More photos » Christine Cotter - AP

1 day ago: Anaheim Ducks' Bobby Ryan, front, and San Jose Sharks' Dan Boyle are escorted to the penalty box in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., on Sunday, March, 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Christine Cotter)

Browse more photos »

Another night,  another loss, as the Sharks fail to sweep the Ducks in regular season and lose 2-4 in Anaheim.

Back in October when the Sharks struggled to find their game at the start to their season, I actually welcomed the idea that the team will not run the table for another year and may have to battle hard to earn a good seed in the playoffs. But once the HTML line was put together, the team started putting one winning streak after another. Before we knew it, the Sharks were once again at the top of the Western Conference schedule with a comfortable position going into March-April. 

In this position, the points now start to matter less and at times we see the players put questionable effort on the ice. To battle this, we are starting to see these kinds of ideas coming out of McLellan's mouth as team is starting 6-game road trip:

"We’ll be able to play some people in different situations than we have been. You might see the big guys back together some night, you might see some lines that are different just in case we need it later on."

We sure saw plenty of that tonight. On one shift we saw HTML line together. On another Thornton was skating next to McGinn and Setoguchi (which is how the first goal was scored). Then all of a sudden we saw Heatley skating next to Clowe and Mitchell and on and on this chess game went. 

Continue reading this post »

More photos » Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

Shades of '08.

Browse more photos »

It was one of those nights that make you question your sexuality.

Heavily outplayed from the outset of the game the San Jose Sharks kept up their comeback ways, roaring back in the third period to defeat the Nashville Predators. Joe Pavelski was the man of the hour, notching four points in the final frame to extend the winning streak to three.

With the game tied at four, Manny Malhotra made a great play to keep the puck deep, sealing off the boards as Nashville attempted to clear out of the zone. The puck bounced to Joe Pavelski at the bottom of the circle, and in a move that brought back lucid memories of his overtime goal against Dallas two years ago, Pavelski took the puck across the zone, waited out Dan Ellis, and rifled the puck gloveside high to put the Sharks up 5-4.

Following a JP Dumont tally that tied the score at five, Scott Nichol made a nice breakout pass to Pavelski, who entered the zone on the rush. Ryan Suter made a good play to pressure him above the circles, but one titillating spin move from the depths of hell later, Ellis was a five hole late and a few bucks short. That shot, a lock to be played on the HP Pavilion Jumbotron for years to come, proved to be the game winner.

Patrick Marleau also scored his fortieth goal in the season, the first time he has done so in his career. He joins Owen Nolan (44, 1999-2000) and Jonathan Cheechoo (56, 2005-2006) as the only San Jose Sharks to reach that milestone in franchise history.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

9 days ago: San Jose Sharks left wing Dany Heatley, left, celebrates his goal with teammate Joe Thornton during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, March 6, 2010. San Jose won 2-1. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Browse more photos »

In their third game following the Olympic break, the Sharks for the third time failed to score first, and for the third time went into the third period trailing. Just like against Montreal, the Sharks waited for Dany Heatley to do his magic against Columbus and score his 16th power play goal before the Sharks Nation could finally breathe a sign of relief - it was not going to be another two points that Steve Mason steals from the Sharks. Sharks beat the Blue Jackets with a final score of 2-1. 

By the way, is that not why we traded for Dany Heatley?

We've seen Heatley do this trick so many times this season. We see the Sharks battle for the puck around the boards in the offensive zone, while Heatley is skating a few yards away from the goal. He raises his stick in the air to get the attention of his teammates (and he gets ours too, as we know he's about to get open). Next, he skates either to the side or behind the net, not standing in one place but always moving and the defensemen forget about him. A second or less later, we see Heatley standing all alone right in front of the crease, with the puck flying into the net from an easy tap in. How do the NHL defensemen forget about him? No one in this league does this better than Dany. NHL has players who own that spot in front of the net (Ryan Smyth and Tomas Holmstrom - to name a few), but no one can read the development of an attack and defensive mismatches better than Dany Heatley. Not only that - but when he scores, we don't tend to see too many sticks in front of him, or anyone trying to stop him - he just shows up in an open spot and scores what looks like an easy goal.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » Paul Sakuma - AP

Browse more photos »

The Sharks weren't about to go down quietly against Montreal. After giving up the first goal for the third consecutive tilt, it appeared as if San Jose was off to another disappointing match against an Eastern Conference opponent.

It didn't end that way.

The Sharks bounced back from a 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to win the game 3-2 behind strong play from Evgeni Nabokov in the final two periods. Surprisingly, against an opponent the Sharks only face once a year, the game became a brutal, physical affair. The chippy match saw a dirty hit by Maxim Lapierre to Scott Nichol go uncalled, but the hit will probably warrant action by the NHL. I'd be surprised if Lapierre doesn't earn a suspension.

Although Price did stand on his head for much of the first, I thought the Sharks offense looked good, especially after the hit on Nichol brought a fire out in the players. Marleau's shorthanded deflection (before Nichol's injury) in the second was a beaut, and Heatley (who was pissed from puck drop, it seemed) made a nice deflection on Dan Boyle's powerplay shot in the third. Malhotra scored the final goal period after having a solid all around performance.

All in all, the Sharks unloaded 40 shots on Price. 26 additional shots were blocked before they reached the Canadiens' netminder, and at least 3 posts were hit by the Sharks during the game. It could have been a 6-2 score the way the offense played.

That being said, I don't like the fact that it took a possible injury to Scott Nichol to get the majority of team motivated. I also don't like the listlessness defensively to start the game, and the high amount of turnovers that have plagued the team over the last five games or so. The Sharks need to stop making the extra pass, and start making the easy play.

Clowe, who still angers me in almost every way possible, saw time on the second, third, and fourth lines, as well as in the penalty box. He was a non factor again tonight. So was McGinn, who also saw changing line assignments and limited ice time.

What I did like tonight was the resurgence of Nabokov, who held off multiple attacks in the third. It was important for him to get a win tonight, if only to show that he is still capable of matching an opposing team's tender after a shoddy Olympics and a poor outing against New Jersey. Torrey Mitchell, who assisted on Malhotra's game winning goal, was involved in the game from the start and was a noticeable presence for the first time in months. In addition, after the shakeup, the top two lines generated chances, and Setoguchi got some opportunities on the top line. I think they'll get better as they approach the postseason.

As we look to Saturday's game against Columbus, I worry about Scott Nichol. His injury could go either way, but if there's any doubt about his health expect Logan Couture to be called up sometime soon. 

Go Sharks.

More photos » Ben Margot - AP

New Jersey Devils' Travis Zajac, left, is congratulated by teammate Zach Parise (9) after Zajac scored the winning goal against the San Jose Sharks.

Browse more photos »

Frustrating.

The San Jose Sharks dropped an egg in the first fifty minutes of play, only to come back with three goals in 2:56 to narrow the deficit to one. Alas it was not enough, as the New Jersey Devils won both teams first game back from the Olympic break by a score of 4-3.

The first period started off rather well for the Sharks, with Joe Thornton taking advantage of a porous defensive breakdown by New Jersey and ringing one off the post; Patrick Marleau followed up a shift later, taking a nice pass from Dany Heatley that Brodeur managed to stop with his glove.

Up until Kent Huskins' penalty, Nabokov was relatively untested. I thought the entire unit did a good job of keeping the Devils forwards to the outside and forcing them to dump the puck in on that power play. It was a relatively easy kill with lots of clears that chewed up time, and lots of pressure on the puck carrier as he entered the zone.

I have to say, ol' Planker has really taken the PK for granted this season. That unit has been lights out from October until now.

Up until the middle of the second it was more of the same, with some solid zone possession time and decent opportunities. And when I say decent, I mean they were better then what New Jersey was throwing at Nabokov. Both teams looked out of synch for the first half of the game, and as Randy and Drew mentioned on the telecast, the Olympic players were the only ones who really looked like they came to play.

I will say this though-- Marleau didn't have a very good defensive game by his standards. He mangled a breakout pass up the middle that led to a very good Devils scoring opportunity, failed to communicate with Douglas Murray on the Zajac goal that made it 4-0, and pinched right down the middle of the offensive end a shift or two after the Sharks cut the lead to 4-3 with eight minutes to go. At that time Dan Boyle had jumped into the play low in the zone and Ilya Kovalchuk was on the ice. That's one he would like to have back obviously, and even though Nabokov made a save on the semi-breakaway (Boyle managed to get back and apply some decent pressure on the backcheck), you have to be aware of who is out there. With the crowd buzzing following a comeback, that goal buries your chances at clawing your way back in.

Continue reading this post »

Seriously, we can't seem to buy a win against these guys. I want no part of that come April because all four tilts against Los Angeles this season have reminded me of the Ducks playoff series last season. The bounces will never go our way, Quick will make a ton of saves, Doughty will probably score fifteen goals, and their defense does a good job of limiting chances in tight.

Los Angeles has amassed just too much hockey karma for all of the beatings they've taken over the last few years. I hope they shoot the lights out in the last half of the season and fall short of the division title by one point.

*****

There was a small discussion on the lack of power play production lately (which, admittedly, gets glanced over when you're riding an eight game winning streak), and I think bringing Jason Demers back to the squad would help get the wheels-a-turning. Here's the current production of the blueliners that have had more than a minute per game played with the 5v4 advantage.

Just a note-- I don't really pay all too much attention to GAON/60 when it comes to the powerplay, as shorthanded goals are really a product of some skill, a lot of luck, and the entire unit at large since San Jose's forwards have a good amount of responsibility in this area considering the system promotes defensemen making hockey plays at the circles or below. It's not a bad thing to consider of course, but just something that I don't think should be a defining factor. PTS/60 and GFON/60 are much more worthwhile statistics, and that's what I've put in bold.

For all the times I've cited Demers' egregious turnovers in the defensive zone* during the course of a game, it's plain to see that the power play runs smoothly when he's out on the ice. I'm not against Joe Pavelski playing on the backend in theory, but Demers' lateral movement is much superior to Pavelski's which opens up shooting lanes as well as makes teams think twice about aggressively pressuring the defensive puck carrier all the way up to the edges of the blueline. With the amount of firepower San Jose has down low it's a deadly combination.

The defense hasn't been nearly as good this season at generating offense (something I'll be looking at in the near future), and at this point I think there's no need to pull any punches when it comes to getting the man advantage back on track.

*Speaking of turnovers-- Rob Blake's to start the third, a mere thirteen seconds after Thomas Greiss entered the game, was hilarious. It sealed the Sharks fate, came against his former team, and was so outrageously asinine I couldn't help but laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and... well, you get the idea. I think I might be losing it.

Congrats to Jumbo Joe on his 900th NHL point tonight.

Go Sharks.

(inhale) (exhale) Explosion!!!!!

Three goals, two screens that led to goals, one assist, and a +6 on the night. Not much more you can say.

Or is there? Leave a quote for the accompanied picture in the comments.

Go Sharks.

[Update]: Video of the goal found here.

Sharks haven't scored an even strength goal in a whopping 222 minutes and 17 seconds.

Slightly concerning.

What isn't concerning is that the President's Trophy will be making it's way to San Jose.

Giggity.

Doesn't matter that the Sharks clinched the West and overall home ice with poor performances. Doesn't matter that the Sharks haven't played very inspired as of late.

Wednesday changes all that. Buckle your seatbelts folks.

Go Sharks.