The Home Advantage Doesn’t Always Help; Sharks are 1-0 in series with Blackhawks

Game 1 of the much-anticipated round 3 against the Blackhawks did not go as planned for the Sharks. Even with the advantage of playing at home, San Jose lost 2-1 against Chicago.

By the end of the first period, the Sharks were feeling confident with their 1-0 lead, which occurred because of Jason Demers power play goal at 11:19. Maybe they were feeling too confident; the Blackhawks scored 1 goal in each of the following periods, and the goals were elementary and easily could have been stopped. However, these two goals, scored by Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien, let Chicago win the game.

This loss is not to say that San Jose did not have a strong offence. In fact, the Sharks led the Blackhawks 45-40 with shots on goal. However, this shows that though the Sharks were fierce offensively, they slacked in defense. Evgeni Nabokov let 2 of the 40 shots pass, while Chicago goalie Antti Niemi stopped 44 goals of 45 shots. The Sharks did not have any penalties in the game, while the Blackhawks had five penalties against them. The Blackhawks were much more powerful defensively, and this is why the Sharks only scored during one of their five power plays.

Game 2 of the series will take place on Tuesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in San Jose. The Sharks hope to win this one at home before they are sent to Chicago to play in unfamiliar territory and possibly lose both games.

Sharks Will Play Blackhawks in Round 3

The Blackhawks defeated the Canucks Tuesday night with a score of 5-1, determining the Sharks’ next opponent. Beginning sometime this week, round 3 will begin in San Jose, where the Sharks will play the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Sharks should definitely prepare themselves for the challenge the Blackhawks will bring. In the last round, the Sharks played Detroit, who was in fifth place in the Western Conference by the end of the regular season. The Blackhawks, on the other hand, took second place in the Western Conference and third place in the entire league. Granted, the Sharks were first place in the Western Conference and second overall, but if the Red Wings were a challenge, then the Blackhawks will bring anxiety.

The Blackhawks have many players that keep their offense powerful. Patrick Cane was one such player, and had 88 total points with 30 goals during the regular season. Even though he is a leading scorer for the Blackhawks, the Sharks do have some key players as well. Joe Pavelski has scored 9 of the 33 playoffs goals, and rookie Logan Couture has impressed with 3 clean goals as well. The offense for both teams is excellent; strategy, agility and speed will be what determine whose is better.

Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov had a falling out during game 4 of the Detroit series and let 7 goals pass. However, both of the Sharks’ goalies have played well throughout the playoffs. Nabokov so far has a 90.7 saving percentage, and of the little time Thomas Greiss has played, he has a 92.9 saving percentage. The Blackhawks goaltender has a 91.2 saving percentage for the playoffs, showing that both teams have skilled goalies. San Jose defense will need to stay strong like this if they plan to advance to round 4.

No date has been given yet for game 1 of this round, but possibilities for the date include Friday, May 14 in San Jose.

Wake Up Call: Detroit Won Game 4; Series now 3-1 Sharks

Nabby had an off night. The defense was asleep. The offense did not play hard enough. In almost every aspect of hockey, the Sharks failed to be successful in game 4 against Detroit, resulting in the Red Wings winning the game 7-1.

The first period predicted the entire game’s result; by the end of the period the score was already 5-0 Detroit. Sharks fans were embarrassed by the end of the second period, with a score of 6-1. The only thing to be excited about was that the game was not a shutout. Many were too frustrated to watch the entire last period, and with good reason. The final score of the game was 7-1 Detroit.

Detroit had a couple of key figures that contributed to their success in this game. First, Johan Franzen scored four of the seven goals, and the first three were within approximately four minutes of each other. Also, goaltender Jimmy Howard played well. Of the 29 shots on goal made by the Sharks, only 1 got past him.

Sharks fans cannot help but wonder if goaltender Evgeni Nabokov will not start for game 5. In the first period alone, he let by five of the seven total goals for Detroit. Of the nine shots on goal the Red Wings had in the period, Nabokov only saved four of them. After the first period, the Sharks replaced Nabokov with Thomas Greiss, who made his playoffs debut. He played excellently compared to Nabokov; he made 26 saves while in net and the Red Wings only scored two goals on him. His save percentage was much higher than Nabokov’s, so it is possible that he will start in the next game.

This wake up call for the Sharks should help them realize that even though they only need to win one more game, the round is not over. Sharks fans hope that they will come back strong for the next game. Game 5 will take place in San Jose on Saturday, May 8, at 7 p.m.

Round 2: Sharks Lead Red Wings 3-0

The Detroit newspaper with an article titled “No need to panic; sturdy Wings likely to rebound vs. Sharks” was wrong in their prediction of game 3 against San Jose. With the magic score of 4-3, which has been the score of every game thus far, the Sharks yet again defeated the Red Wings on May 5.

The Sharks were behind the Red Wings the entire game, which was worrisome, due to the fact that the Sharks rarely win games against the Red Wings when playing in Detroit. By the end of the first period, the score was 2-1 Detroit, and by the end of the second, 3-1 Detroit. In the third period, however, the Sharks picked up the pace and won.

The change of pace happened when Joe Thornton brought the score to 3-2; this gave the Sharks more energy, and they were able to keep up the good pace. Logan Couture, Sharks’ rookie, scored at 13:17 and tied up the game. This goal was crucial and brought the teams into overtime. The game winner in overtime was scored by former captain, Patrick Marleau, at 7:07.

With the Sharks leading the series 3-0, Detroit can officially be worried. Only 2 teams in NHL history have come back from being behind 3-0 in a series. Sharks fans can keep their heads held high as game 4 takes place Thursday, May 6 at 4:30 pm. Detroit will have to work hard for a comeback, and the Sharks need to remember that such a comeback is possible.

Round 2: Sharks Lead Redwings 2-0

The Sharks stayed strong Sunday evening in San Jose, and their hard work paid off. With another 4-3 win, the Sharks now lead the series 2-0.

The first period predicted how close the game would be; by the end of the period the score was tied at 2-2. The second period, however, brought a scare when the Red Wings took the lead with a goal at 2:00, making the score 3-2. The Sharks did not give up, though, and key players Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton both scored in the third period, resulting in the final score of 4-3.
Although the Red Wings fell short in goals, their goaltending was impressive. Detroit goalie, Jimmy Howard, may have let four goals pass by him, but he had 41 saves, which outdoes San Jose’s 28 saves by goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Even though Detroit had more saves than San Jose, the Sharks’ 4-3 win shows that their offense is able to keep the pressure on Detroit’s powerful defense.

Pavelski, one of the Shark’s greatest players in this postseason, scored two of the four goals, and even had one assist. He is currently leading the NHL with the most goals for one player this playoff season, with 9 goals so far. He has been a key component to the Shark’s success. The other goals were scored by Ryan Clowe, assisted by Pavelski and Douglass Murray, and Thornton, with an assist by Dany Heatley.

So far, the Sharks have been fighting hard in this series, and their 2-0 lead seems solid. However, game three, which will take place in Detroit, may bring some weariness back into the Sharks if the Red Wings play well in their home territory. Game three will take place on Tuesday, May 4, at 4:30 pm.

Sharks Update: They’re Back with a Bite

Sharks Hockey has returned, and with some drastic changes to the team and structure – which should be no shock to anyone who watched the playoffs. Here is what’s new and can be expected out of the new season.

Captain Position

Yes, it’s true. Patrick Marleau, former Shark’s captain of approximately four years, has been removed from the position. According to the San Jose Mercury News, he is ok with the change and will still give all that he can to the team and its success. Rumor is still in the air that he may be traded, but if that were the big news, the fuss would be over that instead. Joe Thornton is in a different boat; he is no longer assistant captain, but he is one candidate to take Marleau’s place. There is no final decision on this though, and Head Coach Todd McLellan has said the decision should be made by the middle of September, during training camp. The Mercury News also said that Dan Boyle is an “obvious candidate to replace Marleau as captain,” and the third option is Joe Pavelski. One thing is certain though; with new leaders in both captain’s positions, the upcoming season will definitely have some changes. 

Who Won’t Be Returning

There’s a large list this year of who to say farewell to: Alxei Semenov, Tomas Plihal, Marcel Goc, Travis Moen, Lukas Kaspar, Brian Boucher, Jeremy Roenick, Mike Grier, and as of Saturday, Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek. Roenick originally planned to retire after the 2007-08 season, but with a new coach he had decided to give it one more shot. Not even making it to the second round, though, he finally called it quits. At the last home game, he gave a farewell speech to fans that many will always remember. Also, with Boucher gone, there will be changes in the goaltending. With the case of Cheechoo and Michalek, some are shocked but some are not surprised. Cheechoo in the past few seasons has not been playing to his usual expectations, and many have been disappointed in his performance. The two players were traded Saturday for Dany Heatley from the Ottawa Senators.

Who’s New

The team’s coaching staff signed four new members (all with one-year contracts) to the team: defenseman Joe Callahan and Danny Groulx, center Dwight Helminen, right wing Jed Ortmeyer, and as mentioned above, Dany Heatley. Callahan played his first NHL season with the New York Islanders last season. General Manager Doug Wilson described Callahan on the Sharks website as, “a poised defensemen that is a good puck mover. He is an experienced professional who brings a great deal of competiveness to our organization.” Groulx played 80 games last season in the American Hockey League (AHL) and placed 14^th in points. He acquired 130 points in 415 regular season games in his AHL career. Wilson feels his experience is valuable and strong. He said, “He’ll add good depth to the organization and has a wealth of postseason experience at the American Hockey League level.” Helminen has played five years of professional hockey, and during last season he made his NHL debut with Carolina. Wilson said that the organization has been watching him for a long time and feels he “helps build our organizational depth.” Ortmeyer has played with Nashville for the past two seasons, and also earned 23 points playing for Milwaukee (AHL). Wilson feels his energy will help push his teammates, something the Sharks seem to need. Dany Heatley, the most recent addition to the team, was obtained through the trade of Cheechoo and Michalek. The coaching staff hopes that he will pick up the slack the team seems to have been experiencing. His 50 goal-per-season average should help the team tremendously, especially when it comes time for the playoffs.

Goaltending

The Sharks signed two goalies for the new season: Thomas Greiss (with a two-year contract) and Henrik Karlsson (with a one-year contract). Wilson said of Greiss, “After a tremendous season in Worcester and an outstanding playoffs, we are excited to have Thomas under contract for the next two seasons. His development towards becoming an NHL goaltender has continued to progress. We were very impressed with the work ethic and dedication he has put forth and the results have shown in his play.” According to the Sharks website, his save percentage is 0.86, which isn’t too far behind Nabokov’s regular season save percentage of 0.91. Karlsson spent last season playing the sport in Sweden, where in 32 games his save percentage was .921 in 32 games. With these two new goaltenders and Nabokov, the goaltending for this year can be predicted to improve from previous seasons.

Coaching

There is a new member to the coaching staff: Matt Shaw. The announcement was made on July 17 that he would now be working alongside McLellan. “Next year is a big year for all of us as players and as coaches and he and I have worked together in the past so there is a comfort level,” said McLellan. “He has tremendous character and a strong ability to interact with the players and coaches.” With his work for the past two years on the Minnesota Wild, he has desirable skills in pre-scouting opposing teams and in-game analysis. He has worked for 1000 professional and college level hockey games, and played 138 games as a defensemen on his college teams, so it’s no doubt that his experience will be useful on the coaching staff.

The 2009-10 season is expected to bring new and great advances for the team. With almost every aspect of the team being revamped, only time will tell how great these advances will be.