“We’re the fresh team. We have absolutely no excuse to be able to outwork or at least out-compete that team all over the rink, or attempt to. That’s the first message, because if you don’t outwork teams, you don’t win. Secondly, we’ve got to get our execution level up so we play the game much faster.”
—Sharks' Coach Todd McLellan, from CSNCalifornia's Kevin Kurz, prior to Tuesday's game at St. Louis.
The Sharks need a win. Badly. They need to be in a position when the final buzzer goes off at Scottrade Center the skaters can bang helmets with goalie Antti Niemi, who frankly deserves better than his current 6-3-2 record (1.94 GAA, .930 save %). That postgame reaction of congratulatory head bumps and knuckle taps hasn't happened all of this month. But in theory having to play St. Louis is not exactly the ideal matchup for these Sharks to end a seven-game drought without drinking a victory brew. The Blues have won eight of the last nine meetings, 4-0 in the 2011-12 regular season and a rather easy -at least after Logan Couture's brilliant pick that set up a Martin Havlat Game 1 OT winner- first-round playoff series victory.
Fast forward a year, and the Sharks look vulnerable against the Blues again given not just their own struggles, but St. Louis seems to be on the right track again with a 3-0 road swing through Detroit, Calgary and Vancouver. It was in British Columbia, however, where the Blues were finally stopped. Not by the Canucks of course, but by mechanical problems with the team charter plane that stranded the Blues almost all day Monday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch also reported the plane didn't land in St. Louis until 6:33 a.m. this morning. Not quite the kind of proper rest or routine most teams would prefer before a game, especially when it's not a back-to-back situation.
So is this a major advantage for the Sharks? They for sure had a far easier itinerary than the Blues, flying back to the Midwest Monday after a short stay in the Bay Area. But the way San Jose has struggled to get pucks into the net, it might not matter if it has fresher legs than the Blues. St. Louis's top forwards like Patrik Berglund, Andy McDonald, David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Chris Stewart, Alex Steen and David Perron badly outperformed the Sharks' stars when the teams met in those nine games a year ago. And though the Sharks will likely avoid having to face slumping Brian Elliott, who stymied them in the last four games of the playoffs, it remains to be seen how they'll fare against promising but to the Sharks unknown rookie starter Jake Allen tonight.
I felt zero confidence in the Sharks last Friday heading to Chicago, and the Blackhawks proved me right. But I'll combine the Blues' difficult trip back from Canada with the Sharks' urgency to get back on the winning track. Niemi will continue to play well, and though it might not be pretty, give it a 2-1 victory for the visiting team. But nothing seems very certain right now.
—Sharks' Coach Todd McLellan, from CSNCalifornia's Kevin Kurz, prior to Tuesday's game at St. Louis.
The Sharks need a win. Badly. They need to be in a position when the final buzzer goes off at Scottrade Center the skaters can bang helmets with goalie Antti Niemi, who frankly deserves better than his current 6-3-2 record (1.94 GAA, .930 save %). That postgame reaction of congratulatory head bumps and knuckle taps hasn't happened all of this month. But in theory having to play St. Louis is not exactly the ideal matchup for these Sharks to end a seven-game drought without drinking a victory brew. The Blues have won eight of the last nine meetings, 4-0 in the 2011-12 regular season and a rather easy -at least after Logan Couture's brilliant pick that set up a Martin Havlat Game 1 OT winner- first-round playoff series victory.
Fast forward a year, and the Sharks look vulnerable against the Blues again given not just their own struggles, but St. Louis seems to be on the right track again with a 3-0 road swing through Detroit, Calgary and Vancouver. It was in British Columbia, however, where the Blues were finally stopped. Not by the Canucks of course, but by mechanical problems with the team charter plane that stranded the Blues almost all day Monday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch also reported the plane didn't land in St. Louis until 6:33 a.m. this morning. Not quite the kind of proper rest or routine most teams would prefer before a game, especially when it's not a back-to-back situation.
So is this a major advantage for the Sharks? They for sure had a far easier itinerary than the Blues, flying back to the Midwest Monday after a short stay in the Bay Area. But the way San Jose has struggled to get pucks into the net, it might not matter if it has fresher legs than the Blues. St. Louis's top forwards like Patrik Berglund, Andy McDonald, David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Chris Stewart, Alex Steen and David Perron badly outperformed the Sharks' stars when the teams met in those nine games a year ago. And though the Sharks will likely avoid having to face slumping Brian Elliott, who stymied them in the last four games of the playoffs, it remains to be seen how they'll fare against promising but to the Sharks unknown rookie starter Jake Allen tonight.
I felt zero confidence in the Sharks last Friday heading to Chicago, and the Blackhawks proved me right. But I'll combine the Blues' difficult trip back from Canada with the Sharks' urgency to get back on the winning track. Niemi will continue to play well, and though it might not be pretty, give it a 2-1 victory for the visiting team. But nothing seems very certain right now.
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