Is there a sport where the regular season matters less than in the NHL? Lightning and Flames, top team from each conference, 1-7 in these playoffs so far.
Remember when Doug was mocking Jones’ critics. “Martin Jones is a proven commodity. He’ll figure it out.” Let’s also dispell the myth it’s only this year; Jones lost the VGK series in the ’18 playoffs as well.
Karlsson will walk, but that’s not the end of this team by a longshot. Wilson needs to swallow his pride and admit a mistake on Jones. Buy him out, sign Lehner, bring back both Joe’s. That team would be a contender.
Just want to offer my two cents on the Sharks’ struggles this season. There are a multitude of factors with varying degrees of blame, but to me, the biggest reason why this team is having a hard time against teams like Vegas is because they refuse to play physical on defense. Do you agree?
Terms like ‘grit’, ‘jam’, and ‘truculence’ are thrown around all the time. But it’s more than that. It’s about being hard on the puck and punishing your opponent near the puck to the point they’re slowing down physically from the wear and tear and slowing down mentally because they are forced to play more cautious.
On the backend, the team’s physical defensemen are Dillon and Simek. The majority of the forwards are skill guys who aren’t hitters outside of Meier, Kane, and even Goodrow. That disparity is where the problem lies. If the forwards aren’t going to wear down the other team, it needs to be compensated by the D.
And that’s why I pinpoint the start of the Sharks’ decline this year to the moment Simek went down. Simek and Dillon in the top four allowed Burns and Karlsson to excel because they had a partner that balanced their offensive tendencies. Vlasic, Braun, Ryan, and Heed are solid puck-moving defenseman, but they aren’t going to scare anyone. They aren’t going to make the other team think twice when they go back for the puck. Worse, their opponents are allowed to take runs at them and that exposes them even further.
When those less physical D-men are paired together in any combination, they make this team easier to play against. It frustrates the hell out of me to see Braun go back for a puck only to try to lightly tap it away when the opposition comes at him. Like dude, hit the guy! Don’t be hit and turn the puck over. He more often than not loses the puck battle or puts himself in a vulnerable position when he has all the opportunity to erase the other player and kill their zone chances. But he doesn’t.
The D-corp doesn’t make it uncomfortable for the other team. The Sharks need some nastiness back there. Like when the team had guys like Murray, Marchment, and McLaren. They just need a little more of that. He’s not the ultimate cure for the Sharks’ ails, but I don’t think it was a coincidence that this team’s fortunes increased when Simek was inserted into the lineup over Ryan. And then the dumpster fire sparked when he got injured. I can’t tell you how annoying it is to see a crappy defenseman like Vegas’ McNabb just freely cheap check our forwards out there but no one on our team is willing to give him his comeuppance when they get a chance. The guy is a terrible hockey player but no one is stopping him from taking a run at the Sharks’ players.
Even with Jones’ subpar play this year, I truly believe this is still the most talented Sharks team ever assembled. Frankly, this team has never had premier goaltending. I love Nabby — and he is arguably the Sharks’ greatest goaltender — but he wasn’t hands down the top goalie of the league any season.
Goaltending isn’t the sole reason for the Sharks’ struggles. Again, there are numerous reasons why this season hasn’t lived up to its lofty expectations. Late-season and untimely injuries have screwed them this time. The bounces haven’t been there in the critical moments. They’ve run into a hot playoff goalie again. But, admittedly, it would all be easier for me to swallow this reality if I could at least see my team put up a fight.
While I’m at it, I also want to tell you Dudes how much your podcast means to me. I’ve been subscribing and listening almost since the beginning — over a decade — and I’m super proud that you’ve been the voice of Sharks fandom and a forum for fans to go to so they can vent their gamut of emotions. I grew up in San Jose but moved to Southern California for college. I’ve been living in LA for the last 13 years, and your podcast has provided an important connection to this hockey team I’ve ride or die with since the Sharks’ second major playoff upset — against the Calgary Flames. I’ve witnessed the good, bad, ugly, and reverse sweep partially through the prism that is the Dudes on Hockey podcast.
I have to say thank you, dudes. Thanks for your hockey knowledge, your humor, your honesty, and for entertaining the hell out of me all these years. I look forward to your next episode, and I look forward to the day you’ll be talking about the Sharks’ Stanley Cup win.
Well I guess the sharks proved us all wrong and pushed it to 7. I swore they were going to be done in 6 because I cant remember a sharks team in the Joe Thornton era ever coming back from a deficit to win a series. I’m still going to be pessimistic because I ve seen how this movie plays out a billion times and it never ends well for the sharks.
I don’t have any idea what to expect tomorrow from Jones. Will it be the goalie who was pulled twice in this series, or the one who last turned in the greatest performance by a Sharks goaltender.
If the Sharks lose game 7, this playoff season will be the ultimate “what if” year. Lightning, Flames, Jets, Pens all gone. Caps without Oshie. It’s wide open.
DOH 406 – Disaster!
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Is there a sport where the regular season matters less than in the NHL? Lightning and Flames, top team from each conference, 1-7 in these playoffs so far.
Remember when Doug was mocking Jones’ critics. “Martin Jones is a proven commodity. He’ll figure it out.” Let’s also dispell the myth it’s only this year; Jones lost the VGK series in the ’18 playoffs as well.
Karlsson will walk, but that’s not the end of this team by a longshot. Wilson needs to swallow his pride and admit a mistake on Jones. Buy him out, sign Lehner, bring back both Joe’s. That team would be a contender.
Hey Dudes,
Longtime listener, first-time emailer.
Just want to offer my two cents on the Sharks’ struggles this season. There are a multitude of factors with varying degrees of blame, but to me, the biggest reason why this team is having a hard time against teams like Vegas is because they refuse to play physical on defense. Do you agree?
Terms like ‘grit’, ‘jam’, and ‘truculence’ are thrown around all the time. But it’s more than that. It’s about being hard on the puck and punishing your opponent near the puck to the point they’re slowing down physically from the wear and tear and slowing down mentally because they are forced to play more cautious.
On the backend, the team’s physical defensemen are Dillon and Simek. The majority of the forwards are skill guys who aren’t hitters outside of Meier, Kane, and even Goodrow. That disparity is where the problem lies. If the forwards aren’t going to wear down the other team, it needs to be compensated by the D.
And that’s why I pinpoint the start of the Sharks’ decline this year to the moment Simek went down. Simek and Dillon in the top four allowed Burns and Karlsson to excel because they had a partner that balanced their offensive tendencies. Vlasic, Braun, Ryan, and Heed are solid puck-moving defenseman, but they aren’t going to scare anyone. They aren’t going to make the other team think twice when they go back for the puck. Worse, their opponents are allowed to take runs at them and that exposes them even further.
When those less physical D-men are paired together in any combination, they make this team easier to play against. It frustrates the hell out of me to see Braun go back for a puck only to try to lightly tap it away when the opposition comes at him. Like dude, hit the guy! Don’t be hit and turn the puck over. He more often than not loses the puck battle or puts himself in a vulnerable position when he has all the opportunity to erase the other player and kill their zone chances. But he doesn’t.
The D-corp doesn’t make it uncomfortable for the other team. The Sharks need some nastiness back there. Like when the team had guys like Murray, Marchment, and McLaren. They just need a little more of that. He’s not the ultimate cure for the Sharks’ ails, but I don’t think it was a coincidence that this team’s fortunes increased when Simek was inserted into the lineup over Ryan. And then the dumpster fire sparked when he got injured. I can’t tell you how annoying it is to see a crappy defenseman like Vegas’ McNabb just freely cheap check our forwards out there but no one on our team is willing to give him his comeuppance when they get a chance. The guy is a terrible hockey player but no one is stopping him from taking a run at the Sharks’ players.
Even with Jones’ subpar play this year, I truly believe this is still the most talented Sharks team ever assembled. Frankly, this team has never had premier goaltending. I love Nabby — and he is arguably the Sharks’ greatest goaltender — but he wasn’t hands down the top goalie of the league any season.
Goaltending isn’t the sole reason for the Sharks’ struggles. Again, there are numerous reasons why this season hasn’t lived up to its lofty expectations. Late-season and untimely injuries have screwed them this time. The bounces haven’t been there in the critical moments. They’ve run into a hot playoff goalie again. But, admittedly, it would all be easier for me to swallow this reality if I could at least see my team put up a fight.
While I’m at it, I also want to tell you Dudes how much your podcast means to me. I’ve been subscribing and listening almost since the beginning — over a decade — and I’m super proud that you’ve been the voice of Sharks fandom and a forum for fans to go to so they can vent their gamut of emotions. I grew up in San Jose but moved to Southern California for college. I’ve been living in LA for the last 13 years, and your podcast has provided an important connection to this hockey team I’ve ride or die with since the Sharks’ second major playoff upset — against the Calgary Flames. I’ve witnessed the good, bad, ugly, and reverse sweep partially through the prism that is the Dudes on Hockey podcast.
I have to say thank you, dudes. Thanks for your hockey knowledge, your humor, your honesty, and for entertaining the hell out of me all these years. I look forward to your next episode, and I look forward to the day you’ll be talking about the Sharks’ Stanley Cup win.
Well I guess the sharks proved us all wrong and pushed it to 7. I swore they were going to be done in 6 because I cant remember a sharks team in the Joe Thornton era ever coming back from a deficit to win a series. I’m still going to be pessimistic because I ve seen how this movie plays out a billion times and it never ends well for the sharks.
I don’t have any idea what to expect tomorrow from Jones. Will it be the goalie who was pulled twice in this series, or the one who last turned in the greatest performance by a Sharks goaltender.
If the Sharks lose game 7, this playoff season will be the ultimate “what if” year. Lightning, Flames, Jets, Pens all gone. Caps without Oshie. It’s wide open.