The Fins chime in - readers comment on the Sharks' first home loss

by Mr. K. on Jan 15, 2009 11:36 PM PST in Gamedays Review Comment 16 comments

Well, let's not tighten the noose yet, people...

Instead, let's hear what you had to say about our less-than-stellar performance tonight, which resulted in the loss of our most beloved goose egg.

My only constructive criticism from this game = win the important faceoffs. Sure, we won 32 to their 25, but not when it truly counted (the last 30 seconds being one of several examples).

And my only Nerd Note = the Calgary Flames are now the only team to have beaten us not just at home in regulation, but twice this season. Ouch.

Now, on to the comments... because I actually have, ahem, work to attend to at 11:30pm.

UPDATE (on Rob Blake), from Yahoo / AP =

Blake was injured in the first period when a shot deflected up his stick and hit him in the face, McLellan said after the game. The Sharks had just five defensemen left, and Calgary capitalized on their weariness by dominating puck possession through much of the final two periods.

Blake went to a hospital as a precaution, McLellan said.

A comprehensive analysis from *mymclife* =

First game I’ve attended where the Sharks have lost. Not a fun feeling.

Basically, what I noticed:
- the Sharks were really slow and stagnant. They seemed to watch the puck instead of skating to it.
- too many attempts at pretty passes. DO NOT WANT. Just shoot the freaking puck at the net!
- Ehrhoff sucks. Honestly, I’d rather have Semenov and his glove of doom out there than Ehrhoff right now. Error’s (since he deserves his old nickname again) confidence is far more than his ability, causing him to make stupid plays. At least Semenov recognizes that he’s not on the level of Boyle.
- The loss of Blake really hurt them. It slowed them down and kept them in their own zone. Plus, the less-than-desirable Ehrhoff had to take more ice time. And Murray – though he did try as hard as he could – just is not fast enough to play on the level of Blake.
- I hate refs. The lack of interference calls on the Flames (among others) really pissed me off.
- Joe Thornton was last year’s Joe Thornton – the guy that had to take the team on his back. His goal was just beautiful, and he actually led the breakout decently (usually his play in his zone and the neutral zone leaves a lot to be desired).
- Clowe was okay. Got the goal and a couple of nice hits, but really was kind of invisible.
- Nabby was good. Got some nice saves on the Flames, but IMO should have gotten that third goal. But then again, if the Sharks hadn’t had such a hard time getting any offense going at all…
- Power play fail. Nothing more needs to be said.
- The Flames weren’t playing that well either; to quote my friend, "It was a battle to see who sucked the least."

by mymclife on Jan 15, 2009 10:58 PM PST

From *ang6666* =

UGH!

That is all.

Ever get the feeling we are on a collision course with reality?

by ang6666 on Jan 15, 2009 11:05 PM PST

From *Lurker Shark* =

Ang couldn’t have put it any better. Will Kerry Frasier [sic] retire already? A lackluster performance by our boys and a lousy officiating team is not a recipe for success.

It takes a big man to cry and it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man. -Jamie Baker

by Lurker Shark on Jan 15, 2009 11:07 PM PST

From *senor_k* =

Eh, the Flames deserved it.

Nabby and Thornton were spectacular, but hardly anyone else was. Oh well.

by senor_k on Jan 15, 2009 10:04 PM PST

Comments

Now, on to the comments… because I actually have, ahem, work to attend to at 11:30pm.

Dude, sweet recap. I actually wouldn’t be adverse to doing this more often. And good luck, er, attending to business.

Everyone layed out a some solid points (Error-Hoff, losing puck battles etc.), so I thought I’d touch upon something that wasn’t thrown out around here.

I thought Boyle had a pretty poor performance tonight, and hasn’t been playing that well defensively for the last couple games. He would get outmuscled for pucks in the corners, had a terrible clear that directly led to the Phaneuf goal, and didn’t activate as much as he should have (especially with Calgary loading three players down low fishing out pucks in our attacking zone). With a team like Calgary, who’s extremely aggressive when pursuing the puck, a better performance needs to be seen from our defensemen in general, and Boyle in particular.

The loss of Blake for most of the game was unfortunate (anytime you skate 5 D-Men against a physical team you’re going to run into trouble), but that’s no excuse

Also (and this is just a minor caveat), the breakaway with about two and a half minutes left was due to his blown coverage. I understand he’s looking to push the play and try and make something happen late in the game down a goal, but getting caught out of position and giving up a great chance isn’t going to do us any favors.

Cheers to Grier, Thornton (he’s finally shooting the puck!), Vlasic once again, and Nabby in particular. Other include Joslin who played well and saw a lot of ice time relative to my current expectations, Goc was decent, and Milan produced some decent chances.

Go Sharks.

Fear The Fin: Where The Second Round Is Overrated

by Mr. Plank on Jan 16, 2009 1:01 AM PST reply actions

Agreed about Boyle

I did a double take when his name was listed as one of the stars – ok, 2 assists, but his misplay of the puck (failure to clear) led to Phaneuf’s goal. He also fanned too much on receiving / delivering passes.

Thanks for your kudos – laziness / business on my part perhaps has led to a good idea. Whodda thunk…

Fear the Fin: Home of the Triple Game Thread

by Mr. K. on Jan 16, 2009 1:14 AM PST up reply actions

P.S.

I’m still working. Needed a breather. Seriously… Um, back to work.

Fear the Fin: Home of the Triple Game Thread

by Mr. K. on Jan 16, 2009 1:15 AM PST up reply actions

EGAD

I just clicked that link about “business.” Gross… AND untrue. But still funny – that John Paul, what a kidder.

(awaiting further villainy from Mr. Plank / accusations of denial…)

Fear the Fin: Home of the Triple Game Thread

by Mr. K. on Jan 16, 2009 1:16 AM PST up reply actions

Not trying to make excuses here,

because I agree with your take on Boyle, but he did see 31:32 on the ice tonight, incredible.

by mattman on Jan 16, 2009 7:29 AM PST up reply actions

Haha, I was just about to post that. The guy who had the next most TOI – Vlasic – still had five fewer minutes. I think we could blame some of his sub-par play on the fact that he was just tired.

And I noticed that Marleau was on the ice for 24:00; I can’t remember, was he playing D? Because usually only Vlasic plays that much.

by mymclife on Jan 16, 2009 7:42 AM PST up reply actions

No,

just a combination of the first line playing a lot because of a close game. Also, he is on both special teams #1 unit and I believe each team had 5 power plays.

by mattman on Jan 16, 2009 8:22 AM PST up reply actions

Dang it.

I’m going to say the quality of my spelling of his name reflects the quality of Fraser’s work on the ice last night. Yeah… that’s it exactly. If the man did his job, I wouldn’t know who he is.

On a lighter note. I noticed Nabby was sporting a new mask last night. How long as he had that? It’s his usual design, just black instead of teal. Looked pretty sweet.

It takes a big man to cry and it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man. -Jamie Baker

by Lurker Shark on Jan 16, 2009 6:33 AM PST reply actions

that was a demoralizing loss

And now the bruins have claimed #1 in the NHL and rightfully so. they’ve been playing like champions all season and have been greatly underreported (just like hockey in general)

Silver and Black Pride: Where Bacon hating happens
Fear the Fin: Where Sharks cakes happen
Athletics Nation: Where Billy Bean happens
Pounding the Rock: Where otstanding happens
Rakes of Mallow: Where Brady Quinn happens
S&B Nation: Where lazy people have nothing better to do happens

by KA1Z3R on Jan 16, 2009 6:57 AM PST reply actions

I am kinda confused

Those of us here who watched the game, either on TV or at the Tank, all seem to be less than enthusiastic about the effort of the Sharks last night.

Yet, Thornton and Coach both said it was great game, and extolled the virtues of the team.

Are we missing something?

I truly did not see it as a great game. I saw a couple of players (Thornton, Nabby) have great games, but sheesh, the rest of the guys were pretty hit and miss (mostly miss) at shots (or lack of them) passes, and hits.

Fear the Fin....where being an old guy isn't all bad

by Dave Valentine on Jan 16, 2009 11:10 AM PST reply actions

I

didn’t think we played that bad, thought the D made some mental mistakes and our discipline with the puck was dismal, but I wouldn’t exactly say we played bad when we were physical and generated a lot of chances outshot the flames and a bad bounce off Vlasic’s stick did us in, well it was really the failure to get the puck out of the zone by Boyle and others all night, but we were down to 5 d-men.

by mattman on Jan 16, 2009 12:33 PM PST up reply actions

I think you have to credit the Flames

The Sharks played hard, but the Flames played harder. They were aggressive on the forecheck, aggressive on the PK, quick on the transition and looking to hit, shove, push anyone in a dark sweater.

On paper it looks like the Sharks would have the edge in talent, but on the ice the Flames can roll four strong lines, which may have something to do with age and experience (aren’t the Flames one of the older teams in the League?)

I also found it unfortunate that Kerry Fraser didn’t set the tone early, and more or less ‘let them play’ – which in my opinion, provided an edge to the Flames and their style. Fraser’s M.O. is to even up calls and more often than not his games end up with each team awarded the same amount of power plays. I might venture to say this also helped the Flames who have a history of being ‘PIM happy’ whereas the Sharks tend to be far more disciplined. But in the end, SJ couldn’t convert on an abbreviated 5-on-3 & subsequent man-advantage op, so…..drats I say!

I'm a happy seal

by SwisherThresher on Jan 16, 2009 11:31 AM PST reply actions

What really sucks

is that I have friends that are Flames fan. And they are doing nothing but giving me shit today. Shoot me someone!

Ever get the feeling we are on a collision course with reality?

by ang6666 on Jan 16, 2009 12:26 PM PST reply actions

Just remind them of the Western Conference Standings.

by mattman on Jan 16, 2009 12:30 PM PST up reply actions

i have a friend at my school who's a red wings fan

if the red wings win and take the lead this weekend then i don’t think i’ll go to school on tuesday.

'It aint over till the fat lady sings." - Not Yogi Berra

by serrapadre716 on Jan 16, 2009 7:08 PM PST up reply actions

on a positive note...

from the worcestershire sharks site:
“In what has become an intense AHL rivalry, the Sharks used goals from Torrey Mitchell and Matt Fornataro to force overtime, while Fornataro added the game-winning goal in round seven of the shootout to spring Worcester to a 3-2 win over the Norfolk Admirals on Friday evening.”

so mitchell makes in impact in his first game back on the ice. oh well. yawn. no big deal.

"I want this team to be tough, smart and prepared to play well under pressure...Everybody here in this organization is going to be held accountable to do their job — their piece of the puzzle to make this team a competitor for a championship every season." J-Mac

by Jay Fin Anderson on Jan 17, 2009 9:09 AM PST reply actions