Worried?
May 17th, 2010, 1:49 pm
Just a little. My initial reaction to the game yesterday was opposite of other postseason losses so far. Previously, I figured the Sharks were starting the downhill slide and would lose the series and would then trade all their good players and fire the rest and OH MY GOD IT HURTS THE SHARKS ARE TERRIBLE. This time? Not so much. They seem to be shaken by their losses much less than I am, to their enormous credit. I have no doubt that they are mentally tough enough to put it behind them, and go out and win game 2.
But that doesn’t mean they are going to win it. In my view, they have to solve the Toews ‘n’ Kane problem. The young, fresh-faced players are like adorable Cabbage Patch Dolls, except with dazzling puck skills and manscaping. Kane in particular looks like a younger, mulleted version of Pavel Dasyuk out there. I’m not saying the Sharks should play the trap, but they need to find a way to keep that pair from getting a head of steam in the neutral zone. Inevitably, it leads to a long painful offensive possession. Sometimes you see Keith or Campbell do the same thing, with mostly the same results. That has to stop, or at least lessen, if the Sharks are to win the series.
Other than that, it’s hard to be too down on the Sharks effort. They put 45 shots on a team that averaged 25 against during the regular season. Against a goalie with a .910 save percentage, that’s four goals per game, easily enough to win. The Dustin Byfuglien boogeyman didn’t really appear, his goal from 40 feet out notwithstanding. This guy is bigger than Tomas Holmstrom, but not nearly as dangerous in the slot. The bigger danger is the load of ice they take at will. If the Sharks let them pull the Globetrotters routine every game, it could get ugly. By the same token, if the Hawks give up tons of scoring chances and get pushed around by the larger Sharks forwards, it could get ugly the other way too. It’s going to be a great series.
Don’t be afraid to come out and see us at Coach’s this Wednesday for the 100th episode. Think of it as a first date in a public place. We don’t bite. Except for Doug that one time, but he was on mescaline and his record has since been expunged.
Oh, and we have the best GM in the league, and he in turn has the best progeny.
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Mike –
On offense yes, Kane got some good hands and perhaps can be compared to Datsyuk. On defense, not so much, and not even close. I don’t think anyone’s close to Datsyuk the way he plays defense. Maybe I’m a bit bias since he’s now my favorite Russian player after a disappointing season Ovechkin had, but still.
We need more traffic in front of my Niemi. Boys realized this was the case with Anderson and adjusted their game. I bet they’ll do the same tomorrow.
Agree 100%, although Kane did have a couple of stealthy takeaways from behind on Sunday. I only mean to compare Kane and Datsyuk in their shifty puck-handling ways. Like Datsyuk, it seems he can hold onto the biscuit as long as he wants.
Yes, I kept thinking the same thing during the game yesterday. Every puck possession team needs a player like this. I don’t know if we have one – perhaps Boyle when he goes into the zone, but Boyle needs to stay behind and it doesn’t happen often.
Thornton does a pretty good job keeping the puck, but he’s not as fast as those two dudes.
The only part of the Sharks game that seemed bad was the turnovers. There were a couple really bad ones.
That said I agree Mike their game wasn’t too bad.
But Neimi seems really feast or famine this PO’s. I think vs. Nashville or Vancouver last game would have been a SO for Neimi. I can’t imagine him continuing that pace. If the Sharks can limit the unforced turnovers and keep that pressure on him, I can’t see the Sharks not at least splitting the first 4 games.