After Game 2:
Sharks blow a 2-1 third period lead and lose 5-2
Wow! If the Sharks weren’t the best road team in the NHL this season I would consider shaving off my beard right now. As it is, the clippers are handy.
Collapses don’t come much bigger than the one the Sharks experienced in the third period of Game 2; a bad break leads to the tying goal; back to back awful calls by the officials – first on Mike Modano, then the makeup call on Christian Erhoff – lead to the game-winner by Modano. (Though, the Sharks need to tighten up their penalty kill, which was the best in the league for most of the season.)
Still, the Sharks were not out of the game at 3-2 but throw in a third unanswered goal and an empty-netter and the Sharks are in a two-love hole and not loving it.
The problems started less than a minute into the third period. “We didn’t come out of the way we needed to (to start the third period),” said Devin Setoguchi. “We got back on our heels.”
And they stayed there until the final whistle blew. By then, most of the 17, 496 had said so long. On their way out some of the fans were mumbling something about being back Friday night. They’ll be back at HP Pavilion if the Sharks can win one in Dallas, either Tuesday or Wednesday night. The Sharks will be back in business if they can win both Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We’ve been in this situation before,” said goalie Evgeni Nabokov. “We need to prepare for the next game.” Like it’s the end of the line, they do. Teams don’t overcome 3-0 deficits, not many overcome 2-0 holes.
There was plenty of blame to go around for this one, although you’d hope that Thornton and Marleau would have more than one point between then after two games.
“Any time you lose or win it’s a total team effort,” Nabokov said. “We did turn the puck over but that’s why I’m there to keep them from scoring.” Eight goals allowed in two games is not keeping them from scoring.
Nabokov couldn’t stop the Stars, who look like the team that was dominating the Western Conference in the middle of the season. And right now the Sharks look like the team that has a reputation for second-round failures.
They also have a reputation this year of pulling themselves up by the bootstraps when everybody has counted them out. And you’d be crazy not to count them out right now.
I’m not crazy, nor am I crazy about the beard, but for now it stays.
See you at the Tank Friday.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tales 4/23
After Game 7:
The man who had played more Game Sevens than anybody on the roster
didn't even take the ice in Game Six. What a difference a day makes.
Jeremy Roenick was back on the ice Tuesday night after sitting out
Sunday's embarrassing 2-0 Sharks loss in Calgary. He was on the ice in
a big way, scoring two goals and assisting on two more, matching a
club record for points in a playoff game.
Before the game Roenick said these are the kinds of game that define
careers, games that people remember. These are games, he said, where
you make a name for yourself in the NHL.
After the game, Roenick got right to the point about why he was a
healthy scratch in Game Six. "(Ron Wilson) told me wanted to get some
rest," Roenick said. "I think that's his way of saying "get your ass
going"".
It and a whole lot more got going. The building got going. And the
Flames were going, on their charter back to Alberta.
And Roenick figures he'll be going for a while. "I feel like I'm 18,"
he said after the game.
As he has all season long, Roenick shared his view of the seventh game
experience not only with the media but also with his teammates.
"He told us this is one of the best teams he's ever been on," said Joe
Pavelski, who scored one of the Sharks second period goals Tuesday
night. "He said if we play sixty minutes with everybody competing, the
(Flames) are going to have a tough time beating us. And he was right."
THIS 'N THAT:
Wondering what George Johnson is thinking about today? He writes for
the Calgary Herald and wrote this after Game Six:
"Recent history informs us that the San Jose Sharks are infused with
all the wanton bloodlust of Charlie the Sunkist Tuna. Whenever that
moment of gut-oozing, spine-snapping annihilation arrives, the chance
to sink those powerful jaws into soft, warm flesh and indiscriminately
rip, tear and devour, they tend to go all vegetarian."
There was more than a little blood dripping from those sharp teeth
Tuesday night.
The Vezina Finalists: Nabokov, Brodeur, Lundqvist
Two guys who play in and around New York City and little old Nabby in
San Jose. We'll see if they get it right.
The man who had played more Game Sevens than anybody on the roster
didn't even take the ice in Game Six. What a difference a day makes.
Jeremy Roenick was back on the ice Tuesday night after sitting out
Sunday's embarrassing 2-0 Sharks loss in Calgary. He was on the ice in
a big way, scoring two goals and assisting on two more, matching a
club record for points in a playoff game.
Before the game Roenick said these are the kinds of game that define
careers, games that people remember. These are games, he said, where
you make a name for yourself in the NHL.
After the game, Roenick got right to the point about why he was a
healthy scratch in Game Six. "(Ron Wilson) told me wanted to get some
rest," Roenick said. "I think that's his way of saying "get your ass
going"".
It and a whole lot more got going. The building got going. And the
Flames were going, on their charter back to Alberta.
And Roenick figures he'll be going for a while. "I feel like I'm 18,"
he said after the game.
As he has all season long, Roenick shared his view of the seventh game
experience not only with the media but also with his teammates.
"He told us this is one of the best teams he's ever been on," said Joe
Pavelski, who scored one of the Sharks second period goals Tuesday
night. "He said if we play sixty minutes with everybody competing, the
(Flames) are going to have a tough time beating us. And he was right."
THIS 'N THAT:
Wondering what George Johnson is thinking about today? He writes for
the Calgary Herald and wrote this after Game Six:
"Recent history informs us that the San Jose Sharks are infused with
all the wanton bloodlust of Charlie the Sunkist Tuna. Whenever that
moment of gut-oozing, spine-snapping annihilation arrives, the chance
to sink those powerful jaws into soft, warm flesh and indiscriminately
rip, tear and devour, they tend to go all vegetarian."
There was more than a little blood dripping from those sharp teeth
Tuesday night.
The Vezina Finalists: Nabokov, Brodeur, Lundqvist
Two guys who play in and around New York City and little old Nabby in
San Jose. We'll see if they get it right.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Tales 4/22
Before Game 7:
So, here we go. The cliché-o-meter is already peaking: Do or Die, Pucks
or Putters, Win or Go Home. Actually, for the Sharks it would be win and
stay home, for the start of the next round.
I’m certain the Sharks can’t – and won’t – play as poorly as they did
Sunday night. It seems they never lost their nervousness, even though
the Flames were apparently willing to let them hang around in the game
for most of the way.
The Sharks have equalized the physicality of the Flames, they have more
depth than the Flames, their goaltender is a Vezina Trophy finalist,
they have the best play-making forward in the league, and much more.
They also have only three wins in six games in this series, same as the
Flames.
As they (whoever they are?) say: First to four wins! Some fans were
hoping it wouldn’t take so long to get to four and others (the
naysayers) were saying (or are saying) same old story, “The best regular
season team in the league, but playoff wienies”, or something like that,
depending on the amount of alcohol consumed, or number of years holding
season tickets and/or with playoff disappointment.
The handshakes will be had after the game tonight. And, of course, we’ll
play all night to get a winner. There aren’t many things more exciting
than hosting game seven of a series, in any sport. There aren’t many
things worse than watching the other guys celebrate a game seven win in
your own building.
The league’s best regular season road team – they certainly were not
Sunday night in a 2-0 loss in Game 6 – has to simply be a really good
home team tonight. And hope that’s enough to win.
You would certainly rather see Dallas skating at HP later this week than
a Wednesday morning headline: “Sharks Season Goes Down in Flames”.
Sorry, one last cliché, but like most clichés, also fact.
So, here we go. The cliché-o-meter is already peaking: Do or Die, Pucks
or Putters, Win or Go Home. Actually, for the Sharks it would be win and
stay home, for the start of the next round.
I’m certain the Sharks can’t – and won’t – play as poorly as they did
Sunday night. It seems they never lost their nervousness, even though
the Flames were apparently willing to let them hang around in the game
for most of the way.
The Sharks have equalized the physicality of the Flames, they have more
depth than the Flames, their goaltender is a Vezina Trophy finalist,
they have the best play-making forward in the league, and much more.
They also have only three wins in six games in this series, same as the
Flames.
As they (whoever they are?) say: First to four wins! Some fans were
hoping it wouldn’t take so long to get to four and others (the
naysayers) were saying (or are saying) same old story, “The best regular
season team in the league, but playoff wienies”, or something like that,
depending on the amount of alcohol consumed, or number of years holding
season tickets and/or with playoff disappointment.
The handshakes will be had after the game tonight. And, of course, we’ll
play all night to get a winner. There aren’t many things more exciting
than hosting game seven of a series, in any sport. There aren’t many
things worse than watching the other guys celebrate a game seven win in
your own building.
The league’s best regular season road team – they certainly were not
Sunday night in a 2-0 loss in Game 6 – has to simply be a really good
home team tonight. And hope that’s enough to win.
You would certainly rather see Dallas skating at HP later this week than
a Wednesday morning headline: “Sharks Season Goes Down in Flames”.
Sorry, one last cliché, but like most clichés, also fact.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tales 4/18
After Game 5:
It appears the Cheechoo Train may be building steam. Three goals in the last two games for the now-healthy Sharks winger; Cheechoo, Thornton and Marleau have scored five of the last six goals for the Sharks in this series with the Flames. It’s good news for the Sharks, even though the now-healthy Ryane Clowe remains the team’s top scorer after five games, with four goals and four assists.
Young Joe Pavelski – far be it for to call him “Little Joe”, he’s been awfully big in these playoffs – sure does a lot of good things on the ice, doesn’t he?
It would be good for the Sharks to tighten up the penalty kill, which is ironic because they were the best in that category in the league during the regular season.
Speaking of irony, the Flames Game 3 head-hunting of Marleau may turn out to the turning point of this series.
It would also be good to build leads and not let them slip away. Twice in this series the Sharks have had a three-goal lead. In Game three they blew the lead and lost, and in Game 5 they were up 4-1 and won 4-3. A little too close for comfort for some, I suppose.
Ron Wilson had this impressive line on the ice a number of times in Game
5: Thornton, Cheechoo and Marleau.
Extra shifts for extra-special players, and from what the veteran Stanley Cup Playoffs watchers tell me, in the end your extra-special players have to outplay their extra-special players to keep advancing.
THIS ‘N THAT:
Through the first eight or nine it appears the Penguins are the best team in the tournament, though they were playing an Ottawa team that after a 15-2 start was below .500 the rest of the season. Still, a 4-0 record in the playoffs for the Pens is an attention-getter. And that’s just the numbers, you should watch them play. They are good, young and entertaining.
I wonder if the Rangers and Devils are worn down yet from their excessive travel in the first round of the playoffs. That bus ride from Washington to Philly can be a killer, too.
It appears the Cheechoo Train may be building steam. Three goals in the last two games for the now-healthy Sharks winger; Cheechoo, Thornton and Marleau have scored five of the last six goals for the Sharks in this series with the Flames. It’s good news for the Sharks, even though the now-healthy Ryane Clowe remains the team’s top scorer after five games, with four goals and four assists.
Young Joe Pavelski – far be it for to call him “Little Joe”, he’s been awfully big in these playoffs – sure does a lot of good things on the ice, doesn’t he?
It would be good for the Sharks to tighten up the penalty kill, which is ironic because they were the best in that category in the league during the regular season.
Speaking of irony, the Flames Game 3 head-hunting of Marleau may turn out to the turning point of this series.
It would also be good to build leads and not let them slip away. Twice in this series the Sharks have had a three-goal lead. In Game three they blew the lead and lost, and in Game 5 they were up 4-1 and won 4-3. A little too close for comfort for some, I suppose.
Ron Wilson had this impressive line on the ice a number of times in Game
5: Thornton, Cheechoo and Marleau.
Extra shifts for extra-special players, and from what the veteran Stanley Cup Playoffs watchers tell me, in the end your extra-special players have to outplay their extra-special players to keep advancing.
THIS ‘N THAT:
Through the first eight or nine it appears the Penguins are the best team in the tournament, though they were playing an Ottawa team that after a 15-2 start was below .500 the rest of the season. Still, a 4-0 record in the playoffs for the Pens is an attention-getter. And that’s just the numbers, you should watch them play. They are good, young and entertaining.
I wonder if the Rangers and Devils are worn down yet from their excessive travel in the first round of the playoffs. That bus ride from Washington to Philly can be a killer, too.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tales 4/16
In Game 3 the Sharks score three times in the first four minutes, and lose. In game 4, they score twice in the last five minutes and win. The lesson is simple: it’s better to have a brilliant finish than a brilliant start.
Actually it’s better to play for the entire 60 minutes as the well-worn hockey cliché goes.
The Sharks proved in their two games in southern Alberta this particular cliché is founded on reality.
It wasn’t so much a question of character, I thought, in Sunday’s game, a 4-3 loss, it was a matter of composure. Is it good character to take stupid penalties in retaliation for questionable hits on your captain?
Is it good character to play right into the hands of the crowd and the opposing team, which is taking advantage of officials who keep their whistles in their pockets? I thought the problem in Calgary wasn’t that they didn’t care about protecting their captain or their pride. The problem was the inordinate number of players who weren’t performing well.
For the most part Tuesday, in Game 4, they cleaned up the problem areas.
Even then, they were down 2-1 on only ten Calgary shots until Jonathan Cheechoo scored his first goal of the series to tie the game with 4:54 left in the third period. And Joe Thornton won it with his first goal of the series, redirecting a Douglas Murray blast past Mikka Kiprisoff with just over nine seconds to go.
Many Calgary fans were headed to the exits before the ensuing drop of the puck.
Why? Because they saw the game, they know what happened. The Sharks outplayed their beloved Flames for most of the 60 minutes. They knew that if the Flames had won that game they hockey gods were certainly looking out for them.
But no need yet to stop at the altar on the way out of the building; it seems the hockey gods haven’t decided yet who wins this series.
Whatever you do on Thursday night for Game 5 of this 2-2 and very entertaining series – whether you’re in the building or watching on TV – don’t miss the start and stay until the finish.
Actually it’s better to play for the entire 60 minutes as the well-worn hockey cliché goes.
The Sharks proved in their two games in southern Alberta this particular cliché is founded on reality.
It wasn’t so much a question of character, I thought, in Sunday’s game, a 4-3 loss, it was a matter of composure. Is it good character to take stupid penalties in retaliation for questionable hits on your captain?
Is it good character to play right into the hands of the crowd and the opposing team, which is taking advantage of officials who keep their whistles in their pockets? I thought the problem in Calgary wasn’t that they didn’t care about protecting their captain or their pride. The problem was the inordinate number of players who weren’t performing well.
For the most part Tuesday, in Game 4, they cleaned up the problem areas.
Even then, they were down 2-1 on only ten Calgary shots until Jonathan Cheechoo scored his first goal of the series to tie the game with 4:54 left in the third period. And Joe Thornton won it with his first goal of the series, redirecting a Douglas Murray blast past Mikka Kiprisoff with just over nine seconds to go.
Many Calgary fans were headed to the exits before the ensuing drop of the puck.
Why? Because they saw the game, they know what happened. The Sharks outplayed their beloved Flames for most of the 60 minutes. They knew that if the Flames had won that game they hockey gods were certainly looking out for them.
But no need yet to stop at the altar on the way out of the building; it seems the hockey gods haven’t decided yet who wins this series.
Whatever you do on Thursday night for Game 5 of this 2-2 and very entertaining series – whether you’re in the building or watching on TV – don’t miss the start and stay until the finish.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Tales 4/14
Following Game 3 of Calgary series:
This would be a really good time for the Sharks to prove they are the new playoff-ready team; the team that is ready to stop the neighborhood bully from pushing them around and taking away their superior speed and skating ability.
I thought it was interesting that Drew mentioned after Sunday’s game that among the players not playing well is Brian Campbell. He has looked tentative and indecisive at times. Not a good time to make a bad impression: During the Stanley Cup playoffs and at contract renewal time.
Among others who need to step it up: Kyle McLaren and Milan Michalek.
It’s very clear the Flames do not intend to get beaten by Joe Thornton. He is swarmed – double- and triple-teamed – every time he touches the puck. Patrick Marleau has accepted the challenge, as well as others.
It’s pretty clear the team misses Christian Erhoff, who had his best season as a Shark; consistent, steady and sure-handed.
Young Torrey Mitchell was talking the other day about the intensity of the playoffs, and what he imagined it would be like when he was a “ten-year-old kid skating on the pond in the backyard.” He said it has been quite an experience so far, though it seems like the neighborhood bully is skating on both his pond and the neighbor’s pond right now.
Jeremy Roenick still has a thing or two to say about how this series will turn out.
It’s not about the money, he says: “The paychecks ended the other day. It’s time now for pride.”
Pride should manifest itself with more ruggedness in Game 4, coupled with maybe some whining to the officials. It’s working for Mike Keenan.
And to answer the emailer: Evgeni Nabokov is not very comfortable doing the in-stadium live post-game interviews. He has asked us not to ask him to do those interviews during the playoffs.
This would be a really good time for the Sharks to prove they are the new playoff-ready team; the team that is ready to stop the neighborhood bully from pushing them around and taking away their superior speed and skating ability.
I thought it was interesting that Drew mentioned after Sunday’s game that among the players not playing well is Brian Campbell. He has looked tentative and indecisive at times. Not a good time to make a bad impression: During the Stanley Cup playoffs and at contract renewal time.
Among others who need to step it up: Kyle McLaren and Milan Michalek.
It’s very clear the Flames do not intend to get beaten by Joe Thornton. He is swarmed – double- and triple-teamed – every time he touches the puck. Patrick Marleau has accepted the challenge, as well as others.
It’s pretty clear the team misses Christian Erhoff, who had his best season as a Shark; consistent, steady and sure-handed.
Young Torrey Mitchell was talking the other day about the intensity of the playoffs, and what he imagined it would be like when he was a “ten-year-old kid skating on the pond in the backyard.” He said it has been quite an experience so far, though it seems like the neighborhood bully is skating on both his pond and the neighbor’s pond right now.
Jeremy Roenick still has a thing or two to say about how this series will turn out.
It’s not about the money, he says: “The paychecks ended the other day. It’s time now for pride.”
Pride should manifest itself with more ruggedness in Game 4, coupled with maybe some whining to the officials. It’s working for Mike Keenan.
And to answer the emailer: Evgeni Nabokov is not very comfortable doing the in-stadium live post-game interviews. He has asked us not to ask him to do those interviews during the playoffs.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Tales 3/30
So, here we are in the final week of the regular season and the Sharks are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. Not just wishful thinking, not just by looking at the numbers and not just the pundits pushing their pre-season prognostications.
Look at the team on the ice: The best player in the league, Joe Thornton (if not the best then certainly the most valuable); the man who has been the hottest goalie in the league for most of the season, Evgeni Nabokov and now an experienced and confident backup in Brian Boucher; Jody Shelley (“A better hockey player than I thought,” says coach Ron Wilson); a stingy defense that now features a real scoring threat in Brian Campbell; and maybe most importantly, a confidence to win on the road unmatched in the league.
Before we get too excited just a couple of things to remember: Detroit (no explanation necessary); Anaheim (defending Cup champions); And, the out-in-the-second-round demons are floating around the building (although they’re looking a little peaked right now).
What this team has right now more than maybe ever in the past is a number of leaders; leaders with character and experience: Thornton, Roenick, Rivet. Marleau is still the captain and still a quiet leader, who is admired and respected as much as anybody on the team. And he’s a man who survived a horrible first two-thirds of the season, and could be a difference-maker in the playoffs.
He will need to be.
The opponents will focus on Thornton, they will try to beat up Nabokov, and they will rough up the skaters (until Shelley, Clowe, Thornton and others make them pay for it).
I hope you’re ready for the ride. One hopes it’s a long one. And if you get a chance to see a Stanley Cup playoff game in person, take it.
There’s no experience quite like it in all of (North) American sports.
Look at the team on the ice: The best player in the league, Joe Thornton (if not the best then certainly the most valuable); the man who has been the hottest goalie in the league for most of the season, Evgeni Nabokov and now an experienced and confident backup in Brian Boucher; Jody Shelley (“A better hockey player than I thought,” says coach Ron Wilson); a stingy defense that now features a real scoring threat in Brian Campbell; and maybe most importantly, a confidence to win on the road unmatched in the league.
Before we get too excited just a couple of things to remember: Detroit (no explanation necessary); Anaheim (defending Cup champions); And, the out-in-the-second-round demons are floating around the building (although they’re looking a little peaked right now).
What this team has right now more than maybe ever in the past is a number of leaders; leaders with character and experience: Thornton, Roenick, Rivet. Marleau is still the captain and still a quiet leader, who is admired and respected as much as anybody on the team. And he’s a man who survived a horrible first two-thirds of the season, and could be a difference-maker in the playoffs.
He will need to be.
The opponents will focus on Thornton, they will try to beat up Nabokov, and they will rough up the skaters (until Shelley, Clowe, Thornton and others make them pay for it).
I hope you’re ready for the ride. One hopes it’s a long one. And if you get a chance to see a Stanley Cup playoff game in person, take it.
There’s no experience quite like it in all of (North) American sports.
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