Honeymoon's Over, Folks
by Mr. Plank on Apr 16, 2009 10:44 PM PDT
in 2009 Playoffs
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If anyone is Chicken Littling right now you don't even know how to tie your shoes. Get a grip. It's called a seven game series for a reason.
Frankly, I don't think the Sharks played too poorly. We get a crossbar to play ball and help us out? We're sitting pretty. Momentum changes.
I didn't like our power play's entrance into the attacking zone however. No speed in the neutral ice- that forced San Jose into either chipping the puck deep (where the Ducks defensemen did a great job of shutting down our low cycle) or getting caught at the blueline (where the Ducks forwards would get into passing lanes and pounce on the puck carrier). We made life easy on the Ducks in that department.
As for matchups, I hate to play coach. There's a reason Todd McLellan guided the Sharks to a Presidents' Trophy and I'm a writer with an obscene amount of body odor. However, I think that our top line needs to see easier minutes, especially when we have the last change at home. Roll out a shutdown line against Getzlaf & Co. I've been an advocate of Moen-Plihal-Grier, but Goc in the center would work for me as well. It will help to get the top line easier minutes, because they were completely nullified tonight. Outplayed, frankly.
[Update 11:44 AM]: Forgot to include it last night- we touched on this match up here.
Getzlaf's bald noggin is scary, but it's his line that really frightens me. In terms of shutting them down, I liked the promise of Moen-Goc-Grier in that it did two things. For starters, it put defensively oriented players together who play heavy PK minutes. With the last change in San Jose, McLellan would have ample opportunity to match this line up against them more the majority of shifts. On a second note, it gave us a good man from the dot to win faceoffs and keep the puck out of our zone.
However, David Pollak is now reporting that Cheechoo will be replacing Mike Grier on that line. Cheech's skating ability makes me a little wary to include him in a shutdown line- the speed of Ryan and Perry on the wings could cause some issues in our defensive zone. From what I can garner from this print edition piece, it seems we may see top line against top line (Getzlaf v. Thornton). I'm comfortable with that, while at the same time a bit disappointed- having Moen, Goc, and Grier eat minutes against Getzlaf has the potential to give our top tandem better looks in the offensive zone, especially when you factor in the last change that will be alloted in San Jose.
If Calgary taught us anything last year, it's that dropping the first game at home is brutal for the fanbase. But it's not the end of the road.
This isn't drinking the kool-aid. It's reality.
Go Sharks.
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bad body odor?…i will be in your presense in like a week!!!…hello nose plugs!!
El Spade-o
by SPADE-IN-VICTORHELL on Apr 16, 2009 10:49 PM PDT reply actions
Well said, Plank
I think I’m allergic to Spade. He gives my posts bad juju.
resident cartoonist @couchtarts.blogspot.com
your not the only one….im guessing theres comfort in that…
good game..i predict..the exact opposite to happen in game 2
El Spade-o
by SPADE-IN-VICTORHELL on Apr 16, 2009 11:05 PM PDT up reply actions
Not the end of the road indeed. Like I said in the wrap up, I’m still thinking this will end in five.
Go Sharks.
Fear the Fin: Approved by ESPN and Logan Couture
by Matthew_Taylor on Apr 16, 2009 11:03 PM PDT reply actions
Six.
That’s how I called it for the contest, and I’m sticking to it.
It takes a big man to cry and it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man. -Jamie Baker
by Lurker Shark on Apr 16, 2009 11:08 PM PDT up reply actions
our stars didn't show up
however, I didn’t think anaheim’s stars did that well either, all in all. Sure Getzlaf got the goal and assist, but it’s not like he dominated the game.Overall I felt their chances were pretty limited. Now, If our 3rd and 4th line can keep this kind of battle up and we can actually get some EVEN STRENGTH or any kind of scoring from the top guys, the look of the series changes completely.
Absolutely
And we had some really good chances, just very few secondary ones. It’s a long series, things will start clicking.
It takes a big man to cry and it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man. -Jamie Baker
by Lurker Shark on Apr 16, 2009 11:13 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree Plank
I’m not really sure why Coach Todd matched up top line to top line. I like that philosophy in theory, but with the sputtering 1st line who can’t score recently, it seems to make a lot more sense to employ a bit of a cautious strategy
Erly birdin ut letefisk, den dees.
Good game? Ya sure, you betcha! Pull yer ear flaps back an listen to the fish jump.
Clearly there is something wrong in the Shark’s dressing room. Thankfully, most of the hockey sport casters, fans, and the rest of the NHL world was in bed during this game. I cannot wait to listen to, or read, more comments tomorrow and Saturday about how the Sharks are a playoff Poser and not a real deal.
As far as first games go for the western playoffs, this one ranks 4th as a game to (re)watch.
Never said it was a good game.
It’s pretty easy not to watch a team all year, sign up on our site right before you post, and trot out the same ol’ line about how the Sharks have problems in their dressing room. Guess what- we’ve heard it already.
Show a little intelligence and talk about how Nabokov gave up a weak goal five-hole, how the Ducks first line completely dominated Big Joe and friends, how Hiller played great, how the Sharks outshot the Ducks 21-12 at even strength but couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities. Talk about McLellan not taking advantage of San Jose’s depth (and therefore shortening his bench) by playing Shelley for 2 minutes, maybe touch upon how we didn’t control the puck and were content to dump it in.
We don’t come to your house and shit on your bed when you’re feeling down. Show a little class and please do the same.
Fear The Fin: Where The Past Is Overrated
Nice Job, Plank!
And don’t forget one of my favorites, “I don’t come to your work and throw rocks at you while you’re mowing the lawn!”
Fear the Fin....where being an old guy isn't all bad
by Dave Valentine on Apr 17, 2009 8:41 AM PDT up reply actions
The last regular season game between these two teams was a good indicator to San Jose of the kind of Ducks team they were to face. Last night, as I sat watching, I felt like it was the year 2000 all over again, sans the mid-ice slapper from Owen Nolan and Darryl Sutter behind the bench with his “bitter beer face” drowning out his tie and jacket versus a Presidents trophy winning Blues.
Anyways, lets hope the special teams gets the job done in game two and the Ducks continue their march to the penalty box. The Sharks have a great power play, and lets hope for a little luck that shots get through and on net and no more crossbars. If I hear one more “TANG!” ( or whatever the spelling for such noise ) from a crossbar, it better happen while watching an eastern conference game so it doesn’t make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Happy Friday all. Now get back to work.
If I hear one more "TANG!" ( or whatever the spelling for such noise ) from a crossbar
Whenever I hear “TANG!” I think of monkeys (due to those commercials). Whenever I think of monkeys I think of bananas.
Now that you mention it, hitting the post usually makes me go bananas. Maybe you’re on to something here.
Fear The Fin: Where The Past Is Overrated
couldn't have said it better myself
no seriously, i really couldn’t have. if anything i’m starting to notice these little things you guys keep talking about, and it makes me realize…how much more the sharks are doing wrong than i thought they were. i didn’t see much dump and chase like hahn and remenda were talking about.
"It aint over till the fat lady sings." - Not Yogi Berra
wait
all i saw was dumping, not as much chasing
"It aint over till the fat lady sings." - Not Yogi Berra
by serrapadre716 on Apr 17, 2009 8:03 AM PDT up reply actions
Yea...
the Sharks were dumping all over the place.
Fear the Fin: Where I'm totally UNAPPRECIATED!!! < Going with an old favorite.
by Matthew_Taylor on Apr 17, 2009 8:12 AM PDT up reply actions
by the way
Plank, TCY, I’ve been meaning to thank you for your even-handed perspective on all these games. Your reasoning often pulls me out of doom-and-gloom mode and helps me see the brighter side of the equation. For that we all thank you
by a10dency2ask on Apr 17, 2009 8:16 AM PDT up reply actions
I know its a seven game series, but my heart sunk watching that first period. For the first time since November, there were no excuses for the Sharks. They were at full strength, rested, they were at home, and it was playoff time. And then they played like that…
Let’s put it this way, with about 5 minutes left in the period, I thought it was Ron Wilson tribute night. What happened to the puck possession, crash the net, frantic forecheck system that was all the rage? I swear, I don’t think one entry into the zone in the first period was carried in, EVERYTHING was dump and chase. McClellan likes to say “will has to overcome skill,” but the reason the Sharks were so good is that they brought both.
Unfortunately, the Sharks played like they have from Dec-Mar. That team won’t make it to the promised land. I don’t think its about skill, or will. Its a matter of faith now. This team is built to win 5-3 games, not 2-1 games. Their system is designed to give the Sharks more chances than the other team, not to shut down the other team’s chances (I truly believe Nabby’s mediocre save percentage is because of the aggressive nature of the defensemen, leading to higher quality shots). But it looks like the team is so afraid of mistakes again, so afraid to have fun playing the game, that its back to “don’t f*ck up, get pucks deep, no high turnovers cause I don’t want the coaches chewing me out” hockey.
The Sharks are a .500 team when they play like that. I have faith, but the excuses are gone. Game 2 is gonna provide a lot of answers. A win isn’t enough. I’d rather they win 5-4 playing puck possession hockey that 3-0 playing this Ron Wilson style.
some more perspective
looking at the boxscore -
For all the complaining we are doing about Marleau and Joe only combining for 2 shots…Getzlaf and Perry did exactly the same. 2 shots. Sure Getzlaf scored on one of them, but you see what I’m saying. The ducks won the game, so we don’t think about how their leaders didn’t exactly carry the day either.
Not making an excuse, just trying to say, It’s not like their first line were worldbeaters that overpowered us all night. Poor effort by the Sharks to be sure, but there’s more of this series to go, and holding the ducks to so few shots is one of the several positive things we can try to take from last night
Agreed
Hiller played well. He did what he was supposed to do: swallow rebounds, stop the pucks he saw (aka everything). He didn’t have to be Roberto Luongo out there, but that’s the Sharks’ fault. I thought #3 star was appropriate. He didn’t steal the game, but made all the right plays.
Same things with the Ducks’ top line. They had a couple of good opportunities, but really Getzlaf’s goal was an individual effort (or lack of effort by Nabokov, he looked caught off guard). If I’m a Ducks fan, I’m thinking “I hope the Sharks sleepwalk all the way to Anaheim and back.” At this point, I almost hope Corey Perry takes a run at Nabokov, something needs to put some urgency into these guys! (Of course, without any injuries).
The sky definitely ain’t fallen, but the fog is definitely taking a long time to burn off. Here’s looking to game 2.
The sky definitely ain’t fallen, but the fog is definitely taking a long time to burn off. Here’s looking to game 2.
That’s poetry man. These two days off are taking fifteen years off my life.
Fear The Fin: Where The Past Is Overrated
I definitely agree with the post,
but I would add that outshooting the Ducks by 18 means nothing when Hiller has no traffic in front to combat. My 16 year old brother who never played hockey (but is an intelligent hockey fan) was screaming for more traffic in front, especially on the PP. Hiller could face 100 shots, but if he sees them all off the stick from the point, he’s going to stop every one. Not sure if I read it here or in the Merc, but only a handful of our 35 shots were from within 6 feet of the crease. I think that’s been a big part of our 5 v 5 scoring troubles; we’re taking low-percentage shots from the perimeter without traffic and expecting them to go in. Not the way to score goals, even against the no. 23 PK.
Aye. I mentioned that when I was tweeting* and taking a look at the tape again today, you’re definitely right. To the Ducks credit they did a really good job of clearing the front of the net. Pronger, as expected, was a huge presence.
*Isn’t that the stupidest word ever?
I think I vastly underestimated how big of a factor Beauchemin was going to be considering he only played the last two games of the season (after being out basically the whole year). Carlyle paired him up a lot against our top two lines, especially towards the end of the game.
I’m not worried (yet), but these two days off might be the longest of my life.
Fear The Fin: Where The Past Is Overrated
That is an emasculating word,
sorry you had to actually say it.
by Chicago Shark on Apr 18, 2009 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Relax
Exactly as Plank said its 7 games we had 5 days off Patty needs to get his playoff legs Sharks in 6
More speed better coaching
Sharks gotta keep the Ducks chasing around. I predict Setoguchi will have a great next game.
After a few games against Hiller (and a better chance to study lots of tape) the coaches will have answers about how to attack him. One way might be more effectively using his own massive teammates as screens. They sure clog up the area in front of the crease, so use it against them. Tee up and fire away, wait for a screen goal or lucky bounce. Worked well for the Wings against Mason.
by DetroiterInNorCal on Apr 18, 2009 7:39 AM PDT reply actions
The View From The Lake
After several days to let that debacle sink in, here’s the view from 200 miles away:
First, a tremendous perspective piece from McKeon (if you haven’t seen it): http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=Aktl4sFVgI1S5S45KgWvzvB7vLYF?slug=rm-nhlopeners041709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Naysayers
Go away. This is the playoffs, please go root for another team. No one said this was gonna be easy. But it’s okay to comment on how the team played (or didn’t play)
Home Ice Advantage
There isn’t one. Look at the last weekend of the season, they won here and we won there. So don’t despair about having to win at the Pond, and any gloating Ducks folks, put a sock in it.
The Power Play
Well obviously there needs to be one, duh. Here’s why. The Ducks are going to continue to take penalties, and we need to make them pay for it. They cannot match up with us even strength, so their strategy is to hold, hook, and Pronger the Sharks in an effort to slow the team down if they can get away with it. The recompense is PPG’s for the Sharks, in addition to keeping their PK team on the ice and wearing them down in that fashion. Also, we need more puck movement and tic-tac-toe. They are not as fast as us. We had little movement away from the puck in Game 1.
The Goalie
Did anyone notice Hiller’s style? So we get a couple of pucks high on him, and beat him twice, only to be foiled by the pipes. Continuing to shoot low is death, he’s a fabulous low goalie with great side to side.
Speed
No consistent speed seen except in flashes, and we got a couple of PP’s because of it. Speed also equals odd man rushes, of which we were woefully lacking given the dump and chase nature of the game. The Sharks should feel The Need For Speed.
The Intangible
With fans like this : http://csnbayarea.com/pages/fearthebeard/
We cannot go wrong
p.s. much as I hate to admit it, that’s my son!
GO SHARKS
Losses always hurt...
but if it can wake the team the hell up, the Sharks could still get back on track and cruise through to the next round.
Come on boys, smack the “Mighty” out of the D*cks of Anaheim!
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