in the building. There was definitely a lot more energy, for whatever reason..."

That reason might have had to do with finally having a sell-out crowd again.