Dan Ellis earns his paycheck, stops 41 shots for 3-2 win

I hate Corey Perry but I’ll be damned if that wasn’t a great shot

I’ve felt like they might get kinda cocky when they’re together in the past and they skated much, much harder once they were apart. I don’t love it, and I don’t love seeing Cloweture parted, but if it keeps Patty and Jumbo skating hard, it’s for the good.

Desi made some mistakes tonight, for sure. I’m not super angry about either of the big ones, though. The punch after the refs arrived was definitely out of line, but I felt like he got suckerpunched at the start and attacked when he was pressed in and couldn’t fight back. Not good sportsmanship there on either player’s part and I can understand why Desi wanted him some more. The clear was awful. And he deserves the lecture that’s coming for it. I wish Boyle hadn’t taken his own awful penalty on that same stretch of kill, though. I feel like without that, we get out of the kill and Desi never gets the chance to screw up. Desi’s a rookie, Boyle’s a vet; he knows better and he’s looked off to me all season.

Overall, though, I think the momentum is starting to swing and Havlat should help provide some more offense.

Now they just have to build on it and play the same way on the road trip.

Here’s what I’ve seen so far from this team….

First, the first period tonight was played exactly the same way the previous two games were played…lazy and uninspired. No one seemed willing to put in the work necessary to win the battles…puck battles and positioning battles. Everyone seemed more than content to sit around, coasting, hoping the perfect pass would find them. I remember one distinct moment in the first…I think it was on the first power play…the Sharks worked the puck in deep, Marleau passes behind the net to a wide open Pavelski. Pavelski then turns with the puck looking to pass it out front…but no one was there. Marleau, after passing it, just stayed behind the goalline, Thornton had stuck himself to the half boards, and the D were both up at their points. Not a single person moving their feet, fighting to get to the front of the net, or even in any sort of position to receive a pass from Pavs. It just seemed so indicative of the play we had seen over the last few games…I thought I was going to be sick.

The PK was super good in the 1st, and an unfortunate set of circumstances led to the first goal…but after that it was more floating, not marking men, and leaving people open in front of Niemi. Just cannot do that.

Then, all of a sudden, its like a light switch turned on in the 2nd…it was like a whole new team. They were battling hard for pucks, diving into the corner to get them, fighting to get into scoring position, diving to keep pucks in the offensive zone. After 7 periods of lackluster play, all of a sudden the good Sharks were back. They only got the one fluke goal that period, but the tone was set. And in the 3rd, they played the same way (save for one moment when Boyle decided to sit back rather than challenge Perry and Perry made us pay with a wicked shot)…hard, tenacious hockey. The kind of hockey that wins games.

Sucks they couldn’t come back. To be honest, they didn’t really deserve to win after the stinker of a 1st the put in. But at least they showed signs of life. I have no idea why the Sharks always seem to have these stretches where they all float and play so damned uninspired…but they seemed to finally snap out of it tonight. A 6 game roadie where they can remove the distractions of home and concentrate on hockey could be just what the doctor ordered.

Needless to say, being 1-3 is unacceptable for a team with this much talent (shit, even the Jets are 1-3…and they might be the worst team in hockey). Especially with the cake schedule we were handed to begin (Yotes, Ducks, Blues, Ducks…not exactly the class of the West). But there’s still time to turn it around and not dig ourselves too big an early hole. If they can build on tonight’s momentum and tenacious style of play on this upcoming roadie, things could look much, much sweeter when they get back home.

Here’s to hoping, anyways.

to Thornton’s take-away prowess from last season? He’s got two in four games this year when he finished off with a monstrous 114. Sure, he got most of those in the second half of the season, and he could make that up if he returns to form, but what got him out of form? Could Jumbo’s summer spent rehabbing from his shoulder surgery instead of conditioning have done this?

..but I’ll call it like I saw it tonight and Saturday at HP. There were only a small group of players who looked on their game, and a helluva lotta guys who looked like garbage out there. A lot of it was beyond the ‘laziness’ we’ve seen in the past, down to plain slop and unbelievably underwhelming play and silly mistakes (I found myself yelling “really ____!?” quite a few times throughout the game) by players who have always been reliable (even Clowe was awful tonight).

Put simply our boys need to find their rhythm together, as they certainly haven’t yet.

In fact, I’m more on the pace of perusing the buffet with the others on this single’s cruise.

They’ve been a disappointing last three games. Especially losing to the Ducks twice. And losing to St. Louis period. But here’s the way I look at them:

G2: The Ducks get a quick goal, and Hiller does the work for the rest of the game. Where have I seen this before? The Sharks played competently, but not great. And Hiller stoned them. Sharks should still beat this team.

G3: Flukey game. Not to say that the Sharks weren’t responsible. They played poorly enough to loose to the Blues. But it was an off night for everyone. The Blues are a respectable team. Still, SJ needs to beat teams like St. Louis. No excuses.

G4: Sharks get into pk trouble early against a good power play, and give up an easy goal to a team that wins games by one goal. You just CAN’T give up goals to a team like this that easy. Still, I believe the Sharks played competently, but nowhere near their ability. And they still come up with a one goal loss. None the less, the Sharks should still beat this team.

I’m not going to make excuses about scheduling, or chemistry with the new team. These are valid. But the team needs to make up the difference.

I just think the team needs to basically get their shit together. I know this is a super vague thing to say. But they just need to find their rhythm, and they will. This team has too much talent to play poorly once they get it together in the long run. Not to sound arrogant, that’s just realistic. It’s like when the Duck’s big three hand’t scored, and Ducks fans were anxious about it. It’s inevitable that a line like that will produce, and they have. And I believe the Sharks will too.

Sorry for the long winded comment.

The Sharkstistics and goalie performance charts have been updated.
Please go there to read the important comment I posted in the comments section regarding the stat charts. Thanks!

Sharks, game 4, 2011-12: L 2-3
game 4 2010-11: L 2-5

Sharks, at 4 games, 2011-12: 1-3-0 / 2 pts.
at 4 games, 2010-11: 1-2-1 / 3 pts.

Next 10 Games: Games 5-14, 2010-11 : 6-3-1
Going: W, W, L, W, W, L, L, W, OTL, SOW

Sharks, we all know you need to work your a**es off this week to work out the problems you’re having playing to your full potential, as a team and as individual players. So please do this and kick some tail for the rest of the season!

I am definitely not happy with the start, but it is only game 4. I’m more unhappy with the mistakes and general lack of execution. Having a week off between games 1 and 2 definitely thwarted any momentum from that opening win.

Eh, it’s just 4 games in. There have been enough changes to this roster that I’d expect some sort of chemistry issue.

After all, who honestly believes this team is as bad as the Thrashers? Anyone?

Sums up how I’m feeling at this point. It is tempting to point the finger, but 4 games in I will refrain from doing so. Great comments and analysis above from all. Let’s see how we look and do over the next 5 on the road. Havlat has to fit in and this team needs to put in the hard work and grind out games. Otherwise, we’ll get more of the same. After these 5 on the road (with 2 back-to-backs) we come home for 6 straight. I am concerned about the lack of scoring (game 1 seems like a distant memory) and I think we need Ferriero over Wingles in the line-up. Not sure yet what will be the best chemistry for lines one & two? I guess I’ll mull it over until the quarter poll. Friday in NJ is a must win, because Boston is the following night. What a crazy start to the season.

Also, is it just me, or do Patty and Jumbo need to get their games in gear and start playing harder?

There’s a couple of things that need to change before the team will start to play the way everyone knows they can play.

First, I know it’s cliche, but their best players need to step up and be their best players. Thornton, Couture, Clowe, Boyle have all been horrible. Marleau hasn’t been much better but trying to play through the flu, I’ll give him a pass for now.

Handzus should NEVER be the best center on the ice on a team with the Center depth that the Sharks have. I’ve seen people mention that JT and Marleau should be separated but I disagree. I think Pavs and Couture should switch spots. Pavs is playing really, really well and is capable (as last year proved) of carrying his own line and Clowe & Couture aren’t generating anything.

Demers also has been quite off, I’m hoping his issues are that he just needs to get used to his partner. Same goes for Vlasic and Burns. Vlasic looked much better on the D side last night and Burns is still not good defensively but he showed how dynamic he can be on the offensive side.

Second, while the team tries to find some chemistry, they really just need to get back to basics and work hard. While I don’t agree w/ Thornton that they “played well again” or with the idea that if you keep outshooting your opponent you’ll eventually win – the team did look better as the game went on and if they can build on that it should turn around.

I know Jumbo has to be cliche or “positive” but saying they played well, just isn’t very true. Especially he and Clowe. I love both of them but damn, the past two games they have just flat out sucked in the passing department.

When your best forwards on the ice the past two games have been Jamie McGinn and Torrey Mitchell (along with some good moments from Handzus), the team isn’t playing well.

That said, it’s still VERY early. I’m not worried, I’m thinking that this road trip will be really beneficial. When they return in November, they should have a better flow to a game and should be putting more notches in the win columns.

Until Friday….

GO SHARKS!!!!

I noticed a few good chances that ended up being spoiled because some of the “new guys” weren’t exactly where the “old guys” thought they would be on the ice. This will get ironed out as the season moves on.

When you send two All-Star caliber players off, and replace almost 1/4th of the team, the fans and team themselves want to start hot. It’s a sample size, but you want to prove as fast as you can that the moves you made were the right ones, that you are a better team. We knew everyone was going to watch this team closely after all of the moves. Did the Sharks make a mistake trading Heatley and Setoguchi? The Flyers have had the same view on them. They traded their two marquee superstar offensive players. While they have adjusted faster, it’s just taking us a little more time. I think this road trip might do us well.

Regarding Ellis- once again we made him look good. We had quite a few good scoring chances, but about twenty five of the shots were the usual “Sharks getting the puck to the net” variety. Ellis had some great stops on some bounces in front of the net, but we also padded his stats a little as we tend to do for a lot of goalies.

Anyways… the fanbase and team are anxious to see some winning, to be convinced that we made the right moves. It will come… have a little patience and don’t forget about the cap space we are accumulating right now as well from the Heatley trade. It pains me to say that, as Heater was one of my favorites, but you have to believe that.

But what bothers me is the simple mistakes. Why can’t the sharks pass well?
Why can’t the sharks get their shots on goal when they are in close?
Why do they try and make fancy plays at the blue line?
Those are the simple plays that piss me off and it seems like every year.

says they just arent scoring. Yeah, thats the right attitude. sigh

The only thing San Jose has managed to do thus far is out-shoot their opposition by a considerable margin. That is little solace in a division and conference where the only salvation is achieving the result – anything less is well, simply in the loss column. If the Sharks and/or their organization take any ‘positives’ or harbor any hints of satisfaction from anything ‘accomplished’ so far this season, the ’it’s only four games’ mentality will soon have to expand its limits and admit, well heck – it’s ‘only eight games’… ’it’s only the first half of the season’…? I know it’s easy to be negative and offer little in the way of answers or constructive criticism when you are in my mind frame (a frustrated, very concerned fanatic who has long-suffered the promise of championships), but I think for the potential of the Sharks to fully manifest into a formidable and dangerous hockey team this year, their confidence needed and needs a great start to this season. It could be the most important element to how this team finishes one of its final promising seasons before the inevitable uncertainty of change and rebuilding takes place.

Did anyone else pop a semi when Burns scored with that rocket of a shot? I can’t remember the last time (if ever) a Sharks have had a defenseman who could score on the rush with a shot like that.

More upset by the lack of intensity. They played their best hockey last year when they were DESPERATE. So far this year, they looked lively against Phoenix, then they sleepwalked for three straight (scuffling around the crease does not = intensity).

They need to crash the net, they need to forecheck hard, they need to clear their own crease out, they need to move their frickin’ feet to win the loose pucks. They’re playing like it’s still the preseason… either that, or the Ice Capades.

They only scored yesterday on a 5-3. The other goal was kicked in… why? BECAUSE MARLEAU WAS GOING TO THE NET! So of course, they stop doing that and stand around looking for deflections and nifty blind passes.

They started out well, then the penalties killed them. They mostly got it together in the 2nd and 3rd, so I don’t think the slump will continue much longer. I’ll start worrying if half the season goes like this. Oh, and you have to see Burn’s shot in person. There are those few special people who make it look like the puck springs and rockets off their stick. Burns is one of them.

It looks like the same ol Sharks…Out-shooting the opposition by a large margin, but getting out-chanced, out-scored and out-skated…All they have to do is START SKATING!!! If the Sharks watch tape on game one in comparison, they can figure out what the prob is. A shot on goal is not always the answer…A quality chance or sustained pressure in the O-Zone is just as important. (W/ that the goals and scoring chances will come)

On the subject of shots per game, shooting percentage and scoring.

During the run of epic suck last season, there was a good deal of discussion about the fact that the Sharks were getting shots on net, and they just weren’t going in.

I fully understand, and generally subscribe to the notion that the team with more possession will win most nights, and so if you’re in the black in terms of CORSI, you should be winning. But the Sharks in particular seem to run into a lot of games where they’re ahead on the shot clock and behind on the scoreboard.

I’m presuming that Behind The Net/Arctic Ice have looked at this issue, and I’m wondering if the Sharks have deviated from what might be “expected results” (i.e. more shots win the game).

But I’d love to see if there’s some team specific factors that come into play. Beyond the statistics, are we seeing teams implement a particular system against the Sharks that allows so many shots? Is the team just being outfought?

From the generic eye test of a lazy ass fan screaming at the TV, when I see games like last night, I see the Sharks come out flat, give up an early lead, and then spend the rest of the game playing catch up while the opposition is content to go into a defensive shell, and counter. In games like those, it’s natural for the Sharks to win the shot clock battle, going AGAINST the CORSI possession theory.

And so, in games like these, I DON’T see the seeds of success you’d expect from a team that’s putting up gaudy shot totals and just waiting for the goals to come. I see the seeds of an undisciplined team not prepared to compete night in and night out, and not possessing enough skill to overcome the lack of a work ethic.

I’m choosing not to panic because I believe the team has the will and the skill to succeed, but I’m supremely annoyed that they have not appeared to become more consistent in bringing both to the game every game.

You know it’s Sharks season when your friends start g-chating you things like this!

“Tough game last night, but the Sharks had their window to win for many years now. You can’t be good forever.”

my leafs fan buddy is cheering me up. It should kind of be the other way around, but it’s not.

This is an 82 game season, not a 4 game season. Hockey is a game of ups and downs. You can go on an 8 game winning streak, then get creamed by a mediocre Oilers team (though, they seem to be doing well this year). This Sharks team has the pieces to go deep into the post season, and I have no doubt they will do that. Yes, they wanted a fast start and obviously aren’t getting it, but again, the season is 82 games, not 4. They’ll get their act together. When they do, we’ll forget about how we lost 3 games by 1 goal (I wont count EN goals).
Things to ponder before Friday’s game: We have the #1 PP, lead the league in Shots per game, second in Shots against and we’re most likely getting Havlat on Friday. This team is going to be fine.

Should Pavelski be on the TOP line?

Whether two seasons of deep playoff runs and several consecutive years of playoff appearances (essentially extended seasons) are catching up with the core of this team. Kind of a like a Stanley Cup hangover without the Stanley Cup. This team’s inner core (Thornton, Marleau, Boyle) is starting to age a bit. But then you look at Detroit and you don’t necessarily see the same issue. Hmmm…

such a major overreaction. maybe if we had a losing record going into NOvember would I understand all this but seriously, just hang in there

Last night they put 40 shots on net and only got two in. Dallas played them, and scored 3 goals on 18 shots.

Half the shots, 50% more goals. Something screwy about that.

not gonna lie, but then my boyfriend pointed out the standings and showed me that it seems like a lot of the teams that are doing well now are those that didn’t change a whole lot over the off season, and those that are stumbling a bit (such as the sharks) are ones that had some pretty major changes and are having to adjust to new teammates. Now this doesn’t hold completely true for every team, but it does make some sense to me.

Winnipeg @ Toronto. Toronto won in the shootout, but Winnipeg played wayyyyy better than I’ve ever seen them play. And do you know what? They played better than the Sharks… At least tonight.

Why? They were hitting everything that moved. They were pressuring the puck. They were were stalking the puck carrier at every turn. They were battling for net presence (the first goal went through a screen of five players before going in). I hate to beat a dead horse but… Frankly, if a shit team like Winnipeg can look that good, there’s no reason the Sharks can’t go 12-0 starting on Friday.

Boston, Vancouver, TB and SJ are all having a heck of a time getting off the ground. However, they should all be there in the end again this season. The shortened off season, playoff injuries, personnel changes and a lack of urgency “just to get into the playoffs” for all of these teams I think leads to an early season malaise. Add in the fact that the Sharks are adjusting to even more personnel changes than the other three, and I think you have a recipe for a slow start. Logic tells us that if the Sharks made it to the Conference Finals last year, and as most analysts agree, the Sharks are improved through player additions this year, the Sharks have a very good chance ending up as one the best teams in the league, and are in a plausible position to win the Cup. And hey, that’s all we can ask for.

But reality tells us they’re definitely a playoff team, and probably still a contender. Yes, even without Error-hoff.

They have two of the biggest douche bag players on the planet in Lapierre and Burrows. Plus, when it comes to whining about calls, the two greatest in the league are Vigneault and our good friend down here in SoCal who calls the Ducks games, Brian Hayward. Oh Brian Hayward, how I hate you!

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