Ok, I’m a Little Worried Now
March 14th, 2010, 9:14 pm
Maybe it’s just because I’m fighting the flu, but I’m a little down on everything today, and the Sharks are no exception. After watching the Sharks cough up the game to the #12 seed in the east on Saturday, the Sharks lose big to the western #13 seed tonight. Couldn’t help thinking that the Sharks would lose a series to the Ducks if it started tomorrow, but that could just be a product of my general malaise.
I wish I could point to a specific player (although I do have a stink eye peering in Devin Setoguchi’s direction), but it just seems a general lack of urgency, and the inevitable high turnovers. Couple that with some bad goaltending, and the Sharks lose games. At least the Sharks aren’t alone in losing games they shouldn’t – Chicago managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory today, and I’m sure Doug will be thrilled to chime in to reitierate his theory (which is looking pretty good right now) of Chicago being in deep trouble with Huet in net.
So how worried are you? Sweating like me? Wait, that could be the fever. Dammit.
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Yeah. Sure I’m concerned. But I’ve been concerned since game one. I’ve seen nothing all year that shows me there will be a different result.
But, there is still time for them to get hot. They could still get a little lucky in their draws.
All in all… who the hell knows??
I was at tonights game against the Ducks and I might say they were pretty lazy until the end of the 3rd. No sense of urgency and a lot of bad turnovers. I believe this is just a small bump though. More of an optimist in this case.
I am very frustrated right now. Sure we have picked up some points of late but all those games had us coming back from behind. I don’t feel like the Sharks have really commanded a game since the Olympic break and it just feels like they are on cruise control. If the playoffs started today I’d be trying to brace myself for the last up to 7 games of Sharks hockey for this season because the Wings won’t cough up a lead in 4 of 7 games. I really hope we see something different in Dallas.
Mike – you’re only NOW getting a little worried?
Well, every team looks weak and vulnerable at one point or another. Of course, with this team the natural reaction is to think “here we go again.” The team has earned that type of fan reaction.
I just wish I could figure out what McLellan is thinking with his playing time decisions. I can understand (though don’t agree) with the decision to allow Nabokov to dictate his play schedule.
But what benefit is there to play Rob Blake 24 minutes back to back nights? To play McGinn less than 4 shifts a period unless he records a point at some point in the game? To have Staubitz even in the lineup against a non-entity like Florida? To ever have that Seto-Pavs-Clowe line together (which has never produced consistent results)?
That said, the coach doesn’t play the game. Dan Boyle is thisclose to calling out guys individually, and no one other than Marleau is probably going to be safe.
On a different note….
It’s going to be really interesting to see who wins the battle that is no doubt being fought right now over yesterday’s Ovechkin hit… NHL disciplinary committee or NHL marketing. It looked to me like the EXACT hit Lapierre put on Nichol. So 4 games, right? LOL not a chance for the most exciting player in the league.
I think there is also going to be a lot of focus on Downies take down of Sid (which was totally disgusting) which will further take the heat off the league to make a tough call on Ovie.
It seemed to me that Nichol was in a much more defenseless position. It seemed like Campbell just kinda ate it (you see his right skate catch instead of taking another stride which would have made this a non issue). Also, Nichol was hit directly from behind, whereas the Ovechkin hit was 50/50.
That said, I would give him a 1 game suspension, but I doubt he will get anything. Downie, despite needing him on my fantasy squad, should be out 5-10 games. Intent to injure needs to be stomped out of the game, regardless if there was an actual injury.
Taking a look at the remaining schedule…
Does anyone else find it strange that we have only played Vancouver once this year and not since November 26th? We play them three times of the remaining 14 games…
I might be able to put the Ana and Fla losses behind me and chalk them up to low motivation against non-playoff teams. Ok, I’ll buy that for now…if ONLY for now…
But, Sharks play 8 of their remaining 14 games against playoff teams. (I’m counting Calgary because weather or not they actually make the PO’s or not, they are going to fight just as hard and are currently 8th)
Canucks – 3 times
Flames – twice
Coyotes – Once
Avs – twice
Those are the games i’m going to measure this team buy. I understand the arguments about being a professional team that must learn to get motivated for all their games, even when playing a 12th and 13th seeded team. However, I can understand the lack of energy too. If the Sharks are going to get it going into the playoffs they absolutely need to bring it against those clear PO teams. Alll of those teams I listed above are possible first or second round opponents…
Again, I can understand the lack of motivation, on off nights, against non-PO teams…. but only for so long.
OMG!! Hell has frozen over.
DirecTV stalemate over!! I am now watching versus on my DirecTV!!! Minor miracle!
You know, when this was happening last season I was thinking “Oh, they’re just saving it for the playoffs. None of these games really matters and they’re gonna wait until it does and just explode.”
Totally wrong on that one. But the situations are different. There were lots of injuries to the team last season just before the playoffs. Right now we have Vlassic still nursing an injury and Mitchell taking a “maintenance day.” Not nearly the same.
That being said, there’s really no excuse for the way they’ve played the last two games. And we can complain about how bad they’ve been since the olympic break, but the bottom line is they’ve still won some games. Doesn’t matter if they were comebacks. If anything, a comeback win was something last year’s team couldn’t do so I take that as a positive.
I still think they need to bring up Demers permanently and get him in a rhythm into the playoffs. McGinn should stay as well and as much as plenty of other fans and I would like Couture to be up on a line with him, they’re going to keep him in the AHL for the rest of this season with development as the excuse. I think that’s BS and that they should field the best team they possibly can, but what do I know?
Like others have said, we’ll see what these losses do to this team tomorrow and how they’ll fare against their next set of opponents. Should be interesting and hopefully fun. Keep up the good podcasting, dudes.
And the hits just keep on comin’…
If I had to describe the Sharks play against Dallas and Anaheim in one word it would be “unfocused.” Just constant, sloppy, brainless plays. Lapses in coverage, soft goals by Nabby (the knucklepuck against Anaheim and the icing that he let drift right into the crease against Dallas), dumb penalties at bad times. Just ridiculous.
To come off that performance against the Ducks with this stinkbomb is beyond disappointing.
Can somebody hold me and tell me its going to be ok?
lol…
Really though, this was tough to watch I don’t know the last time I actually turned off a game that started at a reasonable time. Heck even the west coast games I may fall asleep during but I usually don’t turn off the TV in disgust like I did tonight. I have never been less excited for the playoffs to start. I HATE being so negative but unless there is a turn around fast my threshold for optimism is quickly fading.
Silver lining in all this:
at some point this roller coaster insanity must end. If the sharks pull it together awesome. Maybe a cup in our future would make it all better..
Or they choke and DW dismantles this team in every way he can.
Something has to give because this is frikin crazy!!!
Fellas,
We gettin a pod cast today?
Yep, we are recording tonight, should be posted around 9pm pacific time.
So I did some research….
last four cup winners (post LO) record in the last 15 games…
2009 – Penguins went 10-2-3
2008 – Red Wings went 11-3-2
2007 – Ducks went 9-3-3
2006 – Canes went 8-6-2
In that time period no team has lost 3 consecutive games in regulation during the final 15 games… Penguins and RW lost only 2 conseq. games, either in OT or in regulation. Ducks DID lose three in a row in that span but one was an OT loss. Canes lost 2 in a row at two different times during the last 15 games…. And the Ducks lost two of their final three games…
There is a precedent for teams losing three in a row during the home stretch. We have currently lost three in a row with one being in the OT. To be fair I am including the Florida game which was the 16th to last game for the Sharks….
There is still time to right this ship and get going. But it MUST be now… While I think we are all feeling similar feelings I am trying to find some ray of hope.
I still contend that the Ducks got great draws before they had to face the RW in the Conference finals the year they won the cup. The Sharks could get lucky and get easier draws…
i don’t think all hope is lost. Yet…