One thing I’ve been fixated on the last few days, both in watching the Sharks and other teams on Center Ice, is their breakout strategy and patterns. It’s something I think the Sharks are particularly poor at, and last night after the game I had the opportunity to ask a real pro hockey player, Jaime Baker, about it. The Teal Spiel was broadcast live from Stanley’s Bar at Sharks Ice after the game, and I was able to get on the radio and ask Mr. Baker about it. Basically, I asked this: is the Sharks’ poor breakout a function of their system, or are the Sharks failing to execute the system they have?

Jaime went on a technical explanation on the Sharks employing a 1-4, with the Ducks a 1-3-1, and how that gives the Sharks trouble. I found it very interesting, and I’ll post the audio snippet once the podcast is available. After he was done, I asked off-mic- “so it’s the system?”, and Jaime basically nodded his head in assent. The system that enables the Sharks to be among the very best in the NHL in goals against is partially responsible for their handicapped offense. The system needs to change.

All you had to do was watch last night’s game to be convinced. The first breakout pass was ok, but the red line was clogged with three Ducks, with one defenseman behind to be prepared for the dump-in (usually Pronger or Niedermayer). If the Sharks dumped it in too quickly, that guy could race back and touch up the icing. If the Sharks timed it just right and had a perfect dump-in, now there were four Ducks between the puck-carrier low and the rest of the Sharks. Maybe he could whip it around the boards to the other winger, but more often than not there was no time or space to do anything other than chip it deep again and watch the lone forechecker flail around.  Last night was a how-to video for the rest of the NHL.

The Ducks have the Sharks cracked like a safe. And the Sharks won’t change the combination.