Maybe the Sharks Tired Themselves Out Stick-Tapping for Owen Nolan
February 9th, 2012, 10:31 am
A great moment last night with Owen Nolan at center ice, the entire crowd standing, cheering, not wanting the cheers to end. I’m sure Nolan felt the same. Both the Sharks and Flames giving it up for the veteran of both teams, the #1 overall pick in 1990, who, like so many others, had a long industrious career that didn’t quite end the way he wanted.
Basically, a microcosm of the game last night. The Sharks played just well enough to stay in it, but the Flames would take control whenever the Sharks tied it up. Olli Jokinen, of all people, looking like he was playing in his Florida Panthers heyday, dropping a hat trick on the Sharks. And most of all, the Sharks breakout defense being completely hamstrung without Dan Boyle in the lineup. The game winning goal in particular was a comedy of errors that was worthy of the Three Stooges, with Colin White assuming the role of Shemp. I half-expected Niemi to put the flat of his hand between his eyes so Jokinen wouldn’t be able to do the two-fingered poke.
The best part of the game was when the Sharks were down 2-0, then came roaring back in the space of 90 seconds. But true to form, the Flames regained the lead four minutes later, in perhaps the textbook definition of “how not to defend a 2-on-2”. It looks like a 2-on-1 for a moment, with Murray backing up, but Burns is quickly back in the play. Iginla passes to Jokinen, and Murray slides over to take Jokinen. Burns decides to hang out in no-man’s-land, leaving Iginla uncovered between the hash marks, who promptly buries the return pass from Jokinen. For good measure, there’s a third guy coming into the frame, also uncovered, who probably would have scored on the rebound if Iginla somehow failed to score from 15 feet out.
I’m hoping the Sharks were just looking forward to Friday, when they’ll come out with the same dominance they showed against Dallas and Columbus last week. It’s not all puppies and rainbows in Chicago either, I read this, and it cheered me up a little.
Loading ...
Props to the flames for making a decent push. I’m not at the games, so I don’t know for sure, but people are writing that the sharks are lacking energy in these games. The sharks played pretty good on the road in the playoffs last year, I almost wonder if it would be better for the team to be a 4-5 seed and play with more of a chip on their shoulder. Good god, the first 2 home playoff games against la, colorado, and anaheim were deflating. I really thought LA was going to embarrass us last year before they embarrassed themselves (lol).
I think based on the recent absences of Clowe and on Wednesday night Boyle it’s become even more obvious where the energy on this team comes from. When either of these guys misses a game the rest of the team seems to totally lose focus and drive.
Maybe it’s because I’m a few podcasts behind when Mike was really down on this team but I’m starting to feel like this is just the same broke record getting ready to skip back to the beginning again. Where’s Buster when you need him?
Sure the PK hasn’t been great, but they’ve been much better. The third and fourth lines have been reasonably productive and despite the revolving door of late I think we’ve seen that they can carry their own weight even with a lack of consistency. More than a specific position I hope at the deadline DW is looking for someone that can bring fire and passion and inspire the players around him.
Here’s to hoping this team is just waiting for the right moment to kick it into gear.
ps. thanks for the written post, I like them because they’re much easier for me to take in with 5 minutes of free time at work. Selfish? Yea, but I appreciate it! (it’s also easier to digest when you’re talking stats and numbers). Thanks Dudes!