This Is Sharks Playoff Territory

What makes this season different? Another #1 seed, another trip to the playoffs, and yet this team is not a favorite by any means to win the Stanley Cup.

With their playoff track-record, who would pick them to win it all? Year after year, we see this team go into the playoffs and come out with nothing. Last year was a new low, even for a franchise that has had as little success as the Sharks in the playoffs.

But this year will be different, right? At least, that's what we have told ourselves for the last 5 seasons. What makes this year different, then?

For one, the Sharks parted ways with 11 guys from last year's team and replaced them with a nice mix of young players and veterans with experience in the game. Torrey Mitchell, Jamie McGinn, Manny Malhotra, and Scott Nichol will all play key roles in these playoffs to help out the front-line guys.

Two, usually the Sharks are crawling into the playoffs with injuries or end-of-season bad play. This year, there are no injuries to speak of and they went 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. Joe Thornton scared us for awhile with his injury, but I think that was more of a lengthy rest that Coach Todd McLellan used for him. Marc-Edouard Vlasic is one that is key to the success of the defense, but he is back from his injury and back to his normal defensive self.

Three, Evgeni Nabokov usually struggles in the last few games of the season and brings that with him into the playoffs. But this year, some could argue that Nabby is playing his best since before the Olympic break. Nabby is who determines how far the Sharks will go in the playoffs. If he can take his play from the final games of the regular season and use it in the playoffs, the Sharks may have something.

Four, the Sharks offense is usually fire in the regular season, but tends to slow down in the playoffs. The Sharks addressed that to the fullest extent during the offseason, picking up scorer Dany Heatley in a deal. If that won't fix the problem, nothing will. Plus, Joe Pavelski is peaking at just the right time for the Sharks.

So what makes you think the Sharks won't make a run for the Stanley Cup? Nothing. But if you look closer, things have changed in San Jose. The pieces are there for the first time in a long time for the Sharks to win the Stanley Cup. It is just up to the them to put it all together.

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Sharks' Losing Streak a Sign?

The San Jose Sharks finally snapped their 6-game losing streak the other night against the Minnesota Wild, a streak spanning 10 days and resulting in the Sharks being out-scored 27-12.

It has since sparked speculation of what to make of the Sharks breakdown with the upcoming playoffs just around the corner.

So what do we make of the losing streak? There were several things that clearly stood out. The first being the defense. The word to describe it was 'slow.' They were slow to react, slow on the penalty kill, and extremely laxidasical throughout the whole losing streak. There was no flow to the defense and they seemed plain awkward on the ice.

The other thing that stood out, and this isn't a secret, was Evgeni Nabokov not seeing the puck. I've said this before, and many others before me, the Sharks go as far as Nabby takes them. During the losing streak, Nabby could stop nothing. He went 0-5 on the losing streak that ended in 6 games, with Thomas Greiss losing one of the games. From what I saw, most of the goals scored against the Sharks were shots that should have been stopped by Nabby. But the Nabby we have seen since the Olympic break is not the same one we saw before. Specifically, ever since his his meltdown against Canada.

But is the losing streak just a post-Olympic hangover for the Sharks? Or is this a sign of things to come in the playoffs? I think it's got to be a mix of all the above. The veterans are tired, or they are playing tired, and the younger guys feed off of that. And Nabby seems to be affected by his Olympic play and it has carried over into the NHL season where they are coming down the stretch and need him more than ever.

Honestly, I hope this losing streak is not a sign of things to come, and the true Sharks team was not revealed over this losing streak. They were just going through the motions, and I think this losing streak is a wake-up call for this team. They have been on top of the Western Conference for so long that they were just, like I said, going through the motions. Now they have Marc-Edouard Vlasic back, and the defensive lines are now complete. Hopefully, they can build from being fully healthy, because there is no other excuse now.

As of today, the Sharks are 1 point back of the Chicago Blackhawks for 1st place in the Western Conference, which is shocking considering the Sharks have tallied 3 points in the last 7 games. But taking the 2nd seed or even 3rd seed in the playoffs would not be the worst thing, it might be the best thing for this team.

Now is where it begins. There are 9 games left in the regular season, with big games coming against playoff-bound teams that the Sharks could possibly face in the first round of the playoffs (Canucks and Avalanche). Down the stretch is where they will earn the fans' trust going into the playoffs, and prove this is not just another fluke year of crawling into the playoffs and making an early exit. And for the fans' sake, I hope that is not the case.

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Success in Playoffs Rests on Nabby

The San Jose Sharks will go as far as Evgeni Nabokov takes them. As I was eagerly anticipating the Canada vs. Russia game last week, I couldnt help but go back in history and see how Nabby has faired in big games like this. Of course, Nabby's history in these type of games was not good, considering the Sharks have not made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in the 5+ years that they have been contenders. That's not to mention these last 3 years when some have picked them to win the Cup. And that's definitely not to mention that the Sharks lost in a first round upset to the Anaheim Ducks last season after winning the Presidents Cup during the regular season, although a lack of offense contributed to that debacle.
Nabby went on to allow 6 goals in the game against Canada on his way to being pulled mid-way through the game.
But is this a sign of things to be come playoff time for the Sharks? For Sharks fans sake, let's hope not. They've been through enough with this team already.
History would say that Nabby is a choke-artist when it comes to big games like that against Canada, or come playoff time. Yet, Nabby is a fantastic regular season goalie, and that is what keeps up the hope for these San Jose Sharks year in and year out.
We will see how the Olympics affect this Sharks team. We saw a telling tale of how Nabokov reacts to pressure last week. With 7 players who played in Vancouver, will that make them tired come playoff time? Or just keep them from getting rusty. I say the latter.
It seemed like there was a combination of both in the Sharks first game back from the Olympic break. I saw rust from the players who didnt travel to Vancouver, and tired legs early from the players who did. A great game though with New Jersey jumping out to a 4-0 lead only to give up 3 goals in 3 minutes in the 3rd period. But the Sharks lost, and now we ponder if this was another big game lost by Nabby or just a better team altogether.
No matter how you feel the Sharks will fair in this season's playoffs, the first thing that remains to be seen is Nabokov. The Sharks have offense, and I feel with the experience of the Olympics and the acquisition of Dany Heatley this season, it will show up this playoff-around. But it still rests on Nabby. It seems at times nothing gets past him, but at others it seems like he just cant stop a shot.
The Sharks go as far as Nabby goes, and if he doesnt go at all and we see another early round exit for the Sharks, we will see the Sharks looking for a new netminder next season.

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U.S. Hockey Does It Again

And so it continues. The United States Mens Hockey Team defeated the Swiss team this afternoon on 2 goals by New Jersey Devil, Zach Parise, and yet another outstanding clinic in goal by Buffalo Saber, Ryan Miller.
Miller was terrific between the pipes recording a shut-out, and having only one legitimate scare when a puck got past him in the 3rd period hitting the inside of the far post, yet not breaking the crease to the goal. It seemed extremely lucky at the time as the U.S. was only up 1-0 at that point, but arent those the breaks that every team of destiny has?
Honestly, i had a feeling that the U.S. was going to lose this game, as most people thought deep in the backs of their minds. San Jose Sharks fans know all too well how good Jonas Hiller can be, as did Canada when he forced them to a shoot-out earlier in these Olympics. Hiller has played unbelievable in goal and it seemed for a while that this game was going to be no different. But a goal early in the 3rd and an empty-netter at the end by Zach Parise was hard for the Swiss offense to overcome, as has been the story the entire Olympics for them. They simply could not score enough for Hiller.
But the U.S. are rolling. Theyre not blowing out teams as everyone wants to see from the tournament's #1 seed, but they are getting by comfortably. The U.S. may have the best combination of hot goalie, pesky defense, and timely goals. And that may be the type of recipe needed to take them to the gold medal game.
But above all, this team works. These arent the sexy names we hear playing for Canada. These are the working class, the second-tier NHL players. The guys like Brian Rafalski and Ryan Suter who work hard in the trenches and dont end up on the statline. This is a team full of workhorses and guys who will surprise you by checking that extra man into the boards or laying-out to block that shot.
The U.S. will have another tough game coming up against either the Czech Republic or Finland. If the U.S. prevail against either of them, they will have to face either Canada or surprising Slovakia, as Canada made a mockery of power-house Russia this afternoon.
I expect a ratings bananza of Canada vs. U.S. in the gold medal game. That would be the real test for American hockey. If you want to be on the national map, you will have to take down the best...when they're angry.
Meanwhile, do not overlook the Fin's as they are both hungry and ready to turn the carriage that is the United States into the proverbial pumpkin.
Hopefully the clock doesnt strike midnight on this team that seems hell-bent for the Gold.

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Miracle on Ice? Not Quite...

The U.S. hockey team defeated the Canadian Ultra-squad tonight in a thrilling, back-and-forth game in Vancouver, Canada.
But is this anything to compare to the 'Miracle on Ice' in 1980? Kind of. The U.S. didnt send out a bunch of reject college players on the ice, these were professional hockey players from the NHL. But compared to Canada's team, this U.S. roster would seem like a bunch of college scrubs. The U.S. team is a gathering of the NHL's second-tier players with big names like Patrick Kane and Ryan Miller. While Canada's team is the NHL's elite, and possibly the greatest group of hockey players ever assembled with big names like...ummm...'Sid the Kid' Crosby and 'Jumbo' Joe Thornton. In fact, if Canada had won every game on their way to a gold medal in these Olympics, it wouldnt have surprised a single person. After all, hockey is Canada's game. And yet, they lost to the United States whose fans back home might not have been aware they were playing tonight.
Does this put U.S. hockey on the national map? Sure it does, to a certain extent. David has slayed Goliath, and who doesnt love a good underdog story? Canada can still win the gold medal, and woudnt be surprised id they did, but the fact that the U.S. got them one time is all they need to take back home with them.
After this game and the performance that they put on, it wouldnt surprise me to see the U.S. win gold in these Olympics. Of course, the Big Three still remain: Russia, Canada, and Sweden. But maybe add the underdog United States team in there as well. After all, they beat Canada at their own game.

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Update: SJ Sharks in Vancouver

So ive been trying to keep in touch with hockey at the Olympics in Vancouver, but i must just miss the games everytime they are on TV. Fortunately, they replay the games on channels like MSNBC, so ive caught a couple of those and i do not miss Team Canada. They are absolutely stacked.
One reason why they are stacked is the "Sharks line" of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, and Patrick Marleau. They are undoubtedly the best line in all of the NHL, and are making a strong case for "best line in the world." They have chemistry because they play on the same regular season team, but goal-wise they are carrying Team Canada in the Olympics. The line has a combined 4 goals and 3 assists, and Heatly leads the entire tournament with 3 goals. Not to mention, defenseman Dan Boyle has 2 assists of his own. Missing from this equation is Joe Thornton who is a key part in the "Sharks line's" chemistry, but not in the stat-line. He has registered 0 goals and 0 assists these Olympics.
Elsewhere, Evgeni Nabokov was supposed the be the make-or-break for Team Russia. Absolutely stacked in the offensive category (Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsyuk, and Kovalchuk), Russia is lack-luster in the defensive. But Nabokov was red-hot coming into the Olympics, until their last game against Slovakia where he only surrendered 1goal in regulation, but lost in the shootout. Russia is 1-1.
As for Joe Pavelski, Thomas Greiss, and Douglas Murray, not much has been said about them. Pavelski has made key contributions to the U.S. team and it will be good to see him go up against his regular season teammates and Team Canada this Sunday. Griess has struggled in net so far for Germany, giving them a record of 0-2, and Murray's Swedish team looks very strong at 2-0 and he seems to be meshing quite well on defense.
The San Jose Sharks' team has been very hyped coming into these Olympics. So far, they havent disappointed.

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