Interesting stuff out of the first round of the playoffs. To whit...
Western Conference
#1 San Jose Sharks def. #8 Colorado Avalanche 4 games to 2
Very compelling series for me as a Sharks fan. Best way to describe it is I'm pleased as punch with how San Jose dealt with adversity (in the form of unlucky bounces and great Colorado goaltending) and kept plugging away. I am a bit nervous at how bad the team's presumed best player in Joe Thornton looked, but was thrilled to see Joe Pavelski play so well. To the end, I also think about the absolute monster goal he scored in OT of game 4 to knot up the series at 2. If Colorado takes that game, there's a lot of ways for them to win the series with a 3-1 lead. However, they didn't, he did, and the better team moved on.
#2 Chicago Blackhawks def. #7 Nashville Predators 4 games to 2
Not much to say... I think the better team won and while it's true that Nashville came within 20 seconds of taking a 3-2 series lead, I suspect Chicago would have still found a way to win in 7 games.
#3 Vancouver Canucks def. #6 Los Angeles Kings 4 games to 2
The Kings have a good young team and played pretty well, but similar to the Chicago series, the better of the two teams moved on.
#5 Detroit Red Wings def. #4 Phoenix Coyotes 4 games to 3
Differered from the other three Western Conference series in that it went the full 7 games, but similiar in that the more skilled and playoff tested team just proved too much for their opponent.
Eastern Conference
#8 Montreal Canadiens def. #1 Washington Capitals 4 games to 3
Wow, an 8 seed being down 3 games to 1 and coming back to win the series. Amazing stuff that gets perhaps less amazing when you consider they did it through crazy good goaltending from Jaroslav Halak. An average of 45 shots a game in these three with... 3 goals allowed, that's pretty good.
# 7 Philadelphia Flyers def. #2 New Jersey Devils 4 games to 1
The only one of the 8 series to end in less than 6 games... and pretty much everyone would have thought the winner of a short series here would be the Devils. Happy it wasn't though as I'm much more interested in watching the Flyers in round two than I would be New Jersey.
#6 Boston Bruins def. #3 Buffalo Sabres 4 games to 2
Great goaltending beats... great goaltending. Not much more to say as I didn't watch a lot of this one (and none of the Flyers-Devils series which didn't have any coverage on Versus), but I do like the idea of the Canadiens, Flyers and Bruins as steep in history teams advancing.
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins def. #5 Ottawa Senators 4 games to 2
Very much like each of the 4 series in the West, the better team just proved too much for a pretty game opponent. Actually, the only Eastern series in which the higher seed (and presumably better team) wound up winning. Also, that Sidney Crosby... he's good.
Showing posts with label NHL playoffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NHL playoffs. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Pittsburgh Penguins - 2009 Stanley Cup Champions
Wild. Absolutely a wild and incredibly entertaining Stanley Cup finals.
Here's a look told through the lens of Michael Farber and his Sports Illustrated articles as well as SI covers (not of course actually sent to all mailboxes in America covers, but covers that you can see on the magazine's website nonetheless).
Sunday, May 24, 2009
2009 NHL Playoffs: Almost Down to Two
Well, I haven't posted much since the Sharkies got eliminated so now is as good a time as any to look at how the second round series wound up and where we're at with the third round.
Western Conference Round Two
Detroit over Anaheim in 7 games: Now, that was a great series. It doesn't really give San Jose any consolation to know they got beaten by a good team, but the Ducks certainly gave Detroit all they could handle. At the end of the day, the series was a virtual pick-em affair with the Red Wings just happening to get and convert on a good scoring chance with 3 minutes to go in regulation. A great series that could have gone either way.
Chicago over Vancouver in 6 games: Very entertaining hockey... Chicago just a more talented team. Big credit also due to the Hawks for matching every bit of physical play put their way by a tough (and chippy) Canucks team.
Eastern Conference Round Two
Pittsburgh over Washington in 7 games. Another great series in the Detroit vs Anaheim vein. Washington was extremely entertaining to watch and gave the Pens a good run. At the end of the day, Pittsburgh having both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin simply gave them a 2-1 superstar advantage over the Caps and Alexander Ovechkin.
Carolina over Boston in 7 games. Can't say I watched a lot of this series, but from what I did, it made me view the Bruins season much as I did the Sharks... a really good regular season that got made moot due to playoff disappointment.
Western Conference Finals: Detroit is about to go up three games to one on the Blackhawks. I suppose it's possible for Chicago to mount a comeback starting with game 5, but... I doubt it.
Eastern Conference Finals: Pittsburgh vs Carolina reminds me of Vancouver vs St. Louis in round one. A good team playing fairly well again one that's simply better.
Stanley Cup Finals: Me thinks Detroit would be favored against a Penguins team that replaced their coach during the regular season, but if they can continue getting great goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury along with Crosby and Malkin-like efforts from Crosby and Malkin... could be a great series.
Western Conference Round Two
Detroit over Anaheim in 7 games: Now, that was a great series. It doesn't really give San Jose any consolation to know they got beaten by a good team, but the Ducks certainly gave Detroit all they could handle. At the end of the day, the series was a virtual pick-em affair with the Red Wings just happening to get and convert on a good scoring chance with 3 minutes to go in regulation. A great series that could have gone either way.
Chicago over Vancouver in 6 games: Very entertaining hockey... Chicago just a more talented team. Big credit also due to the Hawks for matching every bit of physical play put their way by a tough (and chippy) Canucks team.
Eastern Conference Round Two
Pittsburgh over Washington in 7 games. Another great series in the Detroit vs Anaheim vein. Washington was extremely entertaining to watch and gave the Pens a good run. At the end of the day, Pittsburgh having both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin simply gave them a 2-1 superstar advantage over the Caps and Alexander Ovechkin.
Carolina over Boston in 7 games. Can't say I watched a lot of this series, but from what I did, it made me view the Bruins season much as I did the Sharks... a really good regular season that got made moot due to playoff disappointment.
Western Conference Finals: Detroit is about to go up three games to one on the Blackhawks. I suppose it's possible for Chicago to mount a comeback starting with game 5, but... I doubt it.
Eastern Conference Finals: Pittsburgh vs Carolina reminds me of Vancouver vs St. Louis in round one. A good team playing fairly well again one that's simply better.
Stanley Cup Finals: Me thinks Detroit would be favored against a Penguins team that replaced their coach during the regular season, but if they can continue getting great goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury along with Crosby and Malkin-like efforts from Crosby and Malkin... could be a great series.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
2009 San Jose Sharks Season: Game Over
Man, the Sharks just plain got beat.
I don't usually find myself agreeing with the musings of Sharks radio analyst Jamie Baker, but I'm completely with on the comments he made for post-game television last season.
To attempt to summarize his words...
"The Ducks played better than the Sharks this series and did so in each aspect of the game. They had better goaltending, a better powerplay, better penalty killing, better top line play, better second line play, better 3rd and 4th line play and better defense."
That may sound severe, but I think it's true. I watched much of the Vancouver-St. Louis series and saw the same concept at work with St. Louis being a very solid team, but one that was slightly outplayed in every aspect of the game.
In that series, the end result turned out to be a series sweep and this one resulted in a 4-2 series win, but... the result is the same, the team that played better in the series is moving on.
I don't usually find myself agreeing with the musings of Sharks radio analyst Jamie Baker, but I'm completely with on the comments he made for post-game television last season.
To attempt to summarize his words...
"The Ducks played better than the Sharks this series and did so in each aspect of the game. They had better goaltending, a better powerplay, better penalty killing, better top line play, better second line play, better 3rd and 4th line play and better defense."
That may sound severe, but I think it's true. I watched much of the Vancouver-St. Louis series and saw the same concept at work with St. Louis being a very solid team, but one that was slightly outplayed in every aspect of the game.
In that series, the end result turned out to be a series sweep and this one resulted in a 4-2 series win, but... the result is the same, the team that played better in the series is moving on.
Friday, April 17, 2009
2009 NHL Playoff Goaltending
Note from self: This post was written prior to this morning's Rangers-Capitals game so if there's no mention below of any 90 save or 15 goals against performances, that's why...
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Goaltenders are weird. Similar to a box of chocolates as described by Forrest Gump, you never know what you're going to get (as exhibit A, I give you former Caps goalie Jim Carey).
This being the case, fans of this season's playoff teams have to simply hope their guy gets hot (or in the case of the Hurricanes a few years ago... hope their guy gets pulled and his replacement gets hot). The question that then arises is who is most likely to get hot and carry their team to the promised land (that being the Cup Championship for those not digging the metaphor).
Let's take a look see (on a 1-3 scale with 3 being most likely to reach "hotness" status):
Western Conference
San Jose Sharks: Evgeni Nabokov - 2. Good goalie, has never proved it at crunch time.
Detroit Red Wings: Chris Osgood - 2. Has been good enough to win a Cup before.
Vancouver Canucks: Roberto Luongo - 3. Me thinks he one of only two truly elite goalies.
Chicago Blackhawks: Nikolai Khabibulin - 2. Similar to Osgood, he's done it before.
Calgary Flames: Mikka Kiprusoff -2. Has been elite in the past, not so much the last two years.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Steve Mason - 2. I love his performance this season, but it's just one regular season.
St. Louis Blues: Chris Mason - 2. Would be tempted to give him a 1, but has played well the first two games.
Anaheim Ducks: Jonas Hiller - 2. Parallels to Steve Mason... excellent season, but relatively new on the scene.
Eastern Conference
Boston Bruins: Tim Thomas - 2. A great story and super fun to watch. Still new to the top tier, though.
Washington Capitals: Jose Theodore - 1. Yes, he previously won a Hart Trophy as league MVP, but certainly doesn't look like that guy this season (or this postseason as I wrote about the other day).
New Jersey Devils: Martin Brodeur - 3. Yep, he and Luongo are the only guys I see at this top level of potential greatness.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury - 2. Very solid. Should help him that he made it all the way to the Finals last season.
Philadelphia Flyers: Martin Biron - 1.5. He gets a fair amount of flak, but did get the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. That said, I stand by my writing that he should have had Bill Guerin's OT goal in game two.
Carolina Hurricanes: Cam Ward - 2.5. Has taken his team all the way to the Stanley Cup before.
New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist - 2.5. Great potential. Has carried his team at times.
Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price - 1.5. I keep hearing about how great he should be... haven't seen it much this season.
----
Goaltenders are weird. Similar to a box of chocolates as described by Forrest Gump, you never know what you're going to get (as exhibit A, I give you former Caps goalie Jim Carey).
This being the case, fans of this season's playoff teams have to simply hope their guy gets hot (or in the case of the Hurricanes a few years ago... hope their guy gets pulled and his replacement gets hot). The question that then arises is who is most likely to get hot and carry their team to the promised land (that being the Cup Championship for those not digging the metaphor).
Let's take a look see (on a 1-3 scale with 3 being most likely to reach "hotness" status):
Western Conference
San Jose Sharks: Evgeni Nabokov - 2. Good goalie, has never proved it at crunch time.
Detroit Red Wings: Chris Osgood - 2. Has been good enough to win a Cup before.
Vancouver Canucks: Roberto Luongo - 3. Me thinks he one of only two truly elite goalies.
Chicago Blackhawks: Nikolai Khabibulin - 2. Similar to Osgood, he's done it before.
Calgary Flames: Mikka Kiprusoff -2. Has been elite in the past, not so much the last two years.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Steve Mason - 2. I love his performance this season, but it's just one regular season.
St. Louis Blues: Chris Mason - 2. Would be tempted to give him a 1, but has played well the first two games.
Anaheim Ducks: Jonas Hiller - 2. Parallels to Steve Mason... excellent season, but relatively new on the scene.
Eastern Conference
Boston Bruins: Tim Thomas - 2. A great story and super fun to watch. Still new to the top tier, though.
Washington Capitals: Jose Theodore - 1. Yes, he previously won a Hart Trophy as league MVP, but certainly doesn't look like that guy this season (or this postseason as I wrote about the other day).
New Jersey Devils: Martin Brodeur - 3. Yep, he and Luongo are the only guys I see at this top level of potential greatness.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury - 2. Very solid. Should help him that he made it all the way to the Finals last season.
Philadelphia Flyers: Martin Biron - 1.5. He gets a fair amount of flak, but did get the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. That said, I stand by my writing that he should have had Bill Guerin's OT goal in game two.
Carolina Hurricanes: Cam Ward - 2.5. Has taken his team all the way to the Stanley Cup before.
New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist - 2.5. Great potential. Has carried his team at times.
Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price - 1.5. I keep hearing about how great he should be... haven't seen it much this season.
2009 NHL Playoffs: Day Three
Well, a couple of games in and a bit more is being worked out. Here's what was played today...
Pittsburgh-Philadelphia
Game two seemed quite a bit less one-sided with the Flyers and Pens pretty tightly matched. Same result, though... a Pittsburgh victory which now puts them up two games to none. Two thoughts I had watching this game:
1. I wish Bill Guerin was as good for the Sharks as he seems to be with the Pens. Two goals (including the OT game winner) and an assist in a 3-2 victory is pretty solid.
2. I thought Pittsburgh would be way chagrined after going offside entering the offensive zone during their OT 5-3 given how gassed (and injured) the Flyers were. Guerin then scoring on the next play I'm sure took the sting of that chagrin... just a touch.
3. Martin Biron played a good game in net with some 45 saves, but I suspect he would have liked to have back the OT goal. Not that every goalie doesn't want to have back every OT goal, but it went right through Biron... that whole stick on the ice thing.
Philadelphia is certainly still in the series, but I think back to the Sharks-Stars series last postseason. A team can be playing well towards the end of the series, but if they start deep in the hole, sometimes it's too deep to climb back out. The Flyers being down 2-0 are getting close to that point.
New Jersey-Carolina
Oh yeah... they did play. Wasn't televised on Versus so I didn't see it, but in the matchup of what to me are the two least interesting teams in the playoffs, Carolina won in OT to tie the series at 1-1. There ya' go...
Vancouver-St. Louis
Now that Philadelphia has shown themselves to be a solid adversary (as in being close to winning against) for Pittsburgh, that series reminds me of Vancouver-St. Louis. The Blues are a pretty good team that's sound in a lot of areas of the game, but Vancouver just seems a bit more sound in each and every area.
After a 3-0 victory today, the Canucks go up two games to zero. St. Louis will probably not back down all series, but in the end they appear to be a bit short of Vancouver.
Pittsburgh-Philadelphia
Game two seemed quite a bit less one-sided with the Flyers and Pens pretty tightly matched. Same result, though... a Pittsburgh victory which now puts them up two games to none. Two thoughts I had watching this game:
1. I wish Bill Guerin was as good for the Sharks as he seems to be with the Pens. Two goals (including the OT game winner) and an assist in a 3-2 victory is pretty solid.
2. I thought Pittsburgh would be way chagrined after going offside entering the offensive zone during their OT 5-3 given how gassed (and injured) the Flyers were. Guerin then scoring on the next play I'm sure took the sting of that chagrin... just a touch.
3. Martin Biron played a good game in net with some 45 saves, but I suspect he would have liked to have back the OT goal. Not that every goalie doesn't want to have back every OT goal, but it went right through Biron... that whole stick on the ice thing.
Philadelphia is certainly still in the series, but I think back to the Sharks-Stars series last postseason. A team can be playing well towards the end of the series, but if they start deep in the hole, sometimes it's too deep to climb back out. The Flyers being down 2-0 are getting close to that point.
New Jersey-Carolina
Oh yeah... they did play. Wasn't televised on Versus so I didn't see it, but in the matchup of what to me are the two least interesting teams in the playoffs, Carolina won in OT to tie the series at 1-1. There ya' go...
Vancouver-St. Louis
Now that Philadelphia has shown themselves to be a solid adversary (as in being close to winning against) for Pittsburgh, that series reminds me of Vancouver-St. Louis. The Blues are a pretty good team that's sound in a lot of areas of the game, but Vancouver just seems a bit more sound in each and every area.
After a 3-0 victory today, the Canucks go up two games to zero. St. Louis will probably not back down all series, but in the end they appear to be a bit short of Vancouver.
San Jose-Anaheim Game 1... 2-0 Ducks
Well, that was a game. Having attended it, I had a few impressions of the Sharks... none of them of the "it's over, we're done" variety, but all of them I felt adding up to a game one defeat.
1. I don't see any reason why to dress Jody Shelley. I discussed this in a prior post, but not even counting Torrey Mitchell (and I don't see how you can count him until the time he actually plays a game), I see five other options I'd rather have out there. Heck, make that six if you want to throw Claude Lemieux out there for the same (very low) number of shifts as Shelley receives. Now, to rebut the argument that you need Shelley to counteract the pugilistic stylings of George Parros, I say both why? and... if you need someone to lose a fight to George Parros, why not use Brad Staubitz?
2. The Sharks breakout of their defensive zone was abysmal compared to the breakout by Anaheim. Especially at the start of the game, the Ducks were using what I'll call a home-run breakout straight up the middle of the ice to great success. The Sharks on the other hand seemed to only be effective exiting their defensive zone when they just gave the puck to Dan Boyle and had him skate with it.
3. The Sharks entry into the offensive zone was probably even worse than their defensive zone breakout. Closely related to San Jose's 0 for 6 powerplay effort, they just never seemed to be able to get set up in the Ducks end of the ice. I suppose I could make a separate point about this, but if you don't set up and then convert when you have the man advantage, there's no reason for your (less disciplined) opponent to not take liberties (and have a few calls go against them).
It's odd. I was the "happiest baby on the block" when Ron Wilson was let go... and subsequently replaced with Todd McClellan, but now the three things that bothered me from game one are all coaching related. I do think, though, that the advantage this regime has over that of Wilson's is a much greater flexibility and willingness to change things up when needed.
We'll see how it all plays, and if for a few breaks here and there the Sharks could have won game one anyways, but I really hope to see some tweaks to the lineup and on-ice tactics for game two.
Long series and I still believe San Jose to be the better team, they just have to you know... play better than their opponent.
1. I don't see any reason why to dress Jody Shelley. I discussed this in a prior post, but not even counting Torrey Mitchell (and I don't see how you can count him until the time he actually plays a game), I see five other options I'd rather have out there. Heck, make that six if you want to throw Claude Lemieux out there for the same (very low) number of shifts as Shelley receives. Now, to rebut the argument that you need Shelley to counteract the pugilistic stylings of George Parros, I say both why? and... if you need someone to lose a fight to George Parros, why not use Brad Staubitz?
2. The Sharks breakout of their defensive zone was abysmal compared to the breakout by Anaheim. Especially at the start of the game, the Ducks were using what I'll call a home-run breakout straight up the middle of the ice to great success. The Sharks on the other hand seemed to only be effective exiting their defensive zone when they just gave the puck to Dan Boyle and had him skate with it.
3. The Sharks entry into the offensive zone was probably even worse than their defensive zone breakout. Closely related to San Jose's 0 for 6 powerplay effort, they just never seemed to be able to get set up in the Ducks end of the ice. I suppose I could make a separate point about this, but if you don't set up and then convert when you have the man advantage, there's no reason for your (less disciplined) opponent to not take liberties (and have a few calls go against them).
It's odd. I was the "happiest baby on the block" when Ron Wilson was let go... and subsequently replaced with Todd McClellan, but now the three things that bothered me from game one are all coaching related. I do think, though, that the advantage this regime has over that of Wilson's is a much greater flexibility and willingness to change things up when needed.
We'll see how it all plays, and if for a few breaks here and there the Sharks could have won game one anyways, but I really hope to see some tweaks to the lineup and on-ice tactics for game two.
Long series and I still believe San Jose to be the better team, they just have to you know... play better than their opponent.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
2009 NHL Playoffs: Day One Impressions
Well, after watching pretty much all of Pittsburgh-Philadelphia and Vancouver-St. Louis... I'd say some pretty interesting stuff going on thus far.
Penguins 4 - Flyers 1: Wow, Pittsburgh looked dominant in this game. They really appeared to be a study in how good a team can and should be when they've got two of the top five players in the game. The Flyers attempted to "play their game" and get chippy in the final minute, but it actually seemed more sad than what I'll call "send a messageish". The announcers were right when making the comment that there wasn't really a point anymore to the antagonism.
Canucks 2 - Blues 1: Interesting game. The two teams played very similar games with grinding forwards, stout D, excellent goaltending, lots of driving the net and action after the whistle. After seeing them match up for 60 minutes, it appears that St. Louis will likely remain game for as long as they're alive in the series, but Vancouver just does each thing a little bit better.
Other (not watched) action...
Well, given the whole "not watched" thing for the other two games, I'll link to some interesting analysis from Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy on Yahoo! Sports (not sure if I worded that correctly, but it'll do).
The long and short of it... New Jersey is good and Jose Theodore in the Caps net... maybe not so good.
Yea, I understand that Theodore won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP back in 2002, but me thinks goalie years are kinda like dog years... meaning stellar play 7 years ago does not necessarily equate to the same performance today. Maybe they looked around and found the asking prices too steep, but I just don't know how Washington didn't go get some solid backup insurance at the trade deadline. Hello... Scott Clemmensen, anyone? Now the Caps coaching staff has to decide between rolling Jose back out there for game 2 or going with Simeon Varlamov and his 6 career NHL games played. Fun choice...
Penguins 4 - Flyers 1: Wow, Pittsburgh looked dominant in this game. They really appeared to be a study in how good a team can and should be when they've got two of the top five players in the game. The Flyers attempted to "play their game" and get chippy in the final minute, but it actually seemed more sad than what I'll call "send a messageish". The announcers were right when making the comment that there wasn't really a point anymore to the antagonism.
Canucks 2 - Blues 1: Interesting game. The two teams played very similar games with grinding forwards, stout D, excellent goaltending, lots of driving the net and action after the whistle. After seeing them match up for 60 minutes, it appears that St. Louis will likely remain game for as long as they're alive in the series, but Vancouver just does each thing a little bit better.
Other (not watched) action...
Well, given the whole "not watched" thing for the other two games, I'll link to some interesting analysis from Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy on Yahoo! Sports (not sure if I worded that correctly, but it'll do).
The long and short of it... New Jersey is good and Jose Theodore in the Caps net... maybe not so good.
Yea, I understand that Theodore won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP back in 2002, but me thinks goalie years are kinda like dog years... meaning stellar play 7 years ago does not necessarily equate to the same performance today. Maybe they looked around and found the asking prices too steep, but I just don't know how Washington didn't go get some solid backup insurance at the trade deadline. Hello... Scott Clemmensen, anyone? Now the Caps coaching staff has to decide between rolling Jose back out there for game 2 or going with Simeon Varlamov and his 6 career NHL games played. Fun choice...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Dream Playoff Matchups
I was thinking about the matchups as I described them in a post yesterday and... while these are good, they're not my "dream matchups".
Now, dream matchups are rare because of the confluence of events (ranging from who my personal favorites are to the standings) required, but let's imagine for a moment they did come together.
Here's what things might look like (using this season's playoff teams... not like we can wait forever on the Maple Leafs):
Western Conference
First Round
Detroit vs St. Louis - Norris Division rivalry reprisal. What's not to love?
San Jose vs Anaheim - Ok, I'll give. While it scare me as a Sharks fan, it's good story.
Vancouver vs Calgary - Sure, why not have the Northies play each other?
Chicago vs Columbus - True, they're the left over teams, but playoff newbies who are geographically close... not bad.
Second Round
Detroit vs Chicago - Original Six.
San Jose vs Vancouver - This one was tougher, but I'll take Vancouver over a repeat matchup from last season.
Third Round
San Jose vs Detroit - The two best teams. Good stuff.
Eastern Conference
First Round
Boston vs Montreal - Check, then check again after the whistle. Another Original Six.
Pittsburgh vs Washington - Crosby / Malkin vs Ovechkin can't be passed up.
New York Rangers vs New Jersey Devils - Avery... Brodeur. Greater New York area.
Philadelphia vs Carolina - What's left. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this, but the Hurricanes are boring (stupid Maple Leafs).
Second Round
Boston vs New York Rangers - The whole New York - New England thing. Again, Original Six.
Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia - Crosby vs Richards. In-state rivalry. Nice.
Third Round
Boston vs Philadelphia - Was tough to eliminate Crosby and the Pens, but I like the mayhem (one the ice and in the stands) that this series would bring.
Stanley Cup Finals
San Jose vs Boston - Thornton past vs Thornton present.
Now, dream matchups are rare because of the confluence of events (ranging from who my personal favorites are to the standings) required, but let's imagine for a moment they did come together.
Here's what things might look like (using this season's playoff teams... not like we can wait forever on the Maple Leafs):
Western Conference
First Round
Detroit vs St. Louis - Norris Division rivalry reprisal. What's not to love?
San Jose vs Anaheim - Ok, I'll give. While it scare me as a Sharks fan, it's good story.
Vancouver vs Calgary - Sure, why not have the Northies play each other?
Chicago vs Columbus - True, they're the left over teams, but playoff newbies who are geographically close... not bad.
Second Round
Detroit vs Chicago - Original Six.
San Jose vs Vancouver - This one was tougher, but I'll take Vancouver over a repeat matchup from last season.
Third Round
San Jose vs Detroit - The two best teams. Good stuff.
Eastern Conference
First Round
Boston vs Montreal - Check, then check again after the whistle. Another Original Six.
Pittsburgh vs Washington - Crosby / Malkin vs Ovechkin can't be passed up.
New York Rangers vs New Jersey Devils - Avery... Brodeur. Greater New York area.
Philadelphia vs Carolina - What's left. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this, but the Hurricanes are boring (stupid Maple Leafs).
Second Round
Boston vs New York Rangers - The whole New York - New England thing. Again, Original Six.
Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia - Crosby vs Richards. In-state rivalry. Nice.
Third Round
Boston vs Philadelphia - Was tough to eliminate Crosby and the Pens, but I like the mayhem (one the ice and in the stands) that this series would bring.
Stanley Cup Finals
San Jose vs Boston - Thornton past vs Thornton present.
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Witching Hour is Upon Us
NHL playoffs start in two days... I love this time of year. Without further adieu, here's the first round matchups:
Western Conference
(1) San Jose Sharks vs (8) Anaheim Ducks
To quote from an e-mail I recently sent... "as a Sharks fan I was cursing J.S. Giguere when he allowed that shootout goal Saturday night... taking the Ducks down from a 6 to possible 8 (which of course came to pass) seed. I do fall back, though, on something I was told be a fellow Sharks fan... 'the goal isn't to win one round... the goal is to win the Cup, and to do that you have to beat everyone'. That said, I would have preferred either Anaheim or Detroit to knock the other out in a 2-7 matchup. The way the universe does things, though, San Jose would probably have lost to St Louis as the 8 seed."
So, it should be a highly entertaining series to watch and I'm viewing it as an enormous litmus test to see just how good this Sharks team is. Whereas last season's first round win over Calgary in 7 games was cause for concern (justifiably so it turned out), me thinks a win over Anaheim in 7 would be just fine.
(2) Detroit Red Wings vs (7) Columbus Blue Jackets
An interesting series. I will be very curious to watch to see just how good this Steve Mason fellow does against the Wings.
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs (6) St. Louis Blues
Roberto Luongo vs Chris Mason... I wonder if anyone will score.
(4) Chicago Blackhawks vs (5) Calgary Flames
Not sure what to expect. Me thinks Calgary will be the better team, though.
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Bruins vs (8) Montreal Canadiens
I think the Bruins will roll. Actually, I think first they'll beat up Montreal, then roll.
(2) Washington Capitals vs (7) New York Rangers
Intriguing, but I think Washington will be too good for the Rangers.
(3) New Jersey Devils vs (6) Carolina Hurricanes
I know there are people really interested in this series, I'm just not one of them.
(4) Pittsburgh vs (5) Philadelphia
Should be great hockey, can't wait to watch.
Western Conference
(1) San Jose Sharks vs (8) Anaheim Ducks
To quote from an e-mail I recently sent... "as a Sharks fan I was cursing J.S. Giguere when he allowed that shootout goal Saturday night... taking the Ducks down from a 6 to possible 8 (which of course came to pass) seed. I do fall back, though, on something I was told be a fellow Sharks fan... 'the goal isn't to win one round... the goal is to win the Cup, and to do that you have to beat everyone'. That said, I would have preferred either Anaheim or Detroit to knock the other out in a 2-7 matchup. The way the universe does things, though, San Jose would probably have lost to St Louis as the 8 seed."
So, it should be a highly entertaining series to watch and I'm viewing it as an enormous litmus test to see just how good this Sharks team is. Whereas last season's first round win over Calgary in 7 games was cause for concern (justifiably so it turned out), me thinks a win over Anaheim in 7 would be just fine.
(2) Detroit Red Wings vs (7) Columbus Blue Jackets
An interesting series. I will be very curious to watch to see just how good this Steve Mason fellow does against the Wings.
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs (6) St. Louis Blues
Roberto Luongo vs Chris Mason... I wonder if anyone will score.
(4) Chicago Blackhawks vs (5) Calgary Flames
Not sure what to expect. Me thinks Calgary will be the better team, though.
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Bruins vs (8) Montreal Canadiens
I think the Bruins will roll. Actually, I think first they'll beat up Montreal, then roll.
(2) Washington Capitals vs (7) New York Rangers
Intriguing, but I think Washington will be too good for the Rangers.
(3) New Jersey Devils vs (6) Carolina Hurricanes
I know there are people really interested in this series, I'm just not one of them.
(4) Pittsburgh vs (5) Philadelphia
Should be great hockey, can't wait to watch.
Monday, May 19, 2008
That Pesky Four Games in a Row Problem
Well, what the San Jose Sharks ran into has resurfaced again... twice. Dallas and Philadelphia both had excellent playoff runs, but each went down 3-0 against quality opponents. The Flyers then won one game and the Stars were able to take two games against Detroit, but eventually... each faltered.
Just as San Jose found out in the prior round against Dallas, the odds of beating a good team four games in a row are simply too thin to realistically overcome. The twists of fate and bounces of good fortune will conspire 99 times out of 100 to give a good team victory in at least one out of four games.
So... it's done. The Eastern and Western Conference playoffs have concluded and given excellent representatives to the Finals. The Penguins and Red Wings should be a very good matchup between two very teams. More to say about said matchup later, but it's definitely something to look forward to.
Just as San Jose found out in the prior round against Dallas, the odds of beating a good team four games in a row are simply too thin to realistically overcome. The twists of fate and bounces of good fortune will conspire 99 times out of 100 to give a good team victory in at least one out of four games.
So... it's done. The Eastern and Western Conference playoffs have concluded and given excellent representatives to the Finals. The Penguins and Red Wings should be a very good matchup between two very teams. More to say about said matchup later, but it's definitely something to look forward to.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Round Three... Halfway There (Focus on the East)
And now... your 2008 Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals matchup: the battle of Pennsylvia featuring a pretty darn bitter rivalry in Philadelphia vs Pittsburgh.
Philadelphia Flyers
Expository Statement: The Flyers are a team that missed the playoffs by a wide margin in 2007 and despite them adding pieces and parts for the 2008 season, not many people expected much for this year. However, the Flyers have gotten excellent play from some key figures and have made it into the final four.
Players of Note (said key figures):
Offense: Daniel Briere has shown in the playoffs why the large contract him by Philly. The true offensive leader for Philadelphia, though, has been 22 year-old Center Mike Richards. Playing with a skill and ferocity that portends a long career leading the Flyers, Richards has been both the biggest offensive weapon and extremely solid on the backcheck.
Defense: The loss of defenseman Kimmo Timonen will be difficult to overcome as it leaves the Flyers relatively thin on D with Jason Smith and rapidly improving Braydon Coburn being backed up by the relatively ancient Derian Hatcher and a bunch of young 'uns.
Goaltending: One of the keys to the Flyers success this postseason has been the stellar play of netminder Martin Biron. In the first playoff action of his 9 year career, Biron was first steady against the Capitals and then spectacular against the Canadiens. For a guy born in the province of Quebec, this series win must have been particularly gratifying.
Pittsburgh Penguins:
Expository Statement: An excellent team that rolled through the first two rounds losing a sum total of one game. The Pens showed that they could either run and gun (as evidenced by their coming back to win game one against the Rangers despite being down 3-0) or play defensive shut-down hockey (see: game two against NY where they won 2-0 including an empty net goal).
Offense: Where to begin? Sidney Crosby is... Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin stepped up during Crosby's mid-season absence due to injury and showed himself to be a great player in his own right. Added to this mix at the trade deadline (at the risk of upsetting team chemistry with the departure of well-liked Kolby Armstrong) was sniper Marian Hossa.
Defense: the power play is quarterbacked by the very skilled Sergei Gonchar and beyond that, Brooks Orpik leads a fairly tough cast that often gets overlooked due to the Pens offensive prowess.
Goaltending: Marc-Andre Fleury has given the Penguins everything they could hope for this postseason and has more than adequate if-needed backup in the revitalized (and Anchorage, AK born and reared) Ty Conklin.
Forecast for the Series: Going into it, this matchup feels very similar to that in the West. You have a hard-hitting team that has gotten further than most expected (see: Philadelphia in the East and Dallas in the West) up against a highly-skilled team that most thought would reach at least this point (see: Pittsburgh in the East and Detroit in the West).
Just as in the West, the unexpected challenger (Philadelphia / Dallas) certainly could get it done, but it would be a surprise to this prognosticator.
So... expecting a Pittsburgh vs Detroit Stanley Cup Finals, but that's far from guaranteed. And that... is why they play the games.
Philadelphia Flyers
Expository Statement: The Flyers are a team that missed the playoffs by a wide margin in 2007 and despite them adding pieces and parts for the 2008 season, not many people expected much for this year. However, the Flyers have gotten excellent play from some key figures and have made it into the final four.
Players of Note (said key figures):
Offense: Daniel Briere has shown in the playoffs why the large contract him by Philly. The true offensive leader for Philadelphia, though, has been 22 year-old Center Mike Richards. Playing with a skill and ferocity that portends a long career leading the Flyers, Richards has been both the biggest offensive weapon and extremely solid on the backcheck.
Defense: The loss of defenseman Kimmo Timonen will be difficult to overcome as it leaves the Flyers relatively thin on D with Jason Smith and rapidly improving Braydon Coburn being backed up by the relatively ancient Derian Hatcher and a bunch of young 'uns.
Goaltending: One of the keys to the Flyers success this postseason has been the stellar play of netminder Martin Biron. In the first playoff action of his 9 year career, Biron was first steady against the Capitals and then spectacular against the Canadiens. For a guy born in the province of Quebec, this series win must have been particularly gratifying.
Pittsburgh Penguins:
Expository Statement: An excellent team that rolled through the first two rounds losing a sum total of one game. The Pens showed that they could either run and gun (as evidenced by their coming back to win game one against the Rangers despite being down 3-0) or play defensive shut-down hockey (see: game two against NY where they won 2-0 including an empty net goal).
Offense: Where to begin? Sidney Crosby is... Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin stepped up during Crosby's mid-season absence due to injury and showed himself to be a great player in his own right. Added to this mix at the trade deadline (at the risk of upsetting team chemistry with the departure of well-liked Kolby Armstrong) was sniper Marian Hossa.
Defense: the power play is quarterbacked by the very skilled Sergei Gonchar and beyond that, Brooks Orpik leads a fairly tough cast that often gets overlooked due to the Pens offensive prowess.
Goaltending: Marc-Andre Fleury has given the Penguins everything they could hope for this postseason and has more than adequate if-needed backup in the revitalized (and Anchorage, AK born and reared) Ty Conklin.
Forecast for the Series: Going into it, this matchup feels very similar to that in the West. You have a hard-hitting team that has gotten further than most expected (see: Philadelphia in the East and Dallas in the West) up against a highly-skilled team that most thought would reach at least this point (see: Pittsburgh in the East and Detroit in the West).
Just as in the West, the unexpected challenger (Philadelphia / Dallas) certainly could get it done, but it would be a surprise to this prognosticator.
So... expecting a Pittsburgh vs Detroit Stanley Cup Finals, but that's far from guaranteed. And that... is why they play the games.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Round Three... Halfway There (Focus on the West)
After two fun-filled rounds of the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, we're down to the elite (see: really good and have played that way... sorry, Sharks) final four teams. This means that for whichever team eventually winds up taking the silver Cup, they're now... halfway. Crazy how much hockey is still left until it's all decided.
Let's take a look at the matchups and see what we may be able to expect (yes, a spot of cheating going on as game one has been played in each series.
Western Conference: Dallas at Detroit
Dallas Stars
Expository Statement: The Stars entered the playoffs with quite a few questions after not playing well the final month of the season, but have shown themselves to be a very solid team who took perhaps the toughest playoff road to get here... having defeated Anaheim and San Jose in rounds one and two.
Players of Note:
Offense: The top line is a force to be reckoned with featuring a "Jarome Iginla play-alike" in Brenden Morrow along with Jere Lehtinen and Mike Ribeiro. Beyond this, Brad Richards and Mike Modano are two of the best 2nd and 3rd line Centers in the league.
Defense: A historically smothering defense welcomed back maybe it's most important cog when Sergei Zubov returned during the San Jose series after missing several months of action. As I heard stated, "they must really know how to do sports hernia surgeries in Germany" because Zubov looks excellent out there. Beyond this, Stephane Robidas has been very solid and made up for the abcense of Philippe Boucher.
Goaltending: Marty Turco has quieted many of the naysayers (myself included) by putting together a stellar playoff run. One aspect of his play that has been fascinating has been his relatively conservative handling of the puck. Turco has often been the type of goalie who would make one horrible play for every two good ones handling the puck (usually outside of his crease). In these playoffs, though, you've seen a lot of the "good wandering" and little of the "bad wandering."
Detroit Red Wings:
Expository Statement: Many expected the Wings would be here in the Western Conference Finals and they haven't disappointed. An extremely complete hockey team that knows how to win.
Players of Note:
Offense: Offense the Wings have. Highlighted by Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, the Wings can put the puck in the net in bunches. Additionally, Tomas Holmstrom seems to always be parked two inches in front of the opposing goalie (and gets results accordingly) and Johan Franzen has emerged as an unexpected scoring machine.
Defense: Nicklas Lindstrom and Brian Rafalski... almost certainly the best defensive combo west of Stadium Drive in Anaheim.
Goaltending: An interesting position for Detroit. Dominik Hasek went into these playoffs as the number one, but after four middling games against Nashville was replaced by Chris Osgood. Ozzie hasn't missed a beat and has the requisite experience to make Wings fans feel confident with him between the pipes.
Forecast for the Series: Dallas looked very good against the Sharks, but (to borrow an analogy from hopefully soon to be ex Sharks Coach Ron Wilson), the Stars have recently put the ingrediants together into the cake, and Detroit has been baking it for some time. I like Detroit.
Coming soon to a computer near you: random musings on the Eastern Conference Finals.
Let's take a look at the matchups and see what we may be able to expect (yes, a spot of cheating going on as game one has been played in each series.
Western Conference: Dallas at Detroit
Dallas Stars
Expository Statement: The Stars entered the playoffs with quite a few questions after not playing well the final month of the season, but have shown themselves to be a very solid team who took perhaps the toughest playoff road to get here... having defeated Anaheim and San Jose in rounds one and two.
Players of Note:
Offense: The top line is a force to be reckoned with featuring a "Jarome Iginla play-alike" in Brenden Morrow along with Jere Lehtinen and Mike Ribeiro. Beyond this, Brad Richards and Mike Modano are two of the best 2nd and 3rd line Centers in the league.
Defense: A historically smothering defense welcomed back maybe it's most important cog when Sergei Zubov returned during the San Jose series after missing several months of action. As I heard stated, "they must really know how to do sports hernia surgeries in Germany" because Zubov looks excellent out there. Beyond this, Stephane Robidas has been very solid and made up for the abcense of Philippe Boucher.
Goaltending: Marty Turco has quieted many of the naysayers (myself included) by putting together a stellar playoff run. One aspect of his play that has been fascinating has been his relatively conservative handling of the puck. Turco has often been the type of goalie who would make one horrible play for every two good ones handling the puck (usually outside of his crease). In these playoffs, though, you've seen a lot of the "good wandering" and little of the "bad wandering."
Detroit Red Wings:
Expository Statement: Many expected the Wings would be here in the Western Conference Finals and they haven't disappointed. An extremely complete hockey team that knows how to win.
Players of Note:
Offense: Offense the Wings have. Highlighted by Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, the Wings can put the puck in the net in bunches. Additionally, Tomas Holmstrom seems to always be parked two inches in front of the opposing goalie (and gets results accordingly) and Johan Franzen has emerged as an unexpected scoring machine.
Defense: Nicklas Lindstrom and Brian Rafalski... almost certainly the best defensive combo west of Stadium Drive in Anaheim.
Goaltending: An interesting position for Detroit. Dominik Hasek went into these playoffs as the number one, but after four middling games against Nashville was replaced by Chris Osgood. Ozzie hasn't missed a beat and has the requisite experience to make Wings fans feel confident with him between the pipes.
Forecast for the Series: Dallas looked very good against the Sharks, but (to borrow an analogy from hopefully soon to be ex Sharks Coach Ron Wilson), the Stars have recently put the ingrediants together into the cake, and Detroit has been baking it for some time. I like Detroit.
Coming soon to a computer near you: random musings on the Eastern Conference Finals.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
2008 San Jose Sharks: Said and Done
Now that the Sharks season is officially over and a very solid (and more consistent than San Jose) Dallas team is moving on to face Detroit, let's take a minute to look back on what's previously been written about the Sharks here:
Post Date: Mar 4.
Summary: Sharks will need to be mentally tough.
Post Excerpt: San Jose - A very interesting team. Definite star power with Thornton and Cheechoo up front and Campbell and Rivet (well, maybe not a star, but solid) on the blueline. As a team that I've got a particular local affinity for, they've been absolutely maddening in their lack of a killer instinct. To steal a phrase from our dear President Bush, I'd like someone to "look into their eyes and see their soul," but... will have to see "it" to believe it.
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Post Date: Mar 13.
Summary: Sharks will need to be mentally tough.
Post Excerpt: Resiliency. It's a tough thing for a hockey team to acquire, but when there, often separates the Stanley Cup winning teams from the skilled, but not quite over the hump, competition.
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Post Date: Apr 6.
Summary: Sharks will need to be tough... mentally & physically.
Post Excerpt: This leads to the open question of how the Flames will attempt to win the series. Prediction here is that it's through pure brute force. It worked against the Sharks a few years ago as part of Calgary's run to game 7 of the Finals, but this year's Sharks team might be built of just a bit more solid stock.
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Post Date: Apr 8.
Summary: I think the Sharks will be tough.
Post Excerpt: Calgary at San Jose: If the Sharks wanted an early test of their toughness, they certainly got it in a matchup against the Calgary Roughnecks/Flames. Much has been written and said about the Sharks wilting in the face of adversity in the last few playoff years and the Flames love to provide adversity... often in the form of a cross-check, slash or sucker-punch. Perhaps it's a case of drinking the local Kool-Aid, but I do think this year's Sharks team will be a year wiser, and a goodly amount tougher with the additions of Jeremy Roenick and Jody Shelley (who I really hope plays)... as well as the return from injury of Ryan Clowe (who has already been tabbed for the Joe Pavelski-Patrick Marleau line).
-----
Post Date: Apr 9.
Summary: The Sharks weren't intent (i.e. mentally tough) enough.
Post Excerpt: Annoying one to watch in San Jose tonight. The Sharks appeared the more skilled team, but the Flames simply seemed to want the victory more. San Jose had flurries of passion (final minute as an example), but not in prolonged enough stretches to deserve the win.
Good thing to take out of this game is that it's only one game and assuming a more focused effort tomorrow night, the Sharks should be ok. Granted, it's cliche to make this point, but adversity such as this will reveal exactly who the Sharks are in this postseason.
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Post Date: Apr 11.
Summary: The Sharks should win if they're as tough as Calgary.
Post Excerpt: My feeling going into the series was that it would be a tough series for the Sharks, but one they should emerge victorious out of as they have the more talented team and should be a bit tougher than past years due to both the experience of heartbreak lived through and new blood on the team this season.
After game 1 I was disappointed in the Sharks efforts and intensity, but still felt them the better team and that if they played the way they're capable of, they'd be fine. Game 2 is now in the books, and I'm of the same opinion. It's not going to be easy, but assuming that the (orange-rimmed) eye stays on the prize all game long, they should emerge out of a hard-fought series.
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Post Date: Apr 13.
Summary: Maybe the Sharks aren't better than Calgary after all.
Post Excerpt: The truly disconcerting thing about this game is that up until these developments, it appeared the Sharks were the better team... and in control of their fate as simply matching the Flames effort and intensity would result in a series win. After watching this debacle, though, I'm not as convinced the Sharks are the better squad. Whether that potential "non-better team" status would be due to the aforementioned effort/intensity calculus or simply poor defensive play, I'm not sure, but I am concerned.
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Post Date: Apr 18.
Summary: The Sharks should win if they're as tough as Calgary.
Post Excerpt: Going into this series, it seemed that the Sharks were a better team on paper than the Flames, but Calgary was a hard-working lunch-pail type crew that would keep coming at you... in some legal ways and others more questionable. The ramifications of this for the Sharkies being that they "should" win the series if they could at least roughly match the Flames in the effort/intensity equation.
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Post Date: Apr 21.
Summary: Maybe the Sharks aren't mentally tough because of coaching.
If you run with the assumption that the Sharks are more talented than Calgary, then you should say that they simply need to work as hard as the Flames to win the series. Given that the first six games of the series have been a "good Shark, bad Shark" story, the question has to be asked of why that's the case. Why can a talented team be up one game and then down another... and thus far, not learn from, but keep repeating the cycle?
Personally, I would look at the coaching.
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Post Date: Apr 24 (2 posts).
Summary: Sharks were inconsistent (i.e. mentally tough), but good enough.
Post Excerpts: You can (and I think should) quibble with the respective bad/good/bad/good/good/bad/good games that helped make this a 7 game series, but nary a quibble can be said about the offensive explosion that won this game 7 for the Sharkies.
San Jose over Calgary. Also took longer to decide than might have been expected, but the oft-mentioned inconsistency from the Sharks was a major factor extending this series to 7 games. Either way, Sharks advance.
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Post Date: Apr 25.
Summary: Sharks didn't play well enough... against a good Dallas team.
Post Excerpt: Dallas played into the Sharks hands defensively. The Sharks didn't play with a sense of urgency (sound familiar?) and capitalize. The Sharks had two large defensive breakdowns and Dallas scored both times... and won.
Going forward, San Jose should be ok if they can repeat their opening series M.O. and follow up a weak game one with a more ferocious game two. If, however, they don't, the Stars are certainly a good enough team to continue current path and do enough to win. Let's hope San Jose rediscovers that needed sense of urgency.
Post Date: Apr 28.
Summary: Sharks didn't play well enough... against a good Dallas team.
Post Excerpt: Our much more worthy adversary this round is the Dallas Stars, a team bringing scoring punch in the persons of Mike Modano, Brad Richards, Mike Ribeiro and last, but definitely not least, Brenden Morrow. Results of the series thus far could be best summed up by Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz... "we're not in San Jose anymore, and we're down 2-0."
These first two games have been interesting in their completely opposite nature from the Calgary series. Whereas that was smashmouth hockey that the Sharks fought through to victory, this (for the most part) is the fast skating end-to-end variety. Would certainly think that this style would play right into the strengths of San Jose, but... two critical weaknesses thus far: (1) that now familiar lack of driving to the net and (2) poor defensive zone coverage.
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Post Date: Apr 29.
Summary: Sharks didn't play well enough... against a good Dallas team.
Post Excerpt: Dallas is playing well and has combined a stingy defense with exceptional offensive zone passing, but the Sharks have done nothing to help their cause. What should be occurring in this series is you should have two excellent teams trading punches (mostly metaphorical, but maybe a few real ones) over the course of a hard fought 6 or 7 games series.
What you have instead is a Dallas team doing their part and a San Jose team that has (1) not driven to the net (for the most part), (2) done a poor job of defensive zone coverage (both clearing the puck and covering the cross ice pass) and (3 & most appallingly) wilted when faced with adversity (personified by those Star game-tying goals).
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Post Date: Apr 30.
Summary: The four games in a row problem (one game in).
Post Excerpt: Some people might not have thought so at the start of the playoffs, but the Stars are a good team. Fast skating, stingy D and (surprisingly) good goaltending. A good team such as this matched up against a good team such as the Sharks (regular season success being the determinate for this) should result in a back and forth series (with the aforementioned back and forth being determined in part by good breaks and in part by good play) likely tied 2-2 after four games.
Instead, what you have is a 3-1 series after four games that is only still going due to a solid game 4 effort (which led to fortunate breaks) from San Jose. They can, and hopefully will, show up for game 5 with similar zest and determination... the difficulty will be in having that result in wins three more games in a row. Unless San Jose plays 180 minutes of hockey like they did the final 30 seconds of game 4 against Calgary (tough to do) or Dallas plays significantly worse than they have to-date (tough to see occurring), the Stars seem likely to get the breaks needed to take one out of the final three games.
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Post Date: May 2.
Summary: The four games in a row problem (two games in).
Post Excerpt: A great win by San Jose and while it's still hard to understand why they were so flat in the second period, credit has to be given for the drive they showed to tie the game in the third... and then get the victory.
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Post Date: May 5.
Summary: The four games in a row problem (just short of three).
Post Excerpt: Such a shame... the San Jose Sharks now eliminated from the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
All of this comes down to describing the 2008 Sharks playoff run in fairly simply, and somewhat maddening) terms... good enough to overcome inconsistency against Calgary (thanks in part to Calgary's lack of depth) and not good enough to overcome inconsistency against Dallas (thanks in part to Dallas' play).
Tomorrow's post will take a look (in many ways another look back) at one thing that could be done about said inconsistency.
Post Date: Mar 4.
Summary: Sharks will need to be mentally tough.
Post Excerpt: San Jose - A very interesting team. Definite star power with Thornton and Cheechoo up front and Campbell and Rivet (well, maybe not a star, but solid) on the blueline. As a team that I've got a particular local affinity for, they've been absolutely maddening in their lack of a killer instinct. To steal a phrase from our dear President Bush, I'd like someone to "look into their eyes and see their soul," but... will have to see "it" to believe it.
-----
Post Date: Mar 13.
Summary: Sharks will need to be mentally tough.
Post Excerpt: Resiliency. It's a tough thing for a hockey team to acquire, but when there, often separates the Stanley Cup winning teams from the skilled, but not quite over the hump, competition.
-----
Post Date: Apr 6.
Summary: Sharks will need to be tough... mentally & physically.
Post Excerpt: This leads to the open question of how the Flames will attempt to win the series. Prediction here is that it's through pure brute force. It worked against the Sharks a few years ago as part of Calgary's run to game 7 of the Finals, but this year's Sharks team might be built of just a bit more solid stock.
-----
Post Date: Apr 8.
Summary: I think the Sharks will be tough.
Post Excerpt: Calgary at San Jose: If the Sharks wanted an early test of their toughness, they certainly got it in a matchup against the Calgary Roughnecks/Flames. Much has been written and said about the Sharks wilting in the face of adversity in the last few playoff years and the Flames love to provide adversity... often in the form of a cross-check, slash or sucker-punch. Perhaps it's a case of drinking the local Kool-Aid, but I do think this year's Sharks team will be a year wiser, and a goodly amount tougher with the additions of Jeremy Roenick and Jody Shelley (who I really hope plays)... as well as the return from injury of Ryan Clowe (who has already been tabbed for the Joe Pavelski-Patrick Marleau line).
-----
Post Date: Apr 9.
Summary: The Sharks weren't intent (i.e. mentally tough) enough.
Post Excerpt: Annoying one to watch in San Jose tonight. The Sharks appeared the more skilled team, but the Flames simply seemed to want the victory more. San Jose had flurries of passion (final minute as an example), but not in prolonged enough stretches to deserve the win.
Good thing to take out of this game is that it's only one game and assuming a more focused effort tomorrow night, the Sharks should be ok. Granted, it's cliche to make this point, but adversity such as this will reveal exactly who the Sharks are in this postseason.
-----
Post Date: Apr 11.
Summary: The Sharks should win if they're as tough as Calgary.
Post Excerpt: My feeling going into the series was that it would be a tough series for the Sharks, but one they should emerge victorious out of as they have the more talented team and should be a bit tougher than past years due to both the experience of heartbreak lived through and new blood on the team this season.
After game 1 I was disappointed in the Sharks efforts and intensity, but still felt them the better team and that if they played the way they're capable of, they'd be fine. Game 2 is now in the books, and I'm of the same opinion. It's not going to be easy, but assuming that the (orange-rimmed) eye stays on the prize all game long, they should emerge out of a hard-fought series.
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Post Date: Apr 13.
Summary: Maybe the Sharks aren't better than Calgary after all.
Post Excerpt: The truly disconcerting thing about this game is that up until these developments, it appeared the Sharks were the better team... and in control of their fate as simply matching the Flames effort and intensity would result in a series win. After watching this debacle, though, I'm not as convinced the Sharks are the better squad. Whether that potential "non-better team" status would be due to the aforementioned effort/intensity calculus or simply poor defensive play, I'm not sure, but I am concerned.
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Post Date: Apr 18.
Summary: The Sharks should win if they're as tough as Calgary.
Post Excerpt: Going into this series, it seemed that the Sharks were a better team on paper than the Flames, but Calgary was a hard-working lunch-pail type crew that would keep coming at you... in some legal ways and others more questionable. The ramifications of this for the Sharkies being that they "should" win the series if they could at least roughly match the Flames in the effort/intensity equation.
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Post Date: Apr 21.
Summary: Maybe the Sharks aren't mentally tough because of coaching.
If you run with the assumption that the Sharks are more talented than Calgary, then you should say that they simply need to work as hard as the Flames to win the series. Given that the first six games of the series have been a "good Shark, bad Shark" story, the question has to be asked of why that's the case. Why can a talented team be up one game and then down another... and thus far, not learn from, but keep repeating the cycle?
Personally, I would look at the coaching.
-----
Post Date: Apr 24 (2 posts).
Summary: Sharks were inconsistent (i.e. mentally tough), but good enough.
Post Excerpts: You can (and I think should) quibble with the respective bad/good/bad/good/good/bad/good games that helped make this a 7 game series, but nary a quibble can be said about the offensive explosion that won this game 7 for the Sharkies.
San Jose over Calgary. Also took longer to decide than might have been expected, but the oft-mentioned inconsistency from the Sharks was a major factor extending this series to 7 games. Either way, Sharks advance.
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Post Date: Apr 25.
Summary: Sharks didn't play well enough... against a good Dallas team.
Post Excerpt: Dallas played into the Sharks hands defensively. The Sharks didn't play with a sense of urgency (sound familiar?) and capitalize. The Sharks had two large defensive breakdowns and Dallas scored both times... and won.
Going forward, San Jose should be ok if they can repeat their opening series M.O. and follow up a weak game one with a more ferocious game two. If, however, they don't, the Stars are certainly a good enough team to continue current path and do enough to win. Let's hope San Jose rediscovers that needed sense of urgency.
Post Date: Apr 28.
Summary: Sharks didn't play well enough... against a good Dallas team.
Post Excerpt: Our much more worthy adversary this round is the Dallas Stars, a team bringing scoring punch in the persons of Mike Modano, Brad Richards, Mike Ribeiro and last, but definitely not least, Brenden Morrow. Results of the series thus far could be best summed up by Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz... "we're not in San Jose anymore, and we're down 2-0."
These first two games have been interesting in their completely opposite nature from the Calgary series. Whereas that was smashmouth hockey that the Sharks fought through to victory, this (for the most part) is the fast skating end-to-end variety. Would certainly think that this style would play right into the strengths of San Jose, but... two critical weaknesses thus far: (1) that now familiar lack of driving to the net and (2) poor defensive zone coverage.
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Post Date: Apr 29.
Summary: Sharks didn't play well enough... against a good Dallas team.
Post Excerpt: Dallas is playing well and has combined a stingy defense with exceptional offensive zone passing, but the Sharks have done nothing to help their cause. What should be occurring in this series is you should have two excellent teams trading punches (mostly metaphorical, but maybe a few real ones) over the course of a hard fought 6 or 7 games series.
What you have instead is a Dallas team doing their part and a San Jose team that has (1) not driven to the net (for the most part), (2) done a poor job of defensive zone coverage (both clearing the puck and covering the cross ice pass) and (3 & most appallingly) wilted when faced with adversity (personified by those Star game-tying goals).
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Post Date: Apr 30.
Summary: The four games in a row problem (one game in).
Post Excerpt: Some people might not have thought so at the start of the playoffs, but the Stars are a good team. Fast skating, stingy D and (surprisingly) good goaltending. A good team such as this matched up against a good team such as the Sharks (regular season success being the determinate for this) should result in a back and forth series (with the aforementioned back and forth being determined in part by good breaks and in part by good play) likely tied 2-2 after four games.
Instead, what you have is a 3-1 series after four games that is only still going due to a solid game 4 effort (which led to fortunate breaks) from San Jose. They can, and hopefully will, show up for game 5 with similar zest and determination... the difficulty will be in having that result in wins three more games in a row. Unless San Jose plays 180 minutes of hockey like they did the final 30 seconds of game 4 against Calgary (tough to do) or Dallas plays significantly worse than they have to-date (tough to see occurring), the Stars seem likely to get the breaks needed to take one out of the final three games.
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Post Date: May 2.
Summary: The four games in a row problem (two games in).
Post Excerpt: A great win by San Jose and while it's still hard to understand why they were so flat in the second period, credit has to be given for the drive they showed to tie the game in the third... and then get the victory.
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Post Date: May 5.
Summary: The four games in a row problem (just short of three).
Post Excerpt: Such a shame... the San Jose Sharks now eliminated from the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
All of this comes down to describing the 2008 Sharks playoff run in fairly simply, and somewhat maddening) terms... good enough to overcome inconsistency against Calgary (thanks in part to Calgary's lack of depth) and not good enough to overcome inconsistency against Dallas (thanks in part to Dallas' play).
Tomorrow's post will take a look (in many ways another look back) at one thing that could be done about said inconsistency.
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Four Games in a Row Problem: In Action
Such a shame... the San Jose Sharks now eliminated from the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
You can't say it was for a lack of heart in the decisive game 6, but rather problems that took place prior to that. As previously discussed, anytime you're up against a good opponent (of which Dallas certainly is), it's going to be difficult to get the breaks and bounces needed to win four games in a row.
Where the Sharks really lost the series was not in the 4th OT of an epic battle in Dallas, but in games 2 and 3 where they gave up 3rd period leads... and then went on to lose each game. In fact, the Stars provided an excellent counterpoint example of what should be done... they had a game 6 3rd period lead against the Sharks, gave up the tying goal, and then played just as hard as ever and eventually won. Had San Jose brought this same type of effort after allowing the tying goal in games 2 and 3, they likely would have won one of them and now be headed back home for game 7 Tuesday night.
Instead, it's all over. Watching Dallas play, I'm not 100% convinced the Sharks were better than Dallas and would have won that game 7, but I would have liked to see them have the chance. The Sharks simply played their way into a hole ("the four games in a row problem") too deep to climb out of.
Posted tomorrow will be the (sometimes expectant, sometimes sad) recap of what's been written here about the Sharks this postseason...
You can't say it was for a lack of heart in the decisive game 6, but rather problems that took place prior to that. As previously discussed, anytime you're up against a good opponent (of which Dallas certainly is), it's going to be difficult to get the breaks and bounces needed to win four games in a row.
Where the Sharks really lost the series was not in the 4th OT of an epic battle in Dallas, but in games 2 and 3 where they gave up 3rd period leads... and then went on to lose each game. In fact, the Stars provided an excellent counterpoint example of what should be done... they had a game 6 3rd period lead against the Sharks, gave up the tying goal, and then played just as hard as ever and eventually won. Had San Jose brought this same type of effort after allowing the tying goal in games 2 and 3, they likely would have won one of them and now be headed back home for game 7 Tuesday night.
Instead, it's all over. Watching Dallas play, I'm not 100% convinced the Sharks were better than Dallas and would have won that game 7, but I would have liked to see them have the chance. The Sharks simply played their way into a hole ("the four games in a row problem") too deep to climb out of.
Posted tomorrow will be the (sometimes expectant, sometimes sad) recap of what's been written here about the Sharks this postseason...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Four Games in a Row Problem
Solid 60 minutes of hockey played by the Sharks tonight. They drove the net well, cleared the defensive zone better and played a bit tougher than they had in the first three games of the series. All of this resulted in... a Sharks victory, 2-1 over Dallas.
Good things from San Jose to be sure, but the problem the Sharks now face is one that has confronted every team in sports history to begin a 7 game series with defeats in the first 3.
What happens is that in the playoffs, the margin of error becomes small as you for the most part have good teams playing good teams. Through the course of a series, bounces will go one team's way one time (or even two times) and then the other team's way. This continues on until the better team creates for themselves more chances for good fortune... and as a result, enough come through to result in a win. The other scenario is for the series to go to the very end and whoever is luckiest last, wins. The important thing to note, though, is when you have two good teams playing up to their potential against each other, it's EXTREMELY unlikely for one team to "get the breaks" four games in a row. In fact, not only is it unlikely to happen four games in a row, but it's also unlikely to happen three games in a row... which is why teams down 3 games to 1 may take two to force a game 7 and yet still lose (discounting the whole "mometum is everything" theory).
This takes us squarely back to the series at hand... Dallas vs San Jose. Some people might not have thought so at the start of the playoffs, but the Stars are a good team. Fast skating, stingy D and (surprisingly) good goaltending. A good team such as this matched up against a good team such as the Sharks (regular season success being the determinate for this) should result in a back and forth series (with the aforementioned back and forth being determined in part by good breaks and in part by good play) likely tied 2-2 after four games.
Instead, what you have is a 3-1 series after four games that is only still going due to a solid game 4 effort (which led to fortunate breaks) from San Jose. They can, and hopefully will, show up for game 5 with similar zest and determination... the difficulty will be in having that result in wins three more games in a row. Unless San Jose plays 180 minutes of hockey like they did the final 30 seconds of game 4 against Calgary (tough to do) or Dallas plays significantly worse than they have to-date (tough to see occurring), the Stars seem likely to get the breaks needed to take one out of the final three games.
Given this theory about how hard it is to win 3 or 4 games in a row, it begs the question of how Dallas took the first three games. Following the logic, one would think that the two good teams would have traded shots, fortunate calls and good bounces to a 2-2 series tie at this point.
However, this logic assumes the Sharks actually playing well enough to put themselves in a position to win each game. In game one, San Jose didn't play with a sense of urgency... and lost. Game two say a great sense of urgency from the Sharks, all the way up until the tying goal was scored against them at the start of the third... and then the wheels came off. Game three... well, same song as game two... with the first verse being the game-tying 3rd period goal and the second verse being the wheels going bye-bye.
The point of all this is that had the Sharks played well (not incredible, just well) in the first three games, they likely wouldn't have completed a series sweep tonight (again, good Dallas team), but they would have put themselves in the position to get the requisite "good bounces" to be at least tied in the series going back to San Jose for game 5.
This is what makes silly the idea of bemoaning some of the early whistles or unfortunate rolls of the puck hurting the Sharks this series. They haven't played well enough to deserve their share of the good things... and Dallas thus far has.
All this being said, their 2008 Stanley Cup Playoff lives really are "day to day" right now and here's to hoping the Sharks can live another day out of game 5 Friday night in San Jose.
Good things from San Jose to be sure, but the problem the Sharks now face is one that has confronted every team in sports history to begin a 7 game series with defeats in the first 3.
What happens is that in the playoffs, the margin of error becomes small as you for the most part have good teams playing good teams. Through the course of a series, bounces will go one team's way one time (or even two times) and then the other team's way. This continues on until the better team creates for themselves more chances for good fortune... and as a result, enough come through to result in a win. The other scenario is for the series to go to the very end and whoever is luckiest last, wins. The important thing to note, though, is when you have two good teams playing up to their potential against each other, it's EXTREMELY unlikely for one team to "get the breaks" four games in a row. In fact, not only is it unlikely to happen four games in a row, but it's also unlikely to happen three games in a row... which is why teams down 3 games to 1 may take two to force a game 7 and yet still lose (discounting the whole "mometum is everything" theory).
This takes us squarely back to the series at hand... Dallas vs San Jose. Some people might not have thought so at the start of the playoffs, but the Stars are a good team. Fast skating, stingy D and (surprisingly) good goaltending. A good team such as this matched up against a good team such as the Sharks (regular season success being the determinate for this) should result in a back and forth series (with the aforementioned back and forth being determined in part by good breaks and in part by good play) likely tied 2-2 after four games.
Instead, what you have is a 3-1 series after four games that is only still going due to a solid game 4 effort (which led to fortunate breaks) from San Jose. They can, and hopefully will, show up for game 5 with similar zest and determination... the difficulty will be in having that result in wins three more games in a row. Unless San Jose plays 180 minutes of hockey like they did the final 30 seconds of game 4 against Calgary (tough to do) or Dallas plays significantly worse than they have to-date (tough to see occurring), the Stars seem likely to get the breaks needed to take one out of the final three games.
Given this theory about how hard it is to win 3 or 4 games in a row, it begs the question of how Dallas took the first three games. Following the logic, one would think that the two good teams would have traded shots, fortunate calls and good bounces to a 2-2 series tie at this point.
However, this logic assumes the Sharks actually playing well enough to put themselves in a position to win each game. In game one, San Jose didn't play with a sense of urgency... and lost. Game two say a great sense of urgency from the Sharks, all the way up until the tying goal was scored against them at the start of the third... and then the wheels came off. Game three... well, same song as game two... with the first verse being the game-tying 3rd period goal and the second verse being the wheels going bye-bye.
The point of all this is that had the Sharks played well (not incredible, just well) in the first three games, they likely wouldn't have completed a series sweep tonight (again, good Dallas team), but they would have put themselves in the position to get the requisite "good bounces" to be at least tied in the series going back to San Jose for game 5.
This is what makes silly the idea of bemoaning some of the early whistles or unfortunate rolls of the puck hurting the Sharks this series. They haven't played well enough to deserve their share of the good things... and Dallas thus far has.
All this being said, their 2008 Stanley Cup Playoff lives really are "day to day" right now and here's to hoping the Sharks can live another day out of game 5 Friday night in San Jose.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
2008 San Jose Sharks: Advance Post-Mortem
Two problems that had plagued the Sharks in games one and two of this series... a lack of drive towards the net and poor defensive zone coverage.
Well, the Sharks drove the net fairly well in game three, but supplemented their still present poor D zone coverage with that albatross from last season... poor response to adversity.
The result of this was in seeing a solid second period effort tonight go by the wayside and a 1-1 tie a minute into the third turn into a 2-1 overtime loss. Yes, the Sharks were disappointed that Dallas scored on the power play to tie the game at the start of the third, but a tying goal does not a season lose. Sadly, in this case, it did as San Jose spent most of the third back on their heels hoping against hope that something good would happen. That Dallas then took until OT to score the game winning (and likely series deciding) goal, seemed a matter of mere formality given the Sharks play after losing the 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time we've seen this from the Sharks. Remember game 2? A lead entering the third quickly becomes tied and... game over. Dallas wins.
Probably more vexing (especially at the time), though... remember the Red Wings series last season? Less than a minute away from going up 3 games to 1, Detroit scores a game-tying goal and... Well, let's look first at what could have happened and then at what did. What could have happened is San Jose could have continued playing their game and even if they lost in OT, been confident with the knowledge that they were outplaying the Wings. What did happen, though, is (1) an OT loss, (2) a berating of Captain Patrick Marleau in the Press by Coach Ron Wilson and (3) listless efforts in games five and six resulting in an end to the season.
So... back to this season. Dallas is playing well and has combined a stingy defense with exceptional offensive zone passing, but the Sharks have done nothing to help their cause. What should be occurring in this series is you should have two excellent teams trading punches (mostly metaphorical, but maybe a few real ones) over the course of a hard fought 6 or 7 games series.
What you have instead is a Dallas team doing their part and a San Jose team that has (1) not driven to the net (for the most part), (2) done a poor job of defensive zone coverage (both clearing the puck and covering the cross ice pass) and (3 & most appallingly) wilted when faced with adversity (personified by those Star game-tying goals).
Such a talented team. Such a shame.
Well, the Sharks drove the net fairly well in game three, but supplemented their still present poor D zone coverage with that albatross from last season... poor response to adversity.
The result of this was in seeing a solid second period effort tonight go by the wayside and a 1-1 tie a minute into the third turn into a 2-1 overtime loss. Yes, the Sharks were disappointed that Dallas scored on the power play to tie the game at the start of the third, but a tying goal does not a season lose. Sadly, in this case, it did as San Jose spent most of the third back on their heels hoping against hope that something good would happen. That Dallas then took until OT to score the game winning (and likely series deciding) goal, seemed a matter of mere formality given the Sharks play after losing the 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time we've seen this from the Sharks. Remember game 2? A lead entering the third quickly becomes tied and... game over. Dallas wins.
Probably more vexing (especially at the time), though... remember the Red Wings series last season? Less than a minute away from going up 3 games to 1, Detroit scores a game-tying goal and... Well, let's look first at what could have happened and then at what did. What could have happened is San Jose could have continued playing their game and even if they lost in OT, been confident with the knowledge that they were outplaying the Wings. What did happen, though, is (1) an OT loss, (2) a berating of Captain Patrick Marleau in the Press by Coach Ron Wilson and (3) listless efforts in games five and six resulting in an end to the season.
So... back to this season. Dallas is playing well and has combined a stingy defense with exceptional offensive zone passing, but the Sharks have done nothing to help their cause. What should be occurring in this series is you should have two excellent teams trading punches (mostly metaphorical, but maybe a few real ones) over the course of a hard fought 6 or 7 games series.
What you have instead is a Dallas team doing their part and a San Jose team that has (1) not driven to the net (for the most part), (2) done a poor job of defensive zone coverage (both clearing the puck and covering the cross ice pass) and (3 & most appallingly) wilted when faced with adversity (personified by those Star game-tying goals).
Such a talented team. Such a shame.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sharks Problems: Covering all Their Bases
Well, the problem the Sharks had against Calgary (again, in 3 of the 7 games) was a lack of intensity and deficit in the driving to the net department. Positive marks to them, though (I guess), for countering that (4/7 games) just well enough to take the series.
Unfortunately, that was the Flames... a gritty and ragtag crew who rolled out there no less than 2(!) solid threats to score in Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf. All-world players to be certain, but given their inability to be cloned, Iginla and Phaneuf by themselves couldn't provide enough offense to carry Calgary through.
Our much more worthy adversary this round is the Dallas Stars, a team bringing scoring punch in the persons of Mike Modano, Brad Richards, Mike Ribeiro and last, but definitely not least, Brenden Morrow. Results of the series thus far could be best summed up by Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz... "we're not in San Jose anymore, and we're down 2-0."
These first two games have been interesting in their completely opposite nature from the Calgary series. Whereas that was smashmouth hockey that the Sharks fought through to victory, this (for the most part) is the fast skating end-to-end variety. Would certainly think that this style would play right into the strengths of San Jose, but... two critical weaknesses thus far: (1) that now familiar lack of driving to the net and (2) poor defensive zone coverage.
The driving to the net thing is probably best personified in these first two games in the person of Torrey Mitchell. Second period of game two he was standing 6 inches from an empty net... and didn't score! Credit Stu Barnes with an excellent backcheck to poke the puck away, but Mitchell has to slam the puck, his stick and his body into the goal when that situation arises. Granted, he didn't know Barnes was there, but so what? Driving to the net can be done by the players pushing towards the crease, but also by the players pushing themselves and the puck into the goal, as Jonathan Cheechoo did to tie the score in game one.
Now, poor defensive zone coverage on the other hand... an entirely different animal there. San Jose had one of the best penalty kill percentages in the regular season for a reason (I reckon), but that reason doesn't seem to be showing up in this series. Even when not on the power play, too many times this series Dallas has scored via the cross ice offensive zone pass to someone driving the net. Sure, the Stars deserve credit for the aforementioned net drive, but San Jose has to do a much better job of picking up that skater.
So... Sharks are down 2-0 and headed back to American Airlines Arena for games Tuesday and Wednesday. If they lose Tuesday night, it's all over but the crying, but I'd say they still have a shot at success in this series. San Jose is a talented team and as such can't be counted out. The problem they're fast pushing up against, though, is that they're playing a talented team and at 2-0 down, have little margin for error. Well, just try to correct for game 3 the two (fairly glaring) problems and go from there. There's always hope...
Unfortunately, that was the Flames... a gritty and ragtag crew who rolled out there no less than 2(!) solid threats to score in Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf. All-world players to be certain, but given their inability to be cloned, Iginla and Phaneuf by themselves couldn't provide enough offense to carry Calgary through.
Our much more worthy adversary this round is the Dallas Stars, a team bringing scoring punch in the persons of Mike Modano, Brad Richards, Mike Ribeiro and last, but definitely not least, Brenden Morrow. Results of the series thus far could be best summed up by Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz... "we're not in San Jose anymore, and we're down 2-0."
These first two games have been interesting in their completely opposite nature from the Calgary series. Whereas that was smashmouth hockey that the Sharks fought through to victory, this (for the most part) is the fast skating end-to-end variety. Would certainly think that this style would play right into the strengths of San Jose, but... two critical weaknesses thus far: (1) that now familiar lack of driving to the net and (2) poor defensive zone coverage.
The driving to the net thing is probably best personified in these first two games in the person of Torrey Mitchell. Second period of game two he was standing 6 inches from an empty net... and didn't score! Credit Stu Barnes with an excellent backcheck to poke the puck away, but Mitchell has to slam the puck, his stick and his body into the goal when that situation arises. Granted, he didn't know Barnes was there, but so what? Driving to the net can be done by the players pushing towards the crease, but also by the players pushing themselves and the puck into the goal, as Jonathan Cheechoo did to tie the score in game one.
Now, poor defensive zone coverage on the other hand... an entirely different animal there. San Jose had one of the best penalty kill percentages in the regular season for a reason (I reckon), but that reason doesn't seem to be showing up in this series. Even when not on the power play, too many times this series Dallas has scored via the cross ice offensive zone pass to someone driving the net. Sure, the Stars deserve credit for the aforementioned net drive, but San Jose has to do a much better job of picking up that skater.
So... Sharks are down 2-0 and headed back to American Airlines Arena for games Tuesday and Wednesday. If they lose Tuesday night, it's all over but the crying, but I'd say they still have a shot at success in this series. San Jose is a talented team and as such can't be counted out. The problem they're fast pushing up against, though, is that they're playing a talented team and at 2-0 down, have little margin for error. Well, just try to correct for game 3 the two (fairly glaring) problems and go from there. There's always hope...
Friday, April 25, 2008
You Take It... No, You Go Ahead
Very strange game played between San Jose and Dallas tonight.
In the Calgary series, the Sharks could count on Flames players flying at them during every breakout from the defensive zone and after every whistle. It made the series an epic struggle for San Jose, but they managed to clutch up and play well in enough (specifically 4 of the 7) games to win.
Tonight, however, Dallas seemed content to let the Sharks break cleanly out of the zone and to play a "gentlemanly" brand of hockey free of any unpleasantries. This should have played straight into the hands of the Sharks and allow the skill of Messers Thornton, Cheechoo, Marleau, Michalek and Campbell to take over. Instead, what you saw from the Sharkies was a fairly passive brand of hockey where they seemed content to revel in the new-found open space and pass the puck back and forth to each other... rather than driving the net.
Trailing by a goal late in the 3rd, the Sharks did crash the net and lo and behold... a goal by Jonathan Cheechoo. Strangely, though, San Jose then followed that up with a shift spent on their heels that led to a Dallas power play.
Again, odd game. Dallas played into the Sharks hands defensively. The Sharks didn't play with a sense of urgency (sound familiar?) and capitalize. The Sharks had two large defensive breakdowns and Dallas scored both times... and won.
Going forward, San Jose should be ok if they can repeat their opening series M.O. and follow up a weak game one with a more ferocious game two. If, however, they don't, the Stars are certainly a good enough team to continue current path and do enough to win. Let's hope San Jose rediscovers that needed sense of urgency.
In the Calgary series, the Sharks could count on Flames players flying at them during every breakout from the defensive zone and after every whistle. It made the series an epic struggle for San Jose, but they managed to clutch up and play well in enough (specifically 4 of the 7) games to win.
Tonight, however, Dallas seemed content to let the Sharks break cleanly out of the zone and to play a "gentlemanly" brand of hockey free of any unpleasantries. This should have played straight into the hands of the Sharks and allow the skill of Messers Thornton, Cheechoo, Marleau, Michalek and Campbell to take over. Instead, what you saw from the Sharkies was a fairly passive brand of hockey where they seemed content to revel in the new-found open space and pass the puck back and forth to each other... rather than driving the net.
Trailing by a goal late in the 3rd, the Sharks did crash the net and lo and behold... a goal by Jonathan Cheechoo. Strangely, though, San Jose then followed that up with a shift spent on their heels that led to a Dallas power play.
Again, odd game. Dallas played into the Sharks hands defensively. The Sharks didn't play with a sense of urgency (sound familiar?) and capitalize. The Sharks had two large defensive breakdowns and Dallas scored both times... and won.
Going forward, San Jose should be ok if they can repeat their opening series M.O. and follow up a weak game one with a more ferocious game two. If, however, they don't, the Stars are certainly a good enough team to continue current path and do enough to win. Let's hope San Jose rediscovers that needed sense of urgency.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
2008 NHL Playoffs - Round 2... Game On
There were some predicted and some not quite as suspected things that took place in the first round.
Western Conference:
1. Detroit over Nashville. True, it probably took longer than some would have thought, but the Wings ran into excellent goaltending from the Preds Dan Ellis.
2. San Jose over Calgary. Also took longer to decide than might have been expected, but the oft-mentioned inconsistency from the Sharks was a major factor extending this series to 7 games. Either way, Sharks advance.
3. Colorado over Minnesota. Not necessarily a surprise. The Avs series win was keyed by their stars (see: Forsberg, Peter) being better than the Wild stars (see: Gaborik, Marian).
4. Dallas over Anaheim. Yep, a definite surprise. Series result seemed to come from a combination of the Ducks simply not being as good as they were last year (Corey Perry injured, J.S. Guigere not as solid) and Dallas capitalizing (four game one PP goals were very "helpful" to the Dallas cause).
Eastern Conference:
1. Montreal over Boston: Final result was not a surprise given the seedings and fact that Montreal had taken out the Bruins each time in the regular season. The B's showed a lot of heart, though, and stretched it out to 7. Takeaway from this series for the Habs may be similar to that of the Sharks after their 7 game series... we can play better, but for now, we survive and advance.
2. Pittsburgh over Ottawa: Easy to call... the Pens looked good and the Sens were in disaray going into the playoffs. Game over.
3. Philadelphia over Washington: Not necessarily surprising, but disapointing. Would have been nice to see Alexander Ovechkin continue his playoff run. The Caps may be on a similar path to the Pens from last season... just needed a first taste of the playoffs and they'll be back and better next year.
4. New York Rangers over New Jersey: Not a real surprise, course it also wouldn't have been a real surprise had Brodeur excelled and the Devils won. Either way, Rangers appear to have a lot of pieces working well right now.
So... all that being said, here's where we're now at for round 2:
Western Conference:
Colorado at Detroit.
Dallas at San Jose.
Eastern Conference:
Philadelphia at Montreal.
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh.
Sakes alive... it'd be fun to see a Stanley Cup final with the Sharks against Les Canadiens (or even the Penguins, but that would sacrifice the whole "Canada hearts hockey" thing).
Western Conference:
1. Detroit over Nashville. True, it probably took longer than some would have thought, but the Wings ran into excellent goaltending from the Preds Dan Ellis.
2. San Jose over Calgary. Also took longer to decide than might have been expected, but the oft-mentioned inconsistency from the Sharks was a major factor extending this series to 7 games. Either way, Sharks advance.
3. Colorado over Minnesota. Not necessarily a surprise. The Avs series win was keyed by their stars (see: Forsberg, Peter) being better than the Wild stars (see: Gaborik, Marian).
4. Dallas over Anaheim. Yep, a definite surprise. Series result seemed to come from a combination of the Ducks simply not being as good as they were last year (Corey Perry injured, J.S. Guigere not as solid) and Dallas capitalizing (four game one PP goals were very "helpful" to the Dallas cause).
Eastern Conference:
1. Montreal over Boston: Final result was not a surprise given the seedings and fact that Montreal had taken out the Bruins each time in the regular season. The B's showed a lot of heart, though, and stretched it out to 7. Takeaway from this series for the Habs may be similar to that of the Sharks after their 7 game series... we can play better, but for now, we survive and advance.
2. Pittsburgh over Ottawa: Easy to call... the Pens looked good and the Sens were in disaray going into the playoffs. Game over.
3. Philadelphia over Washington: Not necessarily surprising, but disapointing. Would have been nice to see Alexander Ovechkin continue his playoff run. The Caps may be on a similar path to the Pens from last season... just needed a first taste of the playoffs and they'll be back and better next year.
4. New York Rangers over New Jersey: Not a real surprise, course it also wouldn't have been a real surprise had Brodeur excelled and the Devils won. Either way, Rangers appear to have a lot of pieces working well right now.
So... all that being said, here's where we're now at for round 2:
Western Conference:
Colorado at Detroit.
Dallas at San Jose.
Eastern Conference:
Philadelphia at Montreal.
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh.
Sakes alive... it'd be fun to see a Stanley Cup final with the Sharks against Les Canadiens (or even the Penguins, but that would sacrifice the whole "Canada hearts hockey" thing).
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