TEH SHARKS WILL WIN THE STANLEY CUP
October 10th, 2008, 7:52 am
Too soon? Hard not to get jazzed by last night’s win, no? After a listless first period, the Sharks took advantage of some sloppy Anaheim penalties in the 2nd en route to a 4-1 win. Although it was exciting to see the Sharks absolutely dominate the Ducks for stretches, it was even more encouraging to see the first signs of the completely new system Todd McLellan has wrought.
First of all, the D is so much more active in the offensive zone. The most obvious is the points and shots coming from the point. Sharks averaged less than two points per game from the defense last year, and last night they had four. They averaged less than seven shots per game, and Blake had seven all on his own.
Second, the puck possesion style has begun. Sharks fans are used to seeing guys get a little jammed up in the neutral zone or their own blue line, and chipping it off the boards to get out of trouble. Last night, several times, you’d see them go back to the defensemen for a D-to-D pass and regroup. A couple of times it happened so out of character for what I’m used to seeing I turned to grier in surprise. “That never would have happened last year,” I’d say.
Third, there was a glimmer of killer instinct. Too many times we’d see the Sharks go into a defensive shell with a third period lead, and last night, vestiges of that mentality remained. But after the Ducks got on the board, instead of buckling down further, the Sharks continued to push the pace. The fourth goal, though not necessary for the win, was a very encouraging sign.
In honor of the new season, I’ll appropriate a picture for my LOLSHARX debut:
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Lots of encouraging things about last night:
* Cheechoo with some goals and putting in hard work
* Nabokov looked really sharp
* Erhoff with a goal and multiple shots on net
* Decent power play movement and variety
* Setoguchi with lots of jump
* Solid effort from everyone
* Blake and Boyle doing well
* Even Murray was showing some speed last night
Overall it was a good first showing, and I can’t wait until the guys are more comfortable with the system and the new additions.
-b
lol @ lolsharx
Thank you for not going to OT and awarding points all around.
-Dallas Stars
I really liked what I saw last night. Cheecho looked solid and Seto’ really impressed me alot with his effort and speed. I was most impressed though by the sheer number of shots we got on net, poor Giggy was stuck in a shooting galary.
My favorite moment….Jody Shelley checking Brendan Morrison into the net at the buzzer. Morrison cried like a baby. “WAAAHH”
Consider this sour grapes (and my apologies for reacting so far after the fact, but I was with nature all weekend):
I, too, thought the first period was listless, but I think it was much more indicative of how the teams match up. The basis for a penalty changed dramatically during the intermission. The penalty on Selanne was weak. Even weaker was the call on Neidermayer to make it a 5 on 3, as the only reason his stick was up was because he was being hooked in the same manner that Teemu had just received a penalty for. No team can win games spending that much time on the PK, and the Sharks owe the officiating some love for how the game was called (6 of 7 calls against the Ducks from one ref is suspect – and I already acknowledged it’s sour grapes).
The Sharks defensemen did seem to be a bigger part of the offense, but I couldn’t tell if that was just a difference in getting pucks on net versus just near the net. The scariest thing for me is that Joe was barely noticeable. What’s up with that?
Also, I don’t remember the ice being that bad at the Tank. Definitely not a good night for the grounds crew.
Looking forward the this Friday!
its a little to soon don’t cha think to say sharks will win b/c there still alot of hockey to play and its anybody’s game