Something is decidedly different in San Jose these days: The Sharks are penalty kill heroes, they are power play zeroes. I wouldn't expect that trend to continue as the season drags along. I don't believe the Sharks are going to be this good short-handed, like 27 straight power plays killed good. Nor will the Sharks -if they get healthy- continue to come up this short with the man advantage as they have with just one goal in the last 18 opportunities. So it's not surprising from a special teams standpoint San Jose had reason to feel equal parts pleased and miffed with Monday's 2-1 loss at Anaheim. And for the first time this season...
...There is a hint of adversity to deal with in the dressing room. The Sharks lost in regulation for the first time on the heels of the season's first defeat on Saturday in a shootout. Now, the Sharks will have turn around quickly, erase the sting of another disappointment at the hands of emerging nemesis Anaheim, and welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to HP Pavilion tonight. But first, let's look back at what happened at the Honda Center before looking ahead...
...Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. The Sharks relied offensively on essentially four players to jump out 7-0 on the season: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture. Combined, that quartet has scored 51 of 80 total points. In the last four games -two shootout wins, a shootout loss and Monday's first regulation loss- only Couture has kept up the pace with three goals and recording a plus-3, scoring his team's only goal last night. Pavelski also has scored twice, but was barely noticeable in the two defeats. Thornton and Marleau have really slowed down after leading the NHL in points and goals, respectively, in the first two weeks. Marleau is a minus-3 and has totaled just a single assist in the last four. Like Marleau, Thornton also got an assist in the first of the four games but nothing since. Hey, we're not going to beat down Marleau, Thornton or any of these guys for not producing like were a few games ago. They'll be back because they're too talented to be hemmed down for a long stretch. But when they are not clicking...
...San Jose is looking like it's going to be just an average team that will have to ride its goaltending and defense. Martin Havlat was very solid last night and came close to beating stingy Anaheim backup goalie Viktor Fasth a couple times. But it's been a big dropoff thereafter in terms of dangerous offensive forwards. Ryane Clowe is still looking for his first goal, and for the second time this season instigated a fight and racked up 17 minutes worth of penalties. Clowe's grit and strength is much needed among the top six forwards. But he has to stay on the ice, and he's already at 56 penalty minutes in nine games. The rest of the forwards have been mediocre in the offensive end. Scott Gomez has potential to contribute some secondary scoring, but he continues to receive fourth-line TOI, and unless he's on a line with the team's best scorers or leading a power play unit, Gomez is not going to be a big factor if he's flanked by offensively challenged wings like Adam Burish and Andrew Desjardins, who did get the primary assist on Couture's goal when the lines were discombobulated, but eight Sharks' forwards on the active roster have yet to score a goal, and just five forwards have goals. Contrast that with Anaheim and Chicago, who each have at least one goal by nine different forwards. And while in theory San Jose has survived with one puck-handling defenseman and power play quarterback (Brent Burns). But when Dan Boyle can't play like last night and Burns is still out, the power play is not going to be as dynamic. Let's hope Boyle is ready to go tonight. However, all was not bad for the Sharks against the Ducks...
...Bad luck was a factor, though not the deciding factor. With the Sharks up 1-0, Tommy Wingels simply tried to bang a puck around the boards behind his own net. But the puck deflected back right in front of the net, and with Thomas Greiss looking the other way, Saku Koivu got surely the most gift-wrapped of the veteran's 238 career goals with an easy putback while Greiss was unsure of the puck's location (Yes, I instantly flashed back to this lowlight in Sharks' history, too). Just a tough break, and the Sharks have gotten their share of friendly posts on their home ice. So. Deal. With. It. Not to be forgotten was Jason Demers' stick save on what should have been a layup by Andrew Cogliano.
And how about the PK? If it's assistant Larry Robinson responsible for this resurgence, give that guy a raise. But let's hope it keeps going. The 5-on-3 situation Anaheim didn't cash in was simply a brilliant minute-and-a-half stretch for the Sharks, who thanks to Marleau, Douglas Murray and Brad Stuart not only quelled the two-man deficit but nearly scored an unthinkable short-handed times two goal. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough...
...Leaving the Sharks unfulfilled and surely motivated to salvage the second half of the back-to-back against the Blackhawks. I don't know if it's ironic, frustrating or satisfying, but the Sharks are 5-2-1 against Chicago since that fateful eight-day stretch in May, 2010, when it looked like the Sharks' best opportunity in almost a decade to reach the Stanley Cup finals was swept away in a Windy City dust storm. The Sharks were relatively rested entering the Western Conference finals having finished off Detroit in five games. The Sharks had home ice advantage, took a 1-0 lead in Game 1 against the 'Hawks... And then this guy happened :(.
Who was that scoundrel?
Oh yeah. Go get 'em tonight, Nemo!
...There is a hint of adversity to deal with in the dressing room. The Sharks lost in regulation for the first time on the heels of the season's first defeat on Saturday in a shootout. Now, the Sharks will have turn around quickly, erase the sting of another disappointment at the hands of emerging nemesis Anaheim, and welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to HP Pavilion tonight. But first, let's look back at what happened at the Honda Center before looking ahead...
...Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. The Sharks relied offensively on essentially four players to jump out 7-0 on the season: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture. Combined, that quartet has scored 51 of 80 total points. In the last four games -two shootout wins, a shootout loss and Monday's first regulation loss- only Couture has kept up the pace with three goals and recording a plus-3, scoring his team's only goal last night. Pavelski also has scored twice, but was barely noticeable in the two defeats. Thornton and Marleau have really slowed down after leading the NHL in points and goals, respectively, in the first two weeks. Marleau is a minus-3 and has totaled just a single assist in the last four. Like Marleau, Thornton also got an assist in the first of the four games but nothing since. Hey, we're not going to beat down Marleau, Thornton or any of these guys for not producing like were a few games ago. They'll be back because they're too talented to be hemmed down for a long stretch. But when they are not clicking...
...San Jose is looking like it's going to be just an average team that will have to ride its goaltending and defense. Martin Havlat was very solid last night and came close to beating stingy Anaheim backup goalie Viktor Fasth a couple times. But it's been a big dropoff thereafter in terms of dangerous offensive forwards. Ryane Clowe is still looking for his first goal, and for the second time this season instigated a fight and racked up 17 minutes worth of penalties. Clowe's grit and strength is much needed among the top six forwards. But he has to stay on the ice, and he's already at 56 penalty minutes in nine games. The rest of the forwards have been mediocre in the offensive end. Scott Gomez has potential to contribute some secondary scoring, but he continues to receive fourth-line TOI, and unless he's on a line with the team's best scorers or leading a power play unit, Gomez is not going to be a big factor if he's flanked by offensively challenged wings like Adam Burish and Andrew Desjardins, who did get the primary assist on Couture's goal when the lines were discombobulated, but eight Sharks' forwards on the active roster have yet to score a goal, and just five forwards have goals. Contrast that with Anaheim and Chicago, who each have at least one goal by nine different forwards. And while in theory San Jose has survived with one puck-handling defenseman and power play quarterback (Brent Burns). But when Dan Boyle can't play like last night and Burns is still out, the power play is not going to be as dynamic. Let's hope Boyle is ready to go tonight. However, all was not bad for the Sharks against the Ducks...
...Bad luck was a factor, though not the deciding factor. With the Sharks up 1-0, Tommy Wingels simply tried to bang a puck around the boards behind his own net. But the puck deflected back right in front of the net, and with Thomas Greiss looking the other way, Saku Koivu got surely the most gift-wrapped of the veteran's 238 career goals with an easy putback while Greiss was unsure of the puck's location (Yes, I instantly flashed back to this lowlight in Sharks' history, too). Just a tough break, and the Sharks have gotten their share of friendly posts on their home ice. So. Deal. With. It. Not to be forgotten was Jason Demers' stick save on what should have been a layup by Andrew Cogliano.
And how about the PK? If it's assistant Larry Robinson responsible for this resurgence, give that guy a raise. But let's hope it keeps going. The 5-on-3 situation Anaheim didn't cash in was simply a brilliant minute-and-a-half stretch for the Sharks, who thanks to Marleau, Douglas Murray and Brad Stuart not only quelled the two-man deficit but nearly scored an unthinkable short-handed times two goal. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough...
...Leaving the Sharks unfulfilled and surely motivated to salvage the second half of the back-to-back against the Blackhawks. I don't know if it's ironic, frustrating or satisfying, but the Sharks are 5-2-1 against Chicago since that fateful eight-day stretch in May, 2010, when it looked like the Sharks' best opportunity in almost a decade to reach the Stanley Cup finals was swept away in a Windy City dust storm. The Sharks were relatively rested entering the Western Conference finals having finished off Detroit in five games. The Sharks had home ice advantage, took a 1-0 lead in Game 1 against the 'Hawks... And then this guy happened :(.
Who was that scoundrel?
Oh yeah. Go get 'em tonight, Nemo!
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