Note: I'm hoping to do some kind of consistent report after each Sharks' game -at least games I'm able to watch- and I'll maybe tinker with the format until I come up with something interesting.
Minutes after the 49ers sent the Bay Area sports scene into a frenzy from Atlanta, that city's former NHL team now based in Calgary, Alberta, was making the Bay Area's hockey team appear as if it was playing in the Stupor Bowl. But the Sharks survived a downright miserable first period against the Flames, and after being fortunate to be down just 1-0, returned to the Saddledome ice a much different team and scored a 4-1 win.
Here are some quick thoughts on the season opener:
*The first period was just ugly hockey. The Sharks looked old and slow, and frankly the cynical perception around the league probably will be that San Jose is kinda old and kinda slow. But it looked like the Sharks' skate blades were tampered with. Calgary kept forcing the Sharks to turn over the puck and kept firing pucks at Sharks' goaltender Antti Niemi. That it was just a one-goal lead at first intermission was nothing short of remarkable. ...
*...Because Niemi was looking like, well the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs version of (and most notably the Western Conference finals against the Sharks) Antti Niemi and not the inconsistent Sharks' netminder from the last two seasons. Niemi rescued his lethargic teammates from facing a lot worse than a one-goal deficit. The Flames did what they wanted, yet only Lee Stempniak's wicked power play wrister Niemi probably had no chance to save. He had 31 saves. robbing Calgary star forward Jarome Iginla multiple times Fifteen first-period saves by Niemi set the stage for....
*...A complete turnaround in period two. The Sharks began dictating the tempo, its short-handed defense -no Brent Burns, no Jason Demers- cleaning up with solid play by the veterans and rookie Matt Irwin shining in his NHL debut; and the Sharks turning to arguably their two most maligned players....
*...Patrick Marleau and Marty Havlat to spark their teammates. Both players' toughness and grit have been questioned in the past. But here was Marleau showing that despite a perceived underachieving M.O. showed off what kind of skills he has with a deft forehand to backhand move and slipping the puck past former Shark Mikka Kipprusoff to tie the game via a power play. Then it was Havlat's turn to poke a rebound past Kiprusoff . Later in the period Marleau did the same right in front of the crease as both he and Havlat showed some tenacity around the net, which is not what these two guys are known for. With Niemi facing far less pressure than the first period but still stifling whatever counterattack Calgary could muster, the Sharks got a 5-on-3 Dan Boyle goal late in the third to finish off their opening victory. Still, a season-opening win...
*....Must be accepted for what it was. Nobody is sure how the NHL's quick turnaround from lockout stalemate to about a week's worth of training camp and then Game One. In Southern California Saturday, the Kings dazzled their fans with the raising of a Stanley Cup championship banner, then promptly went out and got clocked by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Both Kings and Sharks alike can say after one game: "Hey, it's just one game."
Minutes after the 49ers sent the Bay Area sports scene into a frenzy from Atlanta, that city's former NHL team now based in Calgary, Alberta, was making the Bay Area's hockey team appear as if it was playing in the Stupor Bowl. But the Sharks survived a downright miserable first period against the Flames, and after being fortunate to be down just 1-0, returned to the Saddledome ice a much different team and scored a 4-1 win.
Here are some quick thoughts on the season opener:
*The first period was just ugly hockey. The Sharks looked old and slow, and frankly the cynical perception around the league probably will be that San Jose is kinda old and kinda slow. But it looked like the Sharks' skate blades were tampered with. Calgary kept forcing the Sharks to turn over the puck and kept firing pucks at Sharks' goaltender Antti Niemi. That it was just a one-goal lead at first intermission was nothing short of remarkable. ...
*...Because Niemi was looking like, well the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs version of (and most notably the Western Conference finals against the Sharks) Antti Niemi and not the inconsistent Sharks' netminder from the last two seasons. Niemi rescued his lethargic teammates from facing a lot worse than a one-goal deficit. The Flames did what they wanted, yet only Lee Stempniak's wicked power play wrister Niemi probably had no chance to save. He had 31 saves. robbing Calgary star forward Jarome Iginla multiple times Fifteen first-period saves by Niemi set the stage for....
*...A complete turnaround in period two. The Sharks began dictating the tempo, its short-handed defense -no Brent Burns, no Jason Demers- cleaning up with solid play by the veterans and rookie Matt Irwin shining in his NHL debut; and the Sharks turning to arguably their two most maligned players....
*...Patrick Marleau and Marty Havlat to spark their teammates. Both players' toughness and grit have been questioned in the past. But here was Marleau showing that despite a perceived underachieving M.O. showed off what kind of skills he has with a deft forehand to backhand move and slipping the puck past former Shark Mikka Kipprusoff to tie the game via a power play. Then it was Havlat's turn to poke a rebound past Kiprusoff . Later in the period Marleau did the same right in front of the crease as both he and Havlat showed some tenacity around the net, which is not what these two guys are known for. With Niemi facing far less pressure than the first period but still stifling whatever counterattack Calgary could muster, the Sharks got a 5-on-3 Dan Boyle goal late in the third to finish off their opening victory. Still, a season-opening win...
*....Must be accepted for what it was. Nobody is sure how the NHL's quick turnaround from lockout stalemate to about a week's worth of training camp and then Game One. In Southern California Saturday, the Kings dazzled their fans with the raising of a Stanley Cup championship banner, then promptly went out and got clocked by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Both Kings and Sharks alike can say after one game: "Hey, it's just one game."
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