Postgame: Jesus Greiss Superstar
The menu tonight was toasted ravioli, an apparent St. Louis favorite which is surprisingly delicious; likely to become a staple in this household, honestly, games vs. the Blues notwithstanding. Whatever the mojo was, it seemed to work pretty well as the San Jose Sharks managed to bust home a good 4-2 win over St. Louis to open up their pre-Olympic road trip with a visit to Scottrade Center despite a late Too Many Men penalty after a big brawl sent Torrey Mitchell and David Backes to the box for some nail-biting 4-on-4 action to close out the game.
Patrick Marleau opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the first period, leading the Sharks to a 2-1 lead headed to the first intermission, with Ryane Clowe picking up the other tally and Patrick Berglund firing in a power play goal to breathe some life into his team late in the first period. Unfortunately for the Blues, as things progressed, Thomas Greiss (whose name was the topic du jour in both our Game Day Thread and that of St. Louis Game Time) proved to be the stronger in-net performer as the Sharks gathered another regulation win despite spending most of the game trailing in shots on goal against the tired, second-night-of-back-to-backs Blues.
Devin Setoguchi notched a second-period power play goal of his own, the only scoring in that frame, to be eventually answered in the third as Alex Steen (eventually got credit for how he) eked one past the 'Greiss Monkey' (Meth Squirrel, the Greisser, Greiss Greiss Baby) for another black mark on the Sharks' generally-strong penalty kill. Scott Nichol's final addition to the score sheet sealed the deal 7 minutes later to lift his team to a more decisive victory.Winning aside, I saw some great things from the Sharks tonight, but there were still some errors that I felt they could have kept in line. Patrick Marleau (in the ... second period I think?) managed a fantastic breakaway, but his chance to keep claim over the league lead in goals was spoiled as he moved the puck faster than he was moving his feet; Pavelski, too, had a clean breakout chance in the third, but was unable to control his own stick well enough to get it going -- these are small complaints, of course, but those are the kinds of details that can turn into very, very ugly turnovers against a fast, well-executing team like we expect to see in the postseason (oh no, I said it!). If San Jose expects to excel and push themselves to the Conference Finals or beyond, little mistakes like that will need to be cleaned up.
All in all, I thought it was a great game -- well played by both teams, especially considering that the Blues faced the Blackhawks just the night before in Chicago, meaning that the Sharks were actually in St. Louis before they were. I wish I could say that I expect that kind of jump on the back-end of two nights of play from the Sharks when facing such tough opponents, but until some assistance on the blue line is acquired, I'm hard pressed to make let that hope burn too strong; of course, the return of Dan Boyle and/or Marc-Edouard Vlasic will certainly bolster my faith in Team Teal.
The Sharks continue their road trip on Saturday, facing up against the Nashville Predators; the season series between the two clubs sits at 1-1 right now, with the home team taking home the W in each contest to date. High time for the visitors to grab up two points, I think, and remind the Predators why they're in a three-way points tie to clutch a playoff spot right now. Trade rumors may come to fruition before that night, though -- either way, there are a few interesting days laid out in front of us.
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Forgot to mention:
Possible injury to Manny Malhorta late in the game; good god, I hope he’s okay — though I think I pulled my groin muscle just seeing the replay of his splits-tastic moment of pain.
I was a few rows behind the Sharks bench tonight
And he looked like he was in serious pain as he walked into the tunnel.
Chicagoan in the Lou.
Amazing title, Thomas Greiss Superstar is a worthy nickname.
Fear the Fin: Sharing Joe Thornton's love of wooly mammoths since 2009.
There needs to be a Meth Squirrel vs. Thomas Greiss Superstar poll.
"I think people were ready to watch some hockey. We took up enough of everyone’s time."
-Jody Shelley after an 87 second hockey fight against Cam Janssen
Meth Squirrel takes the cake in my opinion, but feel free to Fanpost something.
Fear The Fin: Where Selling Your Soul Is The Likely Solution
From the looks of it
I’d be surprised if we see Manny on the ice again this month. Ouch. In going along with the generally patient handling of injuries this season, it would be best to have him back in March at 100 percent.
Maybe this will mean more McGinn—ideally taking Manny’s place on the second line, keeping Clowe on that third line. They’ve played well together and it seems like Clowe is dicking around less in this role. And I want to see McGinn with more time off the fourth line.
Agreed.
If Malhotra is out for an extended period, I’d love to see McGinn on the second line. I think he’d really thrive there. We’ll see, though.
"I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." ~Michael Scott
by ZeroIndulgence on Feb 4, 2010 9:16 PM PST up reply actions
That would be great.
But Clowe’s confidence might be ruined by that or he might be motivated to work harder but then again what do I know.
"I think people were ready to watch some hockey. We took up enough of everyone’s time."
-Jody Shelley after an 87 second hockey fight against Cam Janssen
Last time Manny was out, it really hurt the Sharks.
He provides so much for the team, offensively and defensively. If Clowe moves back up to the second line, hopefully McGinn or Mitchell could fill that third line role.
Proud member of the "Don't Trade Marleau" club.
Fear the Fin: Where Sharks Fans Aren't Like Other Sharks Fans.
by SharksFanEst.1994 on Feb 4, 2010 9:44 PM PST up reply actions
From watching the highlights Greiss sure seemed impressive.
I feel like he’s actually gotten better at not standing 10 feet in front of the crease. He’s definitely looking at more than the shooter too, or else there’s no way he makes that many saves on tipped shots. The two goals he let in were off his own dman and when he was screened to the point of absurdity.
That actually brings up a fair point
And one that I forgot to bring up above, since it kinda got glossed over by the fact that Greiss was amazing; where the hell were the Sharks D when there were 3 or 4 Blues in the crease? I saw a few times where one or two Sharks players got in there to push some people around, but for the better part of the night, they were having their way in the blue.
That’s probably the biggest issue that Leach needs to improve. He just kind of stands there with the netcrashers. He’s not a small man, he should be able to move people out of the way. Of course, maybe I’m asking for too much from a guy that’s been passed around more this season than Paris Hilton.
Jon Casey fan since '84
Leach is tall
But he’s a bit lanky. I would not say he’s averse to playing the body, but I think he’s at a bit of a disadvantage as it’s easy to push him around. If you’ll remember the goal he saved against Detroit, he got shoved off to the side by someone in front of the net, and had to dive back to make the save. It was good that he never gave up on the play, but he was physically moved out of the front of the net.
I still love him as a player, but his body type is not ideal for his position. But the reason I won’t rag on him too much is that he shouldn’t be a physical defenseman, but he plays like one anyway. He’s a Scotty Nichol type player in that regard. And, in limited minutes, I think he makes more good plays than he makes bad ones.
They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn
I hope I didn't come off as unappreciative
I have really enjoyed watching him since he came aboard. I didn’t expect too much out of him, and at times I’ve just been in awe of the great plays he makes. He’s also not afraid to get in there on the other end and crash the opposing net.
He’s been a great pickup, not just from a fiscal standpoint.
Jon Casey fan since '84
Not at all
I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t pay much mind to the financial side of the team management and all that; I just watch the games, and know who I like to see on the ice. I feel confident with Leach in his role, and I enjoy seeing him play because he’s good at what he does. Of course, I’m also relatively knew to being a hockey fan; I’m learning the fiscal ins-and-outs right now, and may agree with your assessment by the postseason (depending, of course, on the results then).

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