Sharks battle against the Wild, lose 5-4 in the shootout
by idunno723 on Jan 10, 2012 9:14 PM PST
in Sharks Game Recaps
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PrintWell that was a bizarre game.
While watching the game and taking notes to write this recap, I was prepared to write one for a win.... and then a loss... and then a win loss win really bad loss win tie and then finally a shootout loss.
This game really was a roller coaster. In the first two periods, the Wild outshot the Sharks 22-15 which is very uncharacteristic of both teams. The Wild are 28th for shots for per game (26.7) and 30th for shots against per game (31.9). The Sharks are 1st in the league for shots for per game (34.9) and 5th in the league for shots against per game (28.6). Things would later balance out after the third and overtime period with the Sharks leading shots 38-31.
The Sharks didn't have a strong game. Antti Niemi wasn't particularly sharp and neither was the team in front. They allowed four goals to a Minnesota Wild team who typically struggle to score goals. Despite those struggles it was great to see the Sharks come from behind and tie up the game.
Shootout losses aren't necessarily something to be ashamed of. They're essentially a coin-flip and they definitely don't indicate team strength. However, the one point between a shootout win and a shootout loss feels like a lot. It's a bummer to lose, but let me remind you that the Sharks have earned points in 12 of the last 13 games (H/T Soloact). 20 out of 26 possible points in that span. Also the PK went 3-3!
Feel better now? So do I. Breakdown of the game after the jump.
The first period started with some back and forth action. Both teams put up some chances with neither taking control of the game. That would eventually change when Cal Clutterbuck scored the first goal 7:04 into the game. It was one Antti Niemi would like back. Clutterbuck skated on in Niemi from the left side and with his right handed shot put the puck over Niemi's shoulder. Niemi for sure should have made a better play, but the defense in front shouldn't have let Clutterbuck all alone.
After that goal, the game went back to its slow pace. Back and forth, back and forth until the Sharks got caught for a too many men on the ice penalty. The Wild put up some quality chances, but the Sharks PK was solid killing off the penalty.
Four minutes later, the Sharks would find themselves on a 5 on 3. Jared Spurgeon took a penalty on a strange play. While the Sharks were entering their offensive zone, the puck bounced up and Spurgeon held on to it. A closing hand on puck penalty and the Sharks were on the power play. After the first faceoff of the power play, Joe Thornton was slashed hard on the hands by Kyle Brodziak. According to the NBCSN commentators, they could hear Thornton give a wooly mammoth roar in pain all the way up in the broadcasters booth. Not a smart move for Brodziak as it gave the Sharks 1:57 of a 5 on 3 power play.
The Sharks just wanted to make us nervous on their 5 on 3. Their first two attempts to settle into the offensive zone were cleared by the Wild. On the third try, the Sharks were able to set up and Dan Boyle scored his 3rd goal of the season to tie the game. It was played well with Michal Handzus planting himself in front of Josh Harding's eyes. Harding was unable to see Dan Boyle's shot from the point that found its way to the net. Patrick Marleau recorded an assist on the goal giving him his 800th point of his career. After the goal, the Sharks had a minute left of 5 on 4 power play, but didn't convert.
The second period had the same pace as the first for the most part. After the midway point of the period Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a tripping penalty and the Sharks killed off the ensuing power play. Shortly after Warren Peters scored his first goal of the season and the Wild took the lead again.
On the very next shift a crazy play happened. Matt Cullen shot the puck, ringing it off the post, and it landed on Niemi's leg where it sat momentarily. Casey Wellman then charged into Niemi, knocking him and the net over, and the puck was in the net. However, it was ruled that the whistle was blown and it would be a no goal. The play was followed by a scrum that handed out coincidental minors. On the brief four on four the Sharks played well, but the game remained 2-1 Wild.
To close out the second period, Andrew Desjardins boarded Clayton Stoner. The power play rolled over 10 seconds into the third period and the Sharks killed it off.
The third period saw strong offensive action by both teams. On one particular play, Desjardins was handed the puck right in front of Harding with an empty net but he couldn't cash it in as the puck rolled off his stick. The game looked bleak later on when the Wild's Nick Johnson scored a nearly identical goal to Clutterbucks. Right handed shot from the left side over Niemi's shoulder.
The Sharks then looked like they had some life when Benn Ferriero (Or Ben Fuhrarow if you're Mike Milbury) scored a goal from a Vlasic shot from the point. 3-2 Wild and the Sharks looked like they were right back on track. But nope, moments later Cullen crashes the Sharks net hard and scores a goal.
With three minutes left in an optimistic turn for the Sharks, Logan Couture scores a goal off of a Brent Burns shot. They were once again in reach of tying the game and they wasted no time doing so. Twenty two seconds later on the next shift Joe Thornton made a great pass to a streaking Patrick Marleau who put the puck in the net.
After that, the game headed into overtime. On the first shift of OT the Sharks nearly scored, but Harding stopped a sliding puck from going into the net at the last second. Neither team would be able to score and they were off to the shootout. The Wild only needed two attempts in the shootout to win as the Sharks were unable to score. Cullen and Koivu had the scores for the Wild and Handzus and Clowe had the misses for the Sharks.
Overall, not the best game for the Sharks but they'll take the one point. They're off now to play the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, the Sharks first game there since March 20, 1996.
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Think he will reach 1000 points with the Sharks?
That would be so legit, and it would probably only take him three years to reach that.
I'm not sure if he has 3 70-point seasons left in him
"Everybody had a part in this. As you can see, our fans love this. And we love them. And bring on the next team." -Joe Thornton
"I'm not saying I invented the turtleneck. But I was the first person to realize its potential as a tactical garment. The tactical turtleneck! The... tactleneck!"-Sterling Archer
by waive kent huskins on Jan 10, 2012 10:18 PM PST up reply actions
He's only 32
And even if his production drops slightly it should take him too many seasons. His contract is up after the 2013-2014 season though…
by Briceratops on Jan 10, 2012 11:13 PM PST up reply actions
He resigns
for under 5 mil to stay here.
"Not to sound like a complete homer but, that was a bad call." -Drew Remenda
"You tee em up and I'll knock them out." -Randy Hahn
by raphelo on Jan 11, 2012 12:22 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Patty isn’t going anywhere, he’s going to be a career Shark, taking pay cuts as his production peters out and then retire when the Sharks don’t retain him, and the only time they won’t retain his is when his speed runs out. At 32, he’s still on pace for a 70 point season, which isn’t really anything to sneeze at, though I suppose some could expect more given his salary.
Luckily he'd only need 2 70 point seasons and a 60 pointer.
Boom!
Flugenweb. Spacecode. Twitzone. Assmode.
"The last time I made a video in a hotel room…..very different than this." – Drew Remenda
2010-2011 FTF 2 Fantasy Hockey CHAMPION
He’ll get 1000 points, and something would have to go very wrong for it to happen in another team’s jersey. He’s got the type of game (speed/scoring touch) and physique (not too big, not too small) that should keep him in the NHL until his late 30s.
Picklesnakebit since 2011.
@shampeon
Marleau
I’m hoping he not only hits 1000 points (which I’m pretty sure he’ll do easily) but also 500 goals before he retires a Shark and has his #12 raised to the rafters.
Happy for the PK and the effort in the 3rd, not so happy with Nemo this time. I hope we finally see Nemo sitting one out, and Greiss and Nitty get some chances.
That's what I was hoping too
Four soft goals during regulation (even though the defense wasn’t helping much), plus a pisser of a first shootout goal. If that game wasn’t close, I would’ve pulled Niemi. He looked rough last night. I really hope that Greiss gets the next start (not as much Niitty; dude has to be rusty as hell).
by Chicago Shark on Jan 11, 2012 5:19 AM PST up reply actions
Niemi
Two of the goals last night were on Niemi – the 1st and 3rd. You can’t pin the other two on him especially the 4th which should’ve been waived off.
He was having issues tracking the puck and was off his angles last night, but that’s the first ‘bad’ games he’s had in a long, long time.
The only goal that should have been waived off was, Niemi may not have had specific control of the puck that he had on his gear, but it was on him for a significant amount of time, and the right call was made. The 4th goal was clearly still in play from the overhead view and was fine, as irritating as it was.
But yea, softies combined with flukes undid the Sharks last night, and so I’m simply glad that we came back and got a point out of it. The Sharks played well offensively, getting chance after change (including 3 separate cross ice passes to guys with open nets that unfortunately rushed their plays into redirects that missed entirely. Half second control and wrist shots would have scored each), and it was simply subpar goaltending combined with mediocre defensive coverage on most of those plays that led to the poor results.
Either way, I don’t really mind losing to the Wild as long as Heatley doesn’t score in them.
4th goal
It should’ve been waived off for incidental contact – Cullen literally pushed Niemi’s pad (that was holding the goal line) into the goal which allowed the puck to go it.
I’ve seen several goals called off with way, way less contact with the goalie. The refs weren’t exactly stellar last night so I guess I’m not too surprised.
A game to forget and remember
Forgettable, if you’re talking goal-tending (Niemi), defense (Braun), and memorable when you talk about PK and their display of character in the way in which the team came from behind and managed to get a point.
Niemi wasn’t aggressive enough and his angles were really bad. Braun looked bad almost the entire game, and was often out of position and had too many giveaways. Someone needs to school this kid. He’s not been looking that good.
Is this what
what they mean by Niemi plays better the more he plays? Could a game off throw him off… or it could’ve just been a bad game for him to somewhat forget. Loved the comeback
"Not to sound like a complete homer but, that was a bad call." -Drew Remenda
"You tee em up and I'll knock them out." -Randy Hahn
by raphelo on Jan 11, 2012 12:32 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Great to get a point
It’s good they came back in the 3rd, but there were a was a whole lot of bad for the Sharks on the ice tonight!!
Niemi was definitely off tonight, but that 4th goal really shouldn’t have counted.
Marleau, Thornton, & Boyle were all fantastic. Murray, Couture, Demers & Vlasic were good – everyone else was, well, just not good. They didn’t really deserve to get a point out of the game, but I’m glad they did.
Hope they just put that one behind them and get ready for the Jets.
Starting now
I will take my one game suspension. Sucks to lose in a shootout.
Dany Heatley=All-star.
Randy Hahn: "He's got moves like Jagr."
by dfh15 on Jan 10, 2012 9:34 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Can someone explain to me why Demers is on the team? Like, I honestly don’t get it. He’s scored a couple important goals, I get that, but it just seems like he is ALWAYS making mistakes that lead to goals against. I don’t mean to pick on him, I just don’t get why people like him so much.
by JBarrow on Jan 10, 2012 9:36 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Because depth defencemen aren't typically Lidstrom/Coffey/Borque/Orr?
Demers has his strengths and his weaknesses, but he’s a better option than White, Vandermeer and, probably, Braun.
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUDcSeUvkOw
by Evil Stanchion on Jan 10, 2012 9:38 PM PST up reply actions
PLus the guy's like... What, 22?
Cut him a fucking break. He’s developing. He’ll get better. He’s currently a newt.
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUDcSeUvkOw
by Evil Stanchion on Jan 10, 2012 9:39 PM PST up reply actions
What was wrong with Vandermeer? He played well, and White was definitely improving drastically when he got injured.
I’m not saying he has no potential, I’m just saying that it seems like he’s given much more credit than he seems to deserve.
by JBarrow on Jan 10, 2012 10:03 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Vandermeer has been hurt for a long time
And White is garbage
"Everybody had a part in this. As you can see, our fans love this. And we love them. And bring on the next team." -Joe Thornton
"I'm not saying I invented the turtleneck. But I was the first person to realize its potential as a tactical garment. The tactical turtleneck! The... tactleneck!"-Sterling Archer
by waive kent huskins on Jan 10, 2012 10:19 PM PST up reply actions
He had a great season last year
This season he has not been doing so well but he’s only 23 and signed for cheap so it’s tough to complain too much about him.
by Briceratops on Jan 10, 2012 11:15 PM PST up reply actions
You do know
this is ftf right?
"Not to sound like a complete homer but, that was a bad call." -Drew Remenda
"You tee em up and I'll knock them out." -Randy Hahn
by raphelo on Jan 11, 2012 12:42 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Because he's a young up-and-comer
on a great contract with a ton of upside who just needs to accumulate some experience?
This
"Everybody had a part in this. As you can see, our fans love this. And we love them. And bring on the next team." -Joe Thornton
"I'm not saying I invented the turtleneck. But I was the first person to realize its potential as a tactical garment. The tactical turtleneck! The... tactleneck!"-Sterling Archer
by waive kent huskins on Jan 10, 2012 10:19 PM PST up reply actions
Lucky to get one point
The Sharks need to fix the PP. They look so slow and always try and set up the same old plays. I still say Sharks need a Right Handed sniper on this team.
Go Big or Go Home
by ChangoT on Jan 10, 2012 11:12 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Some of the hysterics about the Sharks' young defensemen need to cease
Clearly not the best game for several guys, notably Braun and Demers (neither helped by their goalie, though, who was clearly off his game for once). But Christ.
Demers has been much more aware offensively lately, finding opportunities and capitalizing in ways he hadn’t all year long. And he’s been much more aware recently on the defensive end, minimizing the gaffes that came too frequently earlier in the year.
And Braun has been really solid all around in almost every game he’s played this year—not accumulating points like a year ago, but typically very smart with his stick work, positioning, and ability to get pucks to the net and keep them in the offensive zone. Not to mention tonight was his first game as a pro in his hometown. Not an excuse he’d want to make, but you can easily imagine the extra butterflies.
The Sharks are in 1st place with both of them getting significant time. Winning + development? I’m not complaining.
Winter. Time to eat fat and watch hockey. -- Margaret Atwood
We're just spoiled by how awesome Vlasic is.
Only 24 years old, and he’s so awesome we keep forgetting how young he is, which actually makes him more awesome, since he’s become awesome in such a short time.
…awesome.
I agree. The 3rd goal Demeres peeled off to cover the pass on a 2 on 1, Niemi was beaten by the shot. 1st goal, D-men had their guys covered, it was Ferriero that stopped skating and simply let his man (the guy with the puck) have all the room in the world. The 2nd goal was a complete lucky fluke. The 4th goal was a mad crease scramble with poor team coverage and a rebound that sat in the crease out of Niemi’s range since he was sprawled out already.
Nothing the defensemen did was really fantastic (outside of that Boyle PP block) and so they gave up some chances, but the goals in particular weren’t really all like “It was this D-man’s fault”.
This was the 39th game of the season
‘Twas a game perfect for bi-polar fans. The Sharks didn’t deserve the standings point, but rather fought to earn that point. Sharks have earned standings points in 12 of their last 13 games, and in 13 of their last 15, meaning only 2 regulation losses in during that span. We Sharks fans have high expectations for our team, due to the talent pool of the team. We expect them to win every game. IMHO, it is good that we critique our team during and between games, it makes us FTFers one of the best fan bases on the Continent.
I also think that Braun played the better game than Demers. As others, I’m expecting to see Niitty out there sometime soon, even if only to showcase for possible trade-bait. But I would expect him to have Nemo as backup, giving Greiss the healthy scratch. Not expecting the Sharks to not have Nemo available just in case.
Those 3rd period goals show us once again that the Sharks can score.
Game 39 this season: Shootout loss 4-5 at MN (2-day-off-game)
Game 39 last season: Win 1-0 at LA
at 39 games this season: 23-11-5 / 51 pts, 116 GF – 94 GA
at 39 games last season: 21-13-5 / 47 pts, 115 GF – 108 GA
Next 10 games, games 40-49 last season: 4-6-0
Going: L, L, L, L, L, L, W, W, SOW, W
Sharks continue to lead the West in the Potential Points Standings.
Am planning to begin the running PPS/Magic/Tragic during the All-Star break.
These and the rest of the January Sharkstistics have been updated.
At the moment of this posting, there are 14 votes on the poll, with 71% predicting 9-11 Sharks Wins in January.
Sharks, scoring a lot of goals is good, winning games with good defense is good. Now put them both together so we fans can keep our hearts healthy!
If you mention ending your life, or show signs of self-harm, I will take you seriously!
"Take a deep breath sometimes, a break, and play some hockey. Hockey is a great way to take a pause from day-to-day hard work." -- Lt Gen. D.H. Huntoon Jr. (paraphrased)
"He doesn't miss many of those!" --Randy Hahn
Shameless plug for my music.
Oh, and
Dal. lost!
If you mention ending your life, or show signs of self-harm, I will take you seriously!
"Take a deep breath sometimes, a break, and play some hockey. Hockey is a great way to take a pause from day-to-day hard work." -- Lt Gen. D.H. Huntoon Jr. (paraphrased)
"He doesn't miss many of those!" --Randy Hahn
Shameless plug for my music.
This
is where the sharks start to prove that they’re a better team this year then they were last year.
"Not to sound like a complete homer but, that was a bad call." -Drew Remenda
"You tee em up and I'll knock them out." -Randy Hahn
by raphelo on Jan 11, 2012 12:55 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Looks like they already have
More Standings points, equal offensive output (GF), significant defensive improvement (GA) = better, no?
true, but if they can avoid the 6 game losing streak that would just be starting
then they have a much easier route to the top 3 of the conference than last year
by slotownsharksfan on Jan 11, 2012 12:00 PM PST up reply actions
The game seemed chippy and yet Winchester only played 6 minutes. I didn’t get to watch the first 2 periods, did he get hurt? Someone needed to punch Clutterbuck, a.k.a., Freddie Mercury in the stash. Also, if the plan is to p/u another blue chip guy to help during the playoff run, and if Nitty is trade bait, why not play him? Does anyone like picking up Vinny Prospal or would Pahlsson be the better p/u? I think they make about the same and both will be UFA’s next season. Also, I’d go with 7 D (if either White or Vand. are healthy) Both add size and physicality that will be needed on this road trip.
Prospal
Winchester wasn’t hurt – McLellan was pretty unhappy with quite a few of his players last night. Not too sure why Winchester was one of them but he was.
I have NO interest in Phalsson at this stage of his career but Prospal could be a good pick up.
Yeah
I was thinking the same thing. I wonder what Columbus will want to get him. Since he’d be a rental player, I don’t want to give up much to get him. He’s older and probably would not be around next season. Also, I like both Braun and Demers (especially for their offensive upside) but I think from time to time a 7th D-man could be to our advantage against more physical teams around our net. Since Winchester was a non-factor last night, I wonder if having that 7th d-man wouldn’t be a good option? What do you think?
7 d-men
I personally hate it when clubs play 7 d-men. I really think teams have to be able to use 4 lines to be successful and the Sharks have (not so much last night) been using a 4 line rotation this year. Using 4 lines is also needed when they have a lot of game bunched together – they play 9 games in 15 nights during this stretch of games.
Winchester/Desi/Murray has been a very effective line year and I can’t quite figure out why McLellan keeps putting Murray in the dog house. I’m guessing he gets back in the line up against the Jets.
If Vandermeer is healthy I would think he might draw into the lineup as well, maybe let Braun sit one game.
There are going to be a lot of players available a bit closer to the deadline that the Sharks should have interest in and most of them shouldn’t cost more than a 2nd (the #55) round pick – maybe a defensive prospect not names Petrecki, Doherty or Abeltshauser.
Thanks
Good points and I like Vandermeer too (Braun -3 last night). I like the 4th line as well and think Murray brings a lot of energy and physical play to the team. His absence is a mystery to me.
Would you play Nitty at all during this trip, maybe Saturday v.s. CBJ (first of a back-to-back)?
Who else would you target as a p/u before the deadline that will help us improve our weaknesses?
Cheers!
Go Sharks!!!
Niitty
I don’t know what they plan to do w/ Niitty…I would think getting him into a game to show the league he can still play might be a good idea. I’m sure they’ve been working the phones trying to find somewhere to trade him.
If the Sharks can figure out a way to pry Nielsen away from the NYI I’d be thrilled! He is everything the Sharks need – good 2nd/3rd line tweener, great PKer, great skater. Ruutu from Carolina, Ryan Jones from Edm (not sure he’d be avail) are at the top of my list. Wilson could be looking in an entirely different direction for all I know though.
Still think that Griess is the one that will be traded… that’s why they are keeping him on the bench. If he’s called in, he can show everyone else what he’s made of. You’d probably get more value out of him too- Niitty has been injury prone for a year now. Love Niitty and Griess, hate to see either of them go but that’s the nature of the beast.
Waiting for the Cup to come to SJ since 1991...
GO SHARKS!
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Neither of the goalies hold a lot of value…Niitty hold more value to a team looking to strengthen it’s goaltending for the stretch run / playoffs. Greiss holds more value to a team that’s looking for a good back up option. Neither one on their own in a trade is going to get much more than a draft pick in return.
I’d prefer the Sharks hold onto Greiss even though I think Niitty is probably the better goalie (when he’s healthy).
Nitty is probably a bit better than Griess when healthy, but with Niemi being the type of goalie that likes to play a lot of games and gets better the more he plays (like Nabby was, and some other goalies in the league, look at how many games Howard, Rinne, Anderson, Fluery, Quick, etc have played), I just don’t see the Sharks paying more than a mil-mil 1/2 for a backup goalie that is only marginally better than their 600k guy that is younger.
Nitty will get a couple starts against weaker teams on their upcoming road trip. The Sharks’ schedule for Feb is a grindhouse, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nitty played for some of the upcoming games against Jackets, Jets, Coyotes, or Flames, etc. Not only do they need to rotate some time out for Niemi, but with the trade deadline being the 27th of Feb they have to show that he is still capable of playing if they intend on getting offers for him from teams that need goaltending help (and there are a few, Jackets being one of them).
All good choices
Nielsen is super cheap while Ruutu is pretty expensive. Ryan Jones has one more year left on his deal @ $1.5 per year. I’d take any/all of ’em!
Andrew Murray
I don’t know if it’s so much “Murray in the dog house” as it is Wingels tearing up the AHL and deserving some time up with the big club.
by BillytheSid on Jan 11, 2012 12:19 PM PST up reply actions
Not going to beat a dead horse here...
Yes, Nemo had a horrible game. The 1st and 3rd goals were on him 100% but no point in saying the same thing y’all are saying. I was pissed at him but hopefully he will bounce back because we all know McLellan is not going to sit him out. This being his 4th season as coach, we should all know by now that he is going to keep playing Niemi as long as he “keeps smiling”… isn’t that what he said last season?
Anyways, I thought the Sharks showed a lot of determination and killer instinct during that 3rd period. Took a lot of positives from that. I don’t see how the media made each star of the game from Minnesota… I thought Marleau and Boyle had very good games and could have made one of them.
Anyways, off to Winnipeg for the TWO points. GO SHARKS!
Waiting for the Cup to come to SJ since 1991...
GO SHARKS!
Find me on Twitter @njahoda
I don’t know why people get all up on Tmac for playing Niemi. Look at the NHL stats for goalies and games played. Niemi has 31 starts out of 39 games the Sharks have played. The rest of the league averages at 42 games played and Niemi is 12th in the games started category. 8 goalies have started 35 out of their team’s 40+ games.
So seriously, a single mediocre game and suddenly everyone is going batshit crazy about Niemi being overworked and Tmac needs to not start him as much blahblahblah? Get some perspective and chill the hell out.
Good recap.
"The world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel." - Horace Walpole
Fear The Fin: Where Selling Your Soul Is The Likely Solution
by Mr. Plank on Jan 11, 2012 8:28 AM PST via iPhone app reply actions
Lord Plank approves,
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUDcSeUvkOw
by Evil Stanchion on Jan 11, 2012 11:58 AM PST up reply actions
I posted the link to it on facebook and he liked it, so I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything left to live for.
Leslie Knope: "...but it has a lot of heart."
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What about caramel covered brownies?
GO SHARKS!
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Changing signatures is for suckers.
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Or space boners?
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUDcSeUvkOw
by Evil Stanchion on Jan 11, 2012 6:54 PM PST up reply actions
Hah...
You’ll be waiting a long, long time…
Unless we’re playing against Chicago…
"If you can accept losing, you can't win." ~Vince Lombardi
Member of FearTheFin's Mod Squad and The Knights Who Say NI-emi...
Tweet Tweet.
by ZeroIndulgence on Jan 11, 2012 10:40 AM PST up reply actions
That's fair
But should this lineup require our goaltender to steal a lot of games for us?
GO SHARKS!
They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn
Changing signatures is for suckers.
What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvdf5n-zI14
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUDcSeUvkOw
by Evil Stanchion on Jan 11, 2012 12:31 PM PST up reply actions
We don't get outplayed very often so we rarely need Niemi to 'steal' one for us.
Niemi this season has been very dependable.
He’s done that a couple of times this season. That Chicago game definitely comes to mind.
Frankly, I’ve been happy with Nemo so far this season. This was just one of his first bad games in a very long time…
"Logan Couture is a dirty, filthy man. Tell all your friends" - Mr. Plank
Welcome to the NHL, Atlanta Thrashers of Winnipeg.
His last "bad" game was against Minnesota too, wasn't it?
GO SHARKS!
They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn
Changing signatures is for suckers.
What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.
Pittsburgh was bad with no quotes
I meant “bad.” I seemed to remember the 2-1 loss being one where the 2 GA were softies, but no one else bothered to do anything worth mentioning that game anyway.
GO SHARKS!
They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn
Changing signatures is for suckers.
What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.
I remember the 2nd Minn. goal in that game, was a cross ice 1 timer PP goal. I don’t remember the first goal.
That game was actually, I thought anyway, one of the better 60 minute games the Sharks have played.
Niemi gives up what fans like to call soft goals now and then but he really doesn’t have bad games very often at all. Last night was the first bad game I’ve seen from him in a very long time.
Then it was some other game
I can’t remember which. Whatever. Either way, Niemi’s been consistent, and the last time he was not good, I seem to remember the offense being very inept.
GO SHARKS!
They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn
Changing signatures is for suckers.
What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.
Essentially...
Everything has been summarized well enough in the article and subsequent posts – the positives and negatives and everything in between.
What troubles me the most about this game was not the fact that San Jose was defeated, but in how they were defeated. They simply did not show up. This was not a dominant performance that the wrong kind of luck simply prevented the full two points, it was the fact that the Sharks approached this game with the intensity of a preseason mentality.
Amidst a ton of confidence and momentum, the Sharks should not have started off their all-important road trip by letting a team like the Wild (fragile and losing consistently) come away with two points – and all because the Sharks seemingly decided that this game was not vital enough to show up to? That’s the real sad point in all of this.
We have been swimming these wintry depths for years, succeeding at survival by feeding only upon perennial minnows of sustenance... will we ever get to sink our great white teeth into this so-called Stanely's feast, so that we may finally slay our insatiable hunger in frenzied celebration?
They simply did not show up.
The team deserves a lot of lumps for last night, but saying they didn’t show up when they tied it in the third is a bit silly. They were absent for about a period and a half. Not the whole game. If you want to call them out, then the language with which you do so should be reflective of their failure.
GO SHARKS!
They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn
Changing signatures is for suckers.
What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.
by ElvisVF101 on Jan 11, 2012 1:15 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Exactly
I give them full marks for coming back after that questionable 4th goal was allowed. It shows how resilient this team is, they never give up. You can call out the D or even Nemo, but give credit for stealing a point in a game in which they probably didn’t deserve to get one. And on top of that, they really s/h won it in OT with several really good scoring chances.
This team is not the best in the West just yet, but is good enough to be considered a top 3 or 4 seed. I’m watching what NYR and BOS are doing with amazement. Those teams will be tough as hell to deal with in the Finals (IMO).
Questioning the semantics of 'my' opinion?
ElvisVF101 -
I just gave an opinion on how I thought the Sharks failed that night. I felt that my comments conveyed my disappointment clearly enough at that moment. However, for you to say that I did not semantically portray San Jose’s loss ‘accurately’ enough is basically saying that an ‘opinion’ is some kind of unassailable objective absolute, and I will have to disagree with that type of connotation.
Yes, I was posting while emotional over the loss, and I did not give them enough credit for battling back and grabbing a point out of the contest, but I think insulting someone’s skill in the implementation of language is unnecessarily cruel and hostile.
If you happen to consider a team being ‘absent for about a period and a half’ as a team ‘showing up’ for the game; that is your right of opinion. I certainly would not say that your ‘reflection of that event’ is incorrect due to any inaccurate semantic summary pertaining to the use of the English language! It is simply your opinion, and I simply, yet humbly disagree – which is my right as well.
I will always welcome debates and criticism over the subject at hand. However, to suggest my post(s) lack the ‘intelligence’ to illustrate my points of view – that is a personal insult that I feel is unwarranted, as I have never done anything remotely disrespectful to you.
If we do indeed interact again, hopefully we can civilly stick to the pertinent issues and have honest and intelligent discussions; let us both keep it clean and nix the personal attack junk that mars so much of the internet.
We have been swimming these wintry depths for years, succeeding at survival by feeding only upon perennial minnows of sustenance... will we ever get to sink our great white teeth into this so-called Stanely's feast, so that we may finally slay our insatiable hunger in frenzied celebration?
Umm, they actually did show up, they just didn’t execute as crisply defensively that is all. They simply let too many opportunities to clear and such get away, but since they only lost because of 2 fluke goals and 2 softies, I don’t really have much of a problem with it. If you looked at their offensive effort, outside of the PP they were pretty solid, getting lots of good opportunities, included 3 seperate cross ice passes to guys with completely beaten goalies and open nets, who all 3 rushed their plays and went for redirects instead of wristers and redirected them wide. Those opportunities capitalized on? 7-4. Maybe even wider margins because those missed goals would have taken momentum.
niemi is probably the most inconsistent player on the roster
He makes good saves but he also let in alot of soft goals.
Haters Gonna Hate
I disagree
While he can be frustrating at times (like last night) I think he’s been pretty dependable. Not spectacular, but mostly reliable: 18-7-5, .917 SV%, 2.33 GAA, and 1 SO.
Antti Niemi
18 (7th in the NHL)-7, 2.33 GAA (12th), 0.917% (T-20th), 787 saves (13th) on 858 shots.
GO SHARKS!
They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn
Changing signatures is for suckers.
What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.
It's strange
The Sharks are the only team in the Pacific that has a positive goals statistic, i.e., more goals scored for than goals against. Dallas has given up 119 goals, Phoenix 111, Sharks 94. While Nemo is by no means an elite goaltender (as you’ve pointed out Elvis) he’s not going to lose you too many games (IMO). This is open to debate, but I like him over our other choices including Nabby.
Niemi is pretty much a perfect goalie for this particular team. Like you said, he very rarely loses them games, can steal one here or there but really, he will keep the Sharks in every game they play and give them a chance to win.
He’s not elite, he’s also not paid like and elite goalie either.
I also think it kinda helps how much the team in front of him loves to play for him. I’ve been a Sharks fan for way too long and I don’t ever remember the team talking about their goaltender they way they talk about Nemo.
It's easy to just put all of the blame on the goaltender
But I thought the D wasn’t very strong either. J. Braun -3. I didn’t get to see the entire game because my crumb snatcher turned off my DVR recording to watch House of Anubus. Aren’t kids just great!?
Braun definitely struggled last night
But I thought everyone else was pretty decent. A lot of people were giving Demers grief about goal #3, but I still maintain Demers did the right thing and Niemi should have that one every time.
I think the backcheck from the forwards was lacking in a lot of cases more than defensive struggles. Ryane Clowe in particular looked to be dogging it. Handzus didn’t look great defensively either.
GO SHARKS!
They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn
Changing signatures is for suckers.
What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.
Why would anyone give Demers grief about goal #3? Does no one remember that it was a 2 on 1 and he did what he was supposed to do and backed off to cover the cross ice pass and gave the shooter to Niemi? Thornton was backchecking but not nearly hard enough to intercept a cross ice pass, and he even let up when he saw Demers move over. The was simply a case of the shooter hit a 2 inch window that probably shouldn’t have been there since Niemi was 3 inches too far to his right positionally.
This is open to debate, but I like him over our other choices including Nabby.
NO.
"Logan Couture is a dirty, filthy man. Tell all your friends" - Mr. Plank
Welcome to the NHL, Atlanta Thrashers of Winnipeg.
YES. Nabby lets in many more softies than Niemi, and Niemi has played pretty damn good the last 15 games. Hell, in the 8 game slump the Sharks were in earlier Niemi was the only one playing good and kept each of those losses from being blowouts, and actually allowed the Sharks to get some OT points from some of them, and even a few wins where they shouldnt have.
Frankly
This season, he’s done WAAAY more good than harm.
I think it’s a real tribute to his hard work that the issues he had last season have all by and large been addressed. He’s still a work in progress in my eyes, but the struggles he’s had this season are all new, and a step up from where he was last season. His lateral movement is leaps and bounds above where it was last season, his glove is much more effective up high, and his positioning in the net is much better. Gone are the days of the awkward hunch and the T-Rex arms.
This season, I think he’s had some problems getting in position when moving laterally. There seems to be space in the 6 and 7 holes when opposing teams move the puck across the ice, particularly on the penalty kill. Of course, that’s largely because the PK has been such a gong-show. And he still occasionally has issues tracking the puck, and sometimes doesn’t feel it when it hits his pads. His rebound control could be better, but again, leaps and bounds ahead of last season.
But he’s shown incredible athleticism and very strong work taking away everything low.
GO SHARKS!
They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn
Changing signatures is for suckers.
What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.
Another plus
With all you said there, another huge plus to me with Niemi is that at 28, he’s very coachable. He made all of those improvements you talked about while working hard w/ Schwab & Thomas and the fact is he can keep getting better.
I’ll give Niemi some props, especially because I’ve been quite critical of him earlier in the year. He’s been particularly good lately about keeping the other team from getting an extended series of shots, either by absorbing the puck, or directing rebounds to his defense. That’s great, because you could pretty much smell a goals against coming earlier in the year, with the defense spastically running around and Niemi having trouble getting back in position.
There are times when he looks totally discombobulated, but they don’t indicate that he’s going to have a terrible game any longer, they just mean he’ll probably be good for a softie before shutting things down later. Now that our top-lines rediscovered their offense, our margin is not quite so razor thin that the softie isn’t the GWG against.
I’d love to eliminate the softies, because in the playoffs our margin of error narrows again, but he’s definitely been improving his game.
Picklesnakebit since 2011.
@shampeon
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