April. It’s that time of the year again when I write my yearly “why the San Jose Sharks will win the Stanley Cup” post. For the past 4-5 years, I’ve started the postseason with great anticipation…”THIS WILL BE THE YEAR WHEN THE SHARKS FINALLY BRINGING HOME THE CUP!” Obviously, every year has ended in disappointment. The Sharks are the ultimate tease…great regular season team…horrible post season team.
Every year, I’ve said, “this is by far the BEST Sharks team in franchise history. this is the most complete team ever. We will finally win!”
I’m afraid to say it again…but…this is by far the best Sharks team in our team’s history. I believe this is one of the most complete teams we’ve ever had. However….will we win? Im actually kind of nervous this year. There are way too many good teams out there: Chicago, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Vancouver. Will we win? I’m actually not that confident this year…but I know we can match up with the best of them.
Some important thoughts going into the playoffs.
1. The play of the Sharks heading into the playoffs
Last year, the Sharks limped into the playoffs. They started the season strong, but by the end, they only won 5 of their 10 last games. A month before the end of the season, they were nursing some serious injuries with Jonathan Cheechoo, Torrey Mitchell, Jeremy Roenick, Patrick Marleau, Ryan Clowe, and Mike Grier all banged up. They were simply out of sync and not playing well. They were unluckily paired up with the Anaheim Ducks who were in the opposite scenario…they started the season poorly, but were playing so amazingly well come playoffs. They’re hot play continued on to the postseason, where they beat the Sharks 4 games to 2.
This year, the Sharks again went through a period of time when they lost 6 games in a row in March. That was actually…ok with me. It started to become gut check time, and they’ve responded extremely well in the last few games. In the past three games, against Colorado, Calgary, and Vancouver, they have played extremely well in “playoff like games.”
These past two games specifically have been extremely impressive. On Tuesday’s game against Calgary, Calgary was fighting for their playoff lives. They needed to win in order to have a chance to make the playoffs. The Sharks were up 2-1 in the 3rd period, and Calgary threw everything at the Sharks. Yet the Sharks played great defensive hockey, and hung on to win.
Tonight’s game was equally impressive. The Sharks skated out to a 4-0 lead through 2 periods, Vancouver got testy and physical, and the Sharks responded and fought back. There were a total of 76 penalty minutes in the 3rd, with the Sharks getting 51 of them. There was a time when there were 6 Sharks players in the penalty box. Yes the Canucks scored 2 power play goals, but that didnt matter. Sharks fan had to love the fact that the players didnt take any crap from the Canucks, got mad, and fought back. In the most encouraging sign, Joe Thornton even took exception about a play and got a 2 minute roughing penalty.
What was also encouraging tonight was that the three top lines chipped in to score goals: Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture/Manny Malhotra. The knock on the Sharks for a long time was whether or not they could generate enough scoring past their top line of Thornton, Marleau, Dany Heatley. In recent games, the 2nd and 3rd lines have been contributing tremendously to the scoring…a great sign heading into the playoffs.
2. The Mentality of the Sharks
In game 6 of the playoffs against Anaheim last year, Joe Thorton and Ryan Getzlaf, two of the best centers in hockey, dropped their gloves and fought only 2 seconds into the game. This was a continuation between bad blood between them in game 5.
Like the parody said, what would have happened if Joe Thornton started the playoffs angry? What would have happened if the entire team had started the playoffs angry? What have happened if the Sharks played with some heart last year? Things would have obviously been very different.
I’m starting to like the character the Sharks are playing with. Thornton isnt afraid to rough someone up. With Jody Shelly gone, Ryan Clowe is starting to take on the “you aint messing with my team” role. With the captaincy removed from him, Patrick Marleau is having a great year and is constantly always one of the best Sharks on the ice.
3. The X Factors
The key to success for the Sharks is the performance of two players: Joe Thornton and Evgeni Nabokov. I believe with everyone else on the ice, you know what you are getting. Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Ryan Clowe, Scott Nicol, Manny Malhotra, Dan Boyle, Rob Blake, Douglas Murray, Marc-Edouard Vlasic…you know that they will give you a good, solid performance.
Which Nabokov will show up for the playoffs? The one who performed atrociously in the quarterfinals game against Canada in the Olympics and gave up 6 goals. The one who gave up 5 goals on 21 shots against Dallas on 3/31 and was pulled? Or the one played lights out hockey in the past two games against Calgary and Vancouver, only giving up 3 goals on 70 shot attempts, while making some brilliant saves along the way.
Or Thornton…Will we expect a player who only scored 4 points in 6 straight losses…who while is one of the best passers in the game, still manages to give up the puck at the worst time. Or will we expect a player who wont play weak, but will pass will and skate hard? A player, who like tonight, showed his heart, character, and dedication to the team and fought for his team.
4. I will cry if…
The Sharks draw the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs. Like the Ducks last year, Detroit started off the season horribly. All their star players were hurt, and they were in danger of not making the playoffs. They got healthy, and in March, they won 12 out of their 15 games.
The Sharks will finish either 1st or 2nd in the West. They will win the West if they beat Phoenix on Saturday, and Chicago loses at least one game. If Chicago wins their next two, they get the top seed. Los Angeles, Detroit, and Nashville are all tied with 98 points for the 5th spot. The only way the Sharks and Red Wings will match up is if the Sharks finish 2nd and the Red Wings finish 7th.
I cant even begin to think about the possibilities of “who needs to beat who”…in order for this to happen. It all depends on how Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Nashville, and Colorado do in their next games, and because of some awesome scheduling, we get the following three games this coming weekend: Det vs Chi, Chi vs Col, LA vs Col.
5. Final Thoughts
The 2009-2010 playoffs are soon upon us. While we dont have it as bad as Cubs fans (60 years+ of sadness), it’s been a tough 5 years in San Jose. A great regular season team somehow magically disappears in the playoffs. We are the butt of so many hockey jokes.
Question: “How do you weaken Joe Thornton and make him useless?”
Answer: “Make him play in the postseason.”
Once again, I feel this is our best year to win it all. I really really do love the makeup of this team…from our top line to our fourth line…from our top defensive pairing to our 7th defenseman…from Nabby to Greiss. I believe this is a team built to go far in the playoffs.
Will Sharks fans be partying on the Alameda this June, or will we be asking the, “What happened question?”
I dunno, but once again, I cant wait to find out.
Obsessedsportsnut's Blog 
hmmm, im more optimistic then i was a few weeks ago, maybe i might have to fork over the money for dinner =)
Comment by mysharks — April 9, 2010 @ 9:30 am
Well you both have to fork over money for dinner on Saturday!
Couple comments.
1. How do you not include Detroit in your list of good teams out there?? If I were a betting man, I’d bet on the Wings making it out of the West.
2. I totally agree about the mentality. It was awesome watching Blake and Joe get into it with some of the Canucks last night. I think our overall team toughness is pretty good this year, especially with new pickups Manny, Nichol, Wailin, Huskins, etc all willing to drop the gloves.
3. I dont know if I totally buy into this statement – “I believe with everyone else on the ice, you know what you are getting.” Clowe was pretty invisible in the playoffs last year with only a goal and an assist in 6 games. Pavelski only had 1 assist in 6 games. But in my mind, one of the big question marks is what to expect from Heatley. He’s had good numbers in the few playoffs he’s been in, but who wouldn’t playing with Spezza and Alfredsson in their primes. What concerns me the most is that Dany, who over the career gets almost a goal for every assist, has only 11 goals vs 25 assists in the playoffs. I didn’t watch the Sens playoff games, but it makes you wonder why. How does he play when teams are hitting harder and there’s less space to get a shot off? Can he still score? Because that’s pretty much what we got him for – scoring.
4. Defensive depth is one of the things that scares me about this team. Boyle and Murray have been solid all year. Pickles should be pretty solid in the playoffs. Blake has looked slow most of the year and has taken a lot of bad penalties, but I think he can turn it on for the playoffs. After those 4, I’m seriously worried. I admit Huskins has gotten better over the season, but I’m still afraid every time he handles the puck in our zone, hoping he doesn’t give it away. Same with Demers – if the coach has to dress 7 defensemen because he doesn’t trust Demers on defense, that’s a bad sign. True, he has offensive potential, especially on the powerplay, but I wouldn’t want to see him stuck out there against the Sedins, or Kane and Toews. Wallin reminds me of Semenov, a big slow body who gets burnt a lot. Same with Leach.
5. This is just my opinion, but I think we’re better off with the big 3 playing on separate lines. Not only would this give us more balanced scoring, but it would take more advantage of each player’s talent. I think “Adam” on the WTC blog puts it nicely – “I like the idea of having them on seperate lines because it forces each of them to make an impact on the ice which I don’t think they do when they play together.” When they’re playing together, I looks like Joe feels he can just sit on the boards and be a setup man. And Heatley can just float around in the offensive zone for a one-timer. But separate them and it seems like they work harder to create for their “lesser” linemates.
P.S. – Nice picture
Comment by Chris — April 9, 2010 @ 10:40 am
I don’t have much to add to what you guys have written. I do agree that Thornton and Nabby showing up will be key. Ting and I were joking around at yesterday’s game – when Thornton shoots, all hell breaks loose because no one (the opponent AND the Sharks) is prepared for it. I also agree that balanced shooting is important (last night was a good example) – better than a few key players carrying the load.
I don’t want to analyze too much going into playoffs and plan to take it one game at a time. Of course, I can’t help but hope that this will finally be the year where I finally get to streak my hair teal.
Comment by Grace — April 9, 2010 @ 10:50 am