Still trying to pick your jaw up after watching that game last night? Yeah me too. The San Jose Sharks lost last night in overtime after The Play We Shall Not Speak Of occurred just 51 seconds into overtime.
It was an absolute heartbreaker for the Sharks who were in absolute control of the game from the start of the 2nd period on, and yet no "W."
The news of Dany Heatley sitting out the game had already put the Sharks behind the 8-ball, and wow could they have used his powerplay skills last night. The final tally of the Sharks on the powerplay was 0-6. But the Heater absence was negated, at least a little, with the loss of Avalanche Milan Hejduk who left the game after colliding with his teammate at center ice in the 1st period.
Still, the Sharks played well, in fact, they played great, they just could not find the back of the net, not once, which happens to be the most important part (And by back of the net, I mean the opposing team's net). The Sharks outshot the Avs 51-17, and 43-8 from the 2nd period on. There is no way to relate those stats to the final score.
It was an absolute grudge match that pinned Evgeni Nabokov against Craig Anderson, with Anderson playing the role of a brick wall in front of the net. There wasn't much Nabby could do. He had a couple of huge saves early, and given the opportunity, probably would have been just as hot as Anderson.
Craig Anderson, win or lose, was terrific. It was a performance in net that not many will forget, and could potentially mark this series and maybe his career. He stopped 51 shots, which is unheard of given that these are his first playoffs. The only way to describe his play last night was that he was in the zone. And the Sharks ran into another hot goalie.
How do the Sharks move on from this? They just do. They have to. They need to go back to the fact that they are playing very good hockey right now. They are aggressive, quick, playing solid defense, and getting shots to the net. Getting the puck in the net like they did in Game 2 was not going to happen last night. Anderson was too good, and the Sharks didn't capitalize on the opportunities in front of the net when they needed to, and that may have been the result of no Heater.
If the Sharks score in overtime and win the game, then there is huge momentum going into Game 4 knowing that they just played excellent hockey for the past 2 games. Up until 51 seconds into overtime, they did. In fact, they ARE playing great hockey, but somehow the series is 2-1 in favor of the #8 seeded Avalanche, and the Sharks will have to try to find someway to put The Play We Shall Not Speak Of out of their minds. Someway.
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