On the second half of a back-to-back, the Sharks went into Chicago. This was a special game as the Blackhawks honored Jeremy Roenick prior to the start of the game. The showed a nice little video segment, covering Roenick's various achievements as a player, both for the Blackhawks and later on, introduced him and his family. He then performed the ceremonial first face-off. Joe Thornton came over and said something to him before the festivities started. For some reason, rather than anyone who had been with the team last year, or one of the alternate captains, Manny Malhotra took the face off for the Sharks. When Roenick was asked who he would like it to be against, he picked the Sharks.
On to the game itself. Just over 4 minutes in, Brent Sopel opened the scoring with a slap shot through a screen. Evgeni Nabokov was handling the puck behind the net, but was rushed into a play. This ended up being collected by the Hawks Jordan Hendry, who fed Sopel at the right point. The Sharks answered before the period was up as Jason Demers pinched to keep the puck in, and fed Thornton. Thornton corralled the puck of his skate and passed to Dany Heatley at the top of the right face-off circle. Heatley wasted no time getting his shot away, past Christobal Huet. The first period would end with the score knotted at 1.
Chicago's Ben Eager took a costly extra penalty in his fight with Douglas Murray. Just over a minute into the second period, Thornton tried to put the puck in deep from the high slot. I'm not sure if he was trying to find the player in front or the left wing corner, but it was deflected by a Hawk right to Demers. Demers was able to convert for his first career NHL goal after putting up 11 assists. This gave San Jose a 2-1 lead. Just 45 seconds later, Patrick Marleau was able to come straight down the middle untouched and score. He either bobbled the puck as he came down low, or was able to get one shot away, then picked up his rebound. Either way, it's a Sharks goal, 2 in the first 2 minutes of the second. Just shy of the 8 minute mark, Patrick Kane beat his check coming down the slot and converted the backhand feed from Jonathon Toews. This was the start of the Hawks comeback with the score now 3-2 Sharks.
Next came a strange play. There was a shot at the net with Huet going down, his glove going into the net. Thornton behind the net started celebrating as did several other Sharks. The referee didn't signal goal, nor did the goal judge. No whistle, so play continued, then there was a whistle for no apparent reason. The call on the ice was no goal. It seemed like the referee behind the net wanted to kill the play to do the video review. However, that is supposed to happen at the next normal stoppage. The puck was in the Sharks' zone, with a man on it, but no reason to stop play. They do the video review. Watching the Sharks broadcast, they thought the puck was in, but the replays weren't that conclusive. Final call - no goal. The referee announces that the puck didn't cross the line, but I really think the video was inconclusive. Yes, I think it was a goal, but the overhead shot did not show the puck across the line. The only time I have ever seen that was one where they saw the puck go into the glove, then the glove go entirely behind the line. Otherwise, you have to see the puck over the line. Was it in Huet's glove behind the line? Or was it under the glove? The video didn't show, so they can't make the call. Instead of it going to 4-2 Sharks, it stayed 3-2. The faceoff was placed just outside the Hawks zone, as if the call had been for a disallowed goal (like a batted or kicked goal). This didn't agree with where the play seemed to be when it was stopped. Shortly afterward, the Sharks had another close chance as Patrick Marleau rang one off the post.
With just over a minute left in the middle stanza, the Sharks were guilty of puck watching and the Blackhawks capitalized, tying the contest at 3. Andrew Ladd carried the puck in on left wing, shot, bulled in further to follow up his own rebound with another shot. Ryane Clowe probably should have been covering John Madden, but was looking at the puck instead. Madden jumped in and popped in the second rebound.
The third period was scoreless, so into overtime we went. The Sharks got the puck into the Chicago zone early, but got caught with Thornton and Marleau on the same side of the ice. This left the left defenseman uncovered as Chicago rushed up ice. As they scrambled to get back, they never really sorted out their coverage. After everybody got back, there were three Sharks down low against two Hawks. As the Sharks started to contest for the puck, and looked like they might have it, Thornton spun off into the right wing corner all alone. Even as Boyle was being pressured hard by Toews, Thornton continued his slow circle. When Toews worked the puck loose, Brent Seabrook came in from his point, took the pass from Toews, and converted the OT winner. Sorry Joe, but on this play, you were guarding air.
The Hawks did pick up and carry the play in the second half of the game, so they did deserve the win more than the Sharks did. Maybe the Sharks were out of gas that late in the second game in two nights, this one an hour earlier than the previous one.
I am wondering if head coach Todd McLellan will look back and again wonder about his usage of the fourth line. Brad Staubitz didn't take a shift in the third period, Logan Couture took two shifts, and Jamie McGinn took four. Had they had more ice time, that could have kept the other three lines fresh. If he's not playing Staubitz because he doesn't trust him, it's time to give Staubitz a ticket to Worchester.
Here's the highlights:
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Sharks open road trip with win over Blues
The San Jose Sharks opened their three game road trip with a 3-1 win over the Blues. The Sharks had one lineup change as Ryan Vesce was returned to Worchester and Logan Couture was called up. Vesce needs more playing time than centering the 4th line in the NHL is going to give him to get his game back. Jody Shelley missed his third game in a row with general body soreness. (Welcome to the new NHL where they don't have to tell you about the injuries.) Also significant before this game was that the Blues owner had publicly challenged the team to play better.
The first penalty call of the game went against the Sharks as Ryane Clowe was whistled for boarding. Sharks color commentator Drew Remenda doesn't like that style of a call for boarding. His contention is that the player is committed to the hit, and then the opposing player turns to expose his back. While he has a point, I think also that the hitting style has changed over the years. It used to be the hit would be lower, driving more of the middle of the player into the boards. It would almost hold the guy up. Now, they are making contact higher, and knocking the opponent over. So, when he's 3-5 feet from the boards, he almost goes in face and/or head first.
A little later in the game, we see Devin Setoguchi hit one the Blues very hard that the Blues took exception to. In my view, the guy got caught in no man's land. He was about 4 feet or so out from the boards, and Seto hit him with a shoulder, knocking him down. If he's farther out, it's not into the boards. If he's closer or against the boards, he doesn't go down, and it's not as dramatic. I think he just got caught a little unawares, and that's on him for not paying enough attention. (At least, in my opinion.)
The first goal came from the Blues. Derek Joslin had the puck in the right corner and tried clearing it up the middle. What's the old saying? Never, ever pass the puck up the middle. It gets cut off, and goes to Jay McClement charging the net. He puts the puck in, and runs over Evgeni Nabokov. The Sharks take a little umbrage to this and a scrum develops. BJ Crombeen gets called for a roughing penalty. For the Blues, it was good news/bad news. Good news is that they're up 1-0, bad news is that they go straight to the penalty kill.
St. Louis was able to consistently put pressure on the Sharks, outshooting them each period.
St. Louis was dealt a blow early in the second period when David Backes went off injured. On the play, it looked like Dan Boyle knocked Backes down, then a fellow Blue accidentally kneed Backes while skating by. Backes looked a little off while trying to get off the ice. It wasn't like he couldn't move something, more like he was stunned.
With Keith Tkachuk off for hooking, the Sharks were able to get on the board. Dany Heatley carried the puck in on the left side, and sent one around the boards. Boyle picked it up at the right point and found Heatley with a cross ice pass down in front. Heatley was able to take the pass near his back foot, bring it out into a shooting position and put the puck in the top corner. It was Heatley's 7th power play goal on the year, good enough to lead the league. I'm sure Heatley's just keeping that chair warm for Ovechkin, but I'd love to be wrong on that.
The Sharks then put out their third line of Scott Nichol, Jed Ortmeyer and Manny Malhotra. The Blues decide to return the favor by attempting a pass up the middle. Malhotra intercepts and launches one of his heavy shots. Blues netminder Chris Mason stopped it, but a rebound popped up in front. Jed Ortmeyer was Johnny on the Spot and batted it before it came down into the net just 16 second after Heatley had scored. Sharks now lead 2-1 and the Blues are wondering what happened.
Down the stretch in the third period, the Sharks seemed to go into a shell, trying to hang on. They would play for extended periods in their own zone, but had pretty good coverage in front of the net, The earlier in the year problems boxing players out weren't there. The Blues may have hung themselves this game with a really bad change after the Sharks cleared the puck into the neutral zone. They were called for too many men with under two minutes remaining. This left them with an even number of skaters once they pulled Mason. Boyle was able to find Joe Thornton just outside the zone. Thornton was able to skate up to the red line and then shoot it into the empty net (with authority!) to pick up the clinching goal.
Third star of the game was given to Dan Boyle. He had a great game, directing the play, picking up two assists (hurting me in my fantasy hockey pool!), and could easily have been second star. Second star went to Andy McDonald. He didn't have much in the way of stats to back this up (no points, even, 29 shifts, led forwards in ice time, 6 shots to lead all players, 4 and 7 on faceoffs). I don't really remember much from him during the game. I think there were probably better choices here, like David Perron, or Dany Heatley. First star had to be pretty obvious for Evgeni Nabokov. He made 38 saves on 39 shots, had to deal with a lot of traffic in front of him, was great on the penalty kill as the Sharks held the Blues to 0 for 6 on the power play.
The Sharks next game on the road trip is in Chicago, Sunday night.
The first penalty call of the game went against the Sharks as Ryane Clowe was whistled for boarding. Sharks color commentator Drew Remenda doesn't like that style of a call for boarding. His contention is that the player is committed to the hit, and then the opposing player turns to expose his back. While he has a point, I think also that the hitting style has changed over the years. It used to be the hit would be lower, driving more of the middle of the player into the boards. It would almost hold the guy up. Now, they are making contact higher, and knocking the opponent over. So, when he's 3-5 feet from the boards, he almost goes in face and/or head first.
A little later in the game, we see Devin Setoguchi hit one the Blues very hard that the Blues took exception to. In my view, the guy got caught in no man's land. He was about 4 feet or so out from the boards, and Seto hit him with a shoulder, knocking him down. If he's farther out, it's not into the boards. If he's closer or against the boards, he doesn't go down, and it's not as dramatic. I think he just got caught a little unawares, and that's on him for not paying enough attention. (At least, in my opinion.)
The first goal came from the Blues. Derek Joslin had the puck in the right corner and tried clearing it up the middle. What's the old saying? Never, ever pass the puck up the middle. It gets cut off, and goes to Jay McClement charging the net. He puts the puck in, and runs over Evgeni Nabokov. The Sharks take a little umbrage to this and a scrum develops. BJ Crombeen gets called for a roughing penalty. For the Blues, it was good news/bad news. Good news is that they're up 1-0, bad news is that they go straight to the penalty kill.
St. Louis was able to consistently put pressure on the Sharks, outshooting them each period.
St. Louis was dealt a blow early in the second period when David Backes went off injured. On the play, it looked like Dan Boyle knocked Backes down, then a fellow Blue accidentally kneed Backes while skating by. Backes looked a little off while trying to get off the ice. It wasn't like he couldn't move something, more like he was stunned.
With Keith Tkachuk off for hooking, the Sharks were able to get on the board. Dany Heatley carried the puck in on the left side, and sent one around the boards. Boyle picked it up at the right point and found Heatley with a cross ice pass down in front. Heatley was able to take the pass near his back foot, bring it out into a shooting position and put the puck in the top corner. It was Heatley's 7th power play goal on the year, good enough to lead the league. I'm sure Heatley's just keeping that chair warm for Ovechkin, but I'd love to be wrong on that.
The Sharks then put out their third line of Scott Nichol, Jed Ortmeyer and Manny Malhotra. The Blues decide to return the favor by attempting a pass up the middle. Malhotra intercepts and launches one of his heavy shots. Blues netminder Chris Mason stopped it, but a rebound popped up in front. Jed Ortmeyer was Johnny on the Spot and batted it before it came down into the net just 16 second after Heatley had scored. Sharks now lead 2-1 and the Blues are wondering what happened.
Down the stretch in the third period, the Sharks seemed to go into a shell, trying to hang on. They would play for extended periods in their own zone, but had pretty good coverage in front of the net, The earlier in the year problems boxing players out weren't there. The Blues may have hung themselves this game with a really bad change after the Sharks cleared the puck into the neutral zone. They were called for too many men with under two minutes remaining. This left them with an even number of skaters once they pulled Mason. Boyle was able to find Joe Thornton just outside the zone. Thornton was able to skate up to the red line and then shoot it into the empty net (with authority!) to pick up the clinching goal.
Third star of the game was given to Dan Boyle. He had a great game, directing the play, picking up two assists (hurting me in my fantasy hockey pool!), and could easily have been second star. Second star went to Andy McDonald. He didn't have much in the way of stats to back this up (no points, even, 29 shifts, led forwards in ice time, 6 shots to lead all players, 4 and 7 on faceoffs). I don't really remember much from him during the game. I think there were probably better choices here, like David Perron, or Dany Heatley. First star had to be pretty obvious for Evgeni Nabokov. He made 38 saves on 39 shots, had to deal with a lot of traffic in front of him, was great on the penalty kill as the Sharks held the Blues to 0 for 6 on the power play.
The Sharks next game on the road trip is in Chicago, Sunday night.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sharks squeak past Nashville with last minute goal
The San Jose Sharks squeaked out a win over the Nashville Predators, 4-3, on a last minute goal from Dan Boyle. The game started with a new lineup in place for San Jose with Benn Ferriero and Logan Couture being returned to Worchester. Coming of the injured list and back into the lineup were Devin Setoguchi and Ryan Vesce. Torrey Mitchell's recovery also took the next step with him assigned to Worchester for a conditioning assignment. Jody Shelley was given the game off due to general body soreness. Thomas Greiss made his second start of the year.
The Sharks opened the scoring with a goal from Joe Pavelski. The play was set up by Patrick Marleau driving around the net and finding Pavelski in front. Pavelski had a little time and space to take the pass, then pick the top corner over Nashville netminder Dan Ellis's glove. Looks like a Nashville player decided to cover Marleau instead of Pavelski, leaving Pavelski all alone for his shot.
Late in the first period, Nashville was able to tie the game. Michael Santorelli beat Manny Malhotra to the front of the next, getting behind Greiss to put in the puck that bounced up and over. At first, it had looked like he might have played it with a high stick, but after looking at various replay angles, it looks like he didn't touch it up high, only down off the ice.
The teams entered the second period tied at 1. Again, San Jose struck first, this time from Jamie McGinn. McGinn came off the bench, replacing Manny Malhotra, while the puck was kept in the Nashville zone. Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a shot from the left point. The rebound went to the right wing side, where McGinn was just coming into the play from the bench. As no one from Nashville had picked him up, he had a clean chance to pop in the rebound.
Nashville would answer from former Shark Marcel Goc. Jordin Tootoo fed a pass across the neutral zone. Goc carried the puck in, working against rookie Jason Demers. Goc went to the outside, and took a shot that went in. It didn't look like anyone really made any mistakes. Demers looked okay, maybe just a little loose from Goc. Greiss was on top of the crease. Maybe he could have been out a little more, but he looked okay as far as being square. Maybe you'll look at the replay and see soemthing different, but it looked like one that just went in to me.
Shortly after this, Marleau nearly gave the sharks the lead again, but clanged the puck off the crossbar. The teams went in to the second intermission tied at 2 goals each. I thought here the longer the Sharks kept Nashville in the game, the more likely for this to turn in to a Nashville victory.
Nashville dominated play during the first half of the third period, and were rewarded midway through. The Sharks won a faceoff in their zone, but didn't really control the puck and the play. They sent it around to the left point, turning if over to Dan Hamhuis. Hamhuis' shot was deflect by Patric Hornqvist, possibly by Douglas Murray as well, and beat Greiss. With the deflection, it's almost impossible for the keeper to stop it.
The Sharks' broadcast team of Drew Remenda and Randy Hahn also pointed out that after they gave the puck away, their coverage to recover wasn't the best. Ryane Clowe was the closest man to Hamhuis when he was picking up the puck. Rather than pressuring him, Clowe button hooked to go back to the other point. Clowe might have been able to get into the lane, or at least force the shot faster than Hamhuis wanted to take it. That might have kept the screen from setting up. Instead, Hamhuis had plenty of time. Good catch there.
A couple of minutes later, San Jose tied the score off a goal from Setoguchi. Dan Boyle carried the puck up ice, driving with middle lane with speed. This seemed to back the Nashville defense off. Boyle dished off to Setoguchi on the left wing, continuing his drive up ice. Setoguchi took the shot and beat Ellis, tying the game.
After it looked like the game was going to overtime for sure, Boyle gets into the rush again, this time towards the right side. The play is a little sloppy. Boyle head mans the puck to Clowe at the line. Rather than send it back in a give and go, it looks more like it bounces off Clowe's stick, back towards Boyle. Boyle isn't able to pick it up clean, taking it in his skates. Joe Thornton is right around there as well, confusing things. Boyle carried it in a little farther, getting quite low before sending in a shot that looked pretty much like a waster. (A waster is one where you're just wasting the shot. You don't think you're going to score, but just want to put it at the net.) Boyle said in the post game interview he didn't expect to score. What happened? It eluded Ellis, finding the five hole and trickling through with 59 seconds and change left in the game.
The Sharks are then able to kill off the final minute for the win. Three stars went to Scott Nichol (great game with some nice defensive plays, great hustle to negate an icing and draw a penalty), Thomas Greiss, and Dan Boyle.
I did notice one thing in the third that had me curious. When Nashville was set up behind the net, waiting to break out, the Sharks didn't pressure the defenseman with the puck. This let him come out on the side he wanted to, so it was where he would have the puck on his forehand. The rule of thumb is to force him to his backhand. Most players aren't as good at passing with the backhand as they are with the forehand. Why? Most players haven't worked on it enough, and the curve on the sticks makes the backhand harder. If I were the coaching staff, it's something I would consider working on.
Riddle me this: why are the highlights from this game that are on the NHL web site from Nashville's broadcast? The NHL Network put the Sharks' coverage up in some areas. It was the home coverage. Yet the NHL's web highlights are from the visiting team.
For the Sharks, good to win, good to get some players back, but not completely happy with the way the game went. For Nashville, good to score, but they had a lead in the third, and had what looked like a sure point locked up until Boyle scored. So, they're definitely not happy with the results.
The Sharks opened the scoring with a goal from Joe Pavelski. The play was set up by Patrick Marleau driving around the net and finding Pavelski in front. Pavelski had a little time and space to take the pass, then pick the top corner over Nashville netminder Dan Ellis's glove. Looks like a Nashville player decided to cover Marleau instead of Pavelski, leaving Pavelski all alone for his shot.
Late in the first period, Nashville was able to tie the game. Michael Santorelli beat Manny Malhotra to the front of the next, getting behind Greiss to put in the puck that bounced up and over. At first, it had looked like he might have played it with a high stick, but after looking at various replay angles, it looks like he didn't touch it up high, only down off the ice.
The teams entered the second period tied at 1. Again, San Jose struck first, this time from Jamie McGinn. McGinn came off the bench, replacing Manny Malhotra, while the puck was kept in the Nashville zone. Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a shot from the left point. The rebound went to the right wing side, where McGinn was just coming into the play from the bench. As no one from Nashville had picked him up, he had a clean chance to pop in the rebound.
Nashville would answer from former Shark Marcel Goc. Jordin Tootoo fed a pass across the neutral zone. Goc carried the puck in, working against rookie Jason Demers. Goc went to the outside, and took a shot that went in. It didn't look like anyone really made any mistakes. Demers looked okay, maybe just a little loose from Goc. Greiss was on top of the crease. Maybe he could have been out a little more, but he looked okay as far as being square. Maybe you'll look at the replay and see soemthing different, but it looked like one that just went in to me.
Shortly after this, Marleau nearly gave the sharks the lead again, but clanged the puck off the crossbar. The teams went in to the second intermission tied at 2 goals each. I thought here the longer the Sharks kept Nashville in the game, the more likely for this to turn in to a Nashville victory.
Nashville dominated play during the first half of the third period, and were rewarded midway through. The Sharks won a faceoff in their zone, but didn't really control the puck and the play. They sent it around to the left point, turning if over to Dan Hamhuis. Hamhuis' shot was deflect by Patric Hornqvist, possibly by Douglas Murray as well, and beat Greiss. With the deflection, it's almost impossible for the keeper to stop it.
The Sharks' broadcast team of Drew Remenda and Randy Hahn also pointed out that after they gave the puck away, their coverage to recover wasn't the best. Ryane Clowe was the closest man to Hamhuis when he was picking up the puck. Rather than pressuring him, Clowe button hooked to go back to the other point. Clowe might have been able to get into the lane, or at least force the shot faster than Hamhuis wanted to take it. That might have kept the screen from setting up. Instead, Hamhuis had plenty of time. Good catch there.
A couple of minutes later, San Jose tied the score off a goal from Setoguchi. Dan Boyle carried the puck up ice, driving with middle lane with speed. This seemed to back the Nashville defense off. Boyle dished off to Setoguchi on the left wing, continuing his drive up ice. Setoguchi took the shot and beat Ellis, tying the game.
After it looked like the game was going to overtime for sure, Boyle gets into the rush again, this time towards the right side. The play is a little sloppy. Boyle head mans the puck to Clowe at the line. Rather than send it back in a give and go, it looks more like it bounces off Clowe's stick, back towards Boyle. Boyle isn't able to pick it up clean, taking it in his skates. Joe Thornton is right around there as well, confusing things. Boyle carried it in a little farther, getting quite low before sending in a shot that looked pretty much like a waster. (A waster is one where you're just wasting the shot. You don't think you're going to score, but just want to put it at the net.) Boyle said in the post game interview he didn't expect to score. What happened? It eluded Ellis, finding the five hole and trickling through with 59 seconds and change left in the game.
The Sharks are then able to kill off the final minute for the win. Three stars went to Scott Nichol (great game with some nice defensive plays, great hustle to negate an icing and draw a penalty), Thomas Greiss, and Dan Boyle.
I did notice one thing in the third that had me curious. When Nashville was set up behind the net, waiting to break out, the Sharks didn't pressure the defenseman with the puck. This let him come out on the side he wanted to, so it was where he would have the puck on his forehand. The rule of thumb is to force him to his backhand. Most players aren't as good at passing with the backhand as they are with the forehand. Why? Most players haven't worked on it enough, and the curve on the sticks makes the backhand harder. If I were the coaching staff, it's something I would consider working on.
Riddle me this: why are the highlights from this game that are on the NHL web site from Nashville's broadcast? The NHL Network put the Sharks' coverage up in some areas. It was the home coverage. Yet the NHL's web highlights are from the visiting team.
For the Sharks, good to win, good to get some players back, but not completely happy with the way the game went. For Nashville, good to score, but they had a lead in the third, and had what looked like a sure point locked up until Boyle scored. So, they're definitely not happy with the results.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Thoughts
This evening, the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted it's latest class. As a builder, Lou Lamoriello, as players, Brian Leetch, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, and Steve Yzerman. Rather than recap why they're there, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on them.
Let's start with Sweet Lou. Lamoriello I have learned has had a huge impact on the game, dating back to his days at Providence. He made what was called a Mickey Mouse organization respectable, and architected the team to consistent successes. Congrat's Lou.
Brian Leetch was always a quiet one to me. Being on the West Coast, I didn't get to see him too much. But, I have one funny set of stories about him. This was around '92-93. The Rangers came to the Cow Palace to play the Sharks. Leetch was out hurt (I think he'd been out all year), as was Kevin Lowe. That year, to get from the press box to the dressing rooms, you had to go down through the crowd. A friend of mine spotted Lowe leaving, so he took off to get an autograph. Lowe was with another player (Leetch), but my friend didn't recognize him. He'd actually bumped Leetch to get to Lowe. He was thinking he should be asking the other guy for an autograph, but didn't want to ask him who he was, or if he should be asking for an autograph. The next morning, my friend bough some packs of hockey cards. In one of the packs was a Brian Leetch Norris Trophy winner card. He recognized Leetch from the night before. Fast forward now to the Stanley Cup finals, the Rangers beat the Cannucks, and there's Leetch getting the Conn Smythe. My friend's girlfriend then asks if that was the guy he bumped that time to get Lowe's autograph. Congrat's Brian.
Lucky's career was more out here, but I wasn't following hockey quite as much, especially not as wide ranging. I remember from one of the NHL highlight videos that I used to watch all the time (probably came close to wearing out the tapes on them) Lucky talking about one of his goals. It was one where he laid out and swatted at the puck. He had said the typical confident kinds of things back when he scored it, but admitted there he had no idea how it went it. I also remember that a pitcher for the Braves (Tom Glavine?) was drafted ahead of Robitaille. Not bad for a kid that people said couldn't skate. Congrat's Luc.
The Golden One. After being called the Golden Brett as a take on his father's name the Golden Jet, people then combined Gretzky's the Great One into Brett's nickname. I'm sure lots of folks who covered the game cried when Brett hung up his skates for good. Brett was always willing to say what was on his mind. It got him in hot water sometimes, but that's just the way he is. He went from being Bobby Hull's kid to his father being Brett Hull's dad. He's also a Jedi. It's the easiest explanation I have for opposing players forgetting about a 500+ goal scorer. Brett had a quick shot release, but quite importantly, a knack for getting open in a scoring area. Gretzky's office was behind the net. Esposito's office was the low slot, right in front of the goaltender. Hull's was the high slot, above the has marks to the top of the circles. He'd find a little space, the puck would get there, and bang, it was away. His brother Bart used to write a column for The Hockey Digest. I remember one still from over 20 years ago. He talked about what you see when you look at the net. Most people see the goalie. Bobby taught them to see the holes, the places where you could score, not the goalie. That makes a world of difference. Congrat's Brett.
Stevie Y. 2006 Olympics, Yzerman had removed his name from consideration for the Canadian Olympic team. He didn't want them picking him because they felt they owed it to him, or wanted to respect the older players. Joe Sakic and Joe Thornton were on that team, and all three of them wore #19 for their NHL teams. Out of respect for Yzerman, Sakic and Thornton left #19 unworn. 2002 Olympics, gold medal ceremony. Owen Nolan had gotten his video camera to record the moment. As they got close to Nolan, Yzerman asked for the camera to record Nolan getting his medal. Yzerman always exuded a quiet intensity to me. Immensely respected in Detroit, referred to not by name, but as The Captain. (That's a capital The there. You can hear it.) Congrat's Stevie.
Let's start with Sweet Lou. Lamoriello I have learned has had a huge impact on the game, dating back to his days at Providence. He made what was called a Mickey Mouse organization respectable, and architected the team to consistent successes. Congrat's Lou.
Brian Leetch was always a quiet one to me. Being on the West Coast, I didn't get to see him too much. But, I have one funny set of stories about him. This was around '92-93. The Rangers came to the Cow Palace to play the Sharks. Leetch was out hurt (I think he'd been out all year), as was Kevin Lowe. That year, to get from the press box to the dressing rooms, you had to go down through the crowd. A friend of mine spotted Lowe leaving, so he took off to get an autograph. Lowe was with another player (Leetch), but my friend didn't recognize him. He'd actually bumped Leetch to get to Lowe. He was thinking he should be asking the other guy for an autograph, but didn't want to ask him who he was, or if he should be asking for an autograph. The next morning, my friend bough some packs of hockey cards. In one of the packs was a Brian Leetch Norris Trophy winner card. He recognized Leetch from the night before. Fast forward now to the Stanley Cup finals, the Rangers beat the Cannucks, and there's Leetch getting the Conn Smythe. My friend's girlfriend then asks if that was the guy he bumped that time to get Lowe's autograph. Congrat's Brian.
Lucky's career was more out here, but I wasn't following hockey quite as much, especially not as wide ranging. I remember from one of the NHL highlight videos that I used to watch all the time (probably came close to wearing out the tapes on them) Lucky talking about one of his goals. It was one where he laid out and swatted at the puck. He had said the typical confident kinds of things back when he scored it, but admitted there he had no idea how it went it. I also remember that a pitcher for the Braves (Tom Glavine?) was drafted ahead of Robitaille. Not bad for a kid that people said couldn't skate. Congrat's Luc.
The Golden One. After being called the Golden Brett as a take on his father's name the Golden Jet, people then combined Gretzky's the Great One into Brett's nickname. I'm sure lots of folks who covered the game cried when Brett hung up his skates for good. Brett was always willing to say what was on his mind. It got him in hot water sometimes, but that's just the way he is. He went from being Bobby Hull's kid to his father being Brett Hull's dad. He's also a Jedi. It's the easiest explanation I have for opposing players forgetting about a 500+ goal scorer. Brett had a quick shot release, but quite importantly, a knack for getting open in a scoring area. Gretzky's office was behind the net. Esposito's office was the low slot, right in front of the goaltender. Hull's was the high slot, above the has marks to the top of the circles. He'd find a little space, the puck would get there, and bang, it was away. His brother Bart used to write a column for The Hockey Digest. I remember one still from over 20 years ago. He talked about what you see when you look at the net. Most people see the goalie. Bobby taught them to see the holes, the places where you could score, not the goalie. That makes a world of difference. Congrat's Brett.
Stevie Y. 2006 Olympics, Yzerman had removed his name from consideration for the Canadian Olympic team. He didn't want them picking him because they felt they owed it to him, or wanted to respect the older players. Joe Sakic and Joe Thornton were on that team, and all three of them wore #19 for their NHL teams. Out of respect for Yzerman, Sakic and Thornton left #19 unworn. 2002 Olympics, gold medal ceremony. Owen Nolan had gotten his video camera to record the moment. As they got close to Nolan, Yzerman asked for the camera to record Nolan getting his medal. Yzerman always exuded a quiet intensity to me. Immensely respected in Detroit, referred to not by name, but as The Captain. (That's a capital The there. You can hear it.) Congrat's Stevie.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Sharks fall to Detroit in shootout
How many times have we heard about the Sharks loosing to Detroit in Detroit? Too many, I think. The only consolation is the stat they showed about fewest wins in Detroit and we weren't on top! The Ducks were.
Detroit carried the play for extended sequences, but the shot totals were fairly even throughout. The second period even seemed to some run-and-gun to it, but the shots were limited to just 8 for the Sharks and 7 for the Wings. The scoring was opened in the second period by rookie Logan Couture. Ryan Callahan, in his first game as a Shark, carried the puck up the center of the ice. Somehow, Jonathan Ericsson playing right defense fell down. Maybe he hit a rut, maybe it was a snow snake*. That fall took him out of the play. Brett Lebda came over from his left side, leaving Couture along on the wing. Callahan fed him, and Couture took a quick shot before Chris Osgood could square up into position.
The Sharks led until 5:38 of the third when Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit. Patrick Eaves fed the puck back to Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom takes the shot with Darren Helm in front screening Evgeni Nabokov. Nabokov seemed to have the puck frozen, then Zetterberg swatted at it, knocking it in the net.
If you look at the replay, behind the net you see the referee. Right before Zetterberg knocks the puck in, you can see him bringing his whistle up to his mouth. It's like he's thinking of killing the play. You can definitely make the argument that Nabokov had the puck frozen long enough, and that the puck wasn't visible. I'm sure the referees have taken criticism for killing the play too early, so perhaps that factored in. Unfortunately for the Sharks, it's a break they didn't get.
No more goals in regulation as the Sharks continued to turn the puck over in places they didn't want to, resulting in scoring chances against. They can thank Nabokov for keeping them in this game. Towards the end of regulation, Dany Heatley went into the boards hard at center ice, and went straight off. He might be sore, but he did come back for the the overtime, joining Patrick Marleau on the second forward pair.
No goals in the overtime, but some chances both ways as Osgood and Nabokov kept everything thrown at them out. The Wings led off the shootout with Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk scored after selling the backhand and bringing the puck to his forehand. Dan Boyle and Ryane Clowe were unable to score, and Zetterberg converted his attempt to salt away the victory. Datsyuk was credited with the shootout winning goal, but I've always wondered about that in a 2-0 shootout win. Zetterberg kept Heatley from attempting his by scoring that second goal. Had they allowed Heatley to take his shot, and he converted, then Zetterberg's would be the winner. But, because the best Heatley can do is close the gap, they don't let him shoot. You can make an argument for the second goal being the real winner.
The Sharks went into this game without Rob Blake, with an undisclosed injury. He has said that he's had a similar injury before, and is scheduled for an MRI after returning to the Bay Area. In Blake's place on the blue line, Derek Joslin and Callahan were called up. There were reports that Douglas Murray might not play tonight, and be a game time decision. With Murray playing 30 shifts for just under 21 minutes of ice time, it doesn't look like he was ailing that much. Callahan took 12 shifts for 9.5 minutes, and Joslin 14 shifts for 12 minutes. Patrick Marleau was given an 'A' to take the place of Blake's 'C'.
The good news is that the Sharks took 5 out of a possible 6 on the three game road trip. They played pretty well, but not quite what they wanted in the second half of a back-to-back. Also, players like Setoguchi, Pavelski, and Vesce are getting close to coming back into the lineup. Next game is hosting the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins to open a 3 game home stand.
* Snow Snake: Snow snakes are white, blending in to the ice and like to wrap themselves around your ankles to trip you up. They like to do then when everyone is watching to embarrass you the most.
Detroit carried the play for extended sequences, but the shot totals were fairly even throughout. The second period even seemed to some run-and-gun to it, but the shots were limited to just 8 for the Sharks and 7 for the Wings. The scoring was opened in the second period by rookie Logan Couture. Ryan Callahan, in his first game as a Shark, carried the puck up the center of the ice. Somehow, Jonathan Ericsson playing right defense fell down. Maybe he hit a rut, maybe it was a snow snake*. That fall took him out of the play. Brett Lebda came over from his left side, leaving Couture along on the wing. Callahan fed him, and Couture took a quick shot before Chris Osgood could square up into position.
The Sharks led until 5:38 of the third when Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit. Patrick Eaves fed the puck back to Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom takes the shot with Darren Helm in front screening Evgeni Nabokov. Nabokov seemed to have the puck frozen, then Zetterberg swatted at it, knocking it in the net.
If you look at the replay, behind the net you see the referee. Right before Zetterberg knocks the puck in, you can see him bringing his whistle up to his mouth. It's like he's thinking of killing the play. You can definitely make the argument that Nabokov had the puck frozen long enough, and that the puck wasn't visible. I'm sure the referees have taken criticism for killing the play too early, so perhaps that factored in. Unfortunately for the Sharks, it's a break they didn't get.
No more goals in regulation as the Sharks continued to turn the puck over in places they didn't want to, resulting in scoring chances against. They can thank Nabokov for keeping them in this game. Towards the end of regulation, Dany Heatley went into the boards hard at center ice, and went straight off. He might be sore, but he did come back for the the overtime, joining Patrick Marleau on the second forward pair.
No goals in the overtime, but some chances both ways as Osgood and Nabokov kept everything thrown at them out. The Wings led off the shootout with Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk scored after selling the backhand and bringing the puck to his forehand. Dan Boyle and Ryane Clowe were unable to score, and Zetterberg converted his attempt to salt away the victory. Datsyuk was credited with the shootout winning goal, but I've always wondered about that in a 2-0 shootout win. Zetterberg kept Heatley from attempting his by scoring that second goal. Had they allowed Heatley to take his shot, and he converted, then Zetterberg's would be the winner. But, because the best Heatley can do is close the gap, they don't let him shoot. You can make an argument for the second goal being the real winner.
The Sharks went into this game without Rob Blake, with an undisclosed injury. He has said that he's had a similar injury before, and is scheduled for an MRI after returning to the Bay Area. In Blake's place on the blue line, Derek Joslin and Callahan were called up. There were reports that Douglas Murray might not play tonight, and be a game time decision. With Murray playing 30 shifts for just under 21 minutes of ice time, it doesn't look like he was ailing that much. Callahan took 12 shifts for 9.5 minutes, and Joslin 14 shifts for 12 minutes. Patrick Marleau was given an 'A' to take the place of Blake's 'C'.
The good news is that the Sharks took 5 out of a possible 6 on the three game road trip. They played pretty well, but not quite what they wanted in the second half of a back-to-back. Also, players like Setoguchi, Pavelski, and Vesce are getting close to coming back into the lineup. Next game is hosting the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins to open a 3 game home stand.
* Snow Snake: Snow snakes are white, blending in to the ice and like to wrap themselves around your ankles to trip you up. They like to do then when everyone is watching to embarrass you the most.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Sharks over Blue Jackets in shootout
Columbus was looking for a better showing than they got against the Sharks in San Jose's home opener. They were also looking to keep Dany Heatley from repeating his +6 in that game. They got both of those, but fell short of victory.
The first period was fairly even with each team getting 7 shots on goal. The Sharks opened the scoring on a goal from Joe Thornton right in front. Just prior to the goal, Thornton was jockeying for position with Jan Hejda, and was knocked down into Columbus netminder Chris Mason. Mason never recovered, and appealed to the officials after the goal, but it went for naught. Ryane Clowe fed a pass in to Thornton from low on the left wing side to set up the goal. Rob Blake got the secondary assist on the play.
Columbus answered shortly after with a goal from Jason Chimera. The Sharks didn't have their coverage sorted out right with two forwards covering the same defenseman. When the pass swung his partner, Dan Boyle came out to challenge, leaving the front of the net uncovered. Chimera came in front from down low, getting the easy tip-in.
The only other eventful thing in the first period was Jarred Boll squaring off with Kent Huskins for a fight. It wasn't too special, but I scored it 5-3 for Boll.
The second period was much more up and down, with the teams trading chances for 29 combined shots. (Sharks 16, Blue Jackets 13) Again, the Sharks took the lead. This time, just 8 seconds after Columbus took a penalty. Thornton won the draw and went to the front of the net, screening and occupying a defenseman. Heatley helped the puck back to Boyle at the point, then released to the net. Boyle walked towards center-point, then fed Patrick Marleau. Marleau put the shot on net, but Mason was unable to handle the rebound. It was and easy tap-in for Heatley, his 4th against the Blue Jackets in 2 games. The assist extends Marleau's point streak to 9 games.
Next, Brad Staubitz picked a fight with Boll after Boll had been jawing with Jody Shelley. This was a fairly even affair, with a lot more clutching, grabbing, jockeying for position instead of actual punches. I scored it 3-2 for Staubitz. Staubitz did draw the extra penalty however, getting called for the instigator penalty. This would prove costly for the Sharks as Columbus converted the power play chance. After a couple of chances, including one from Rick Nash in the slot, Nash was able to get one in from a seemingly impossible angle. He was down low on the right wing side, with one skate close to the end line. As a left hand shot, he still had some angle after RJ Umburger fed the puck out to him from right in front.
A sweet goal that the replay on the NHL's web site doesn't to justice to. The low angle from the Columbus telecast they showed later lets you appreciate just how little room Nash had.
The overtime featured the goaltenders making some spectacular saves each way, but neither team was able to score. So, to the shootout we went. The first three shooters were unable to score, then Boyle out waited Mason to put the Sharks ahead.
It was up to Nash to continue it, but Nabokov didn't bite and waited out Nash until he had nowhere to go. Sharks win the shootout 1-0, and the game 3-2.
This game was the return of Manny Malhotra to Columbus, where he played the last several years. Sharks head athletic trainer Ray Tufts worked his 1,000th game. Tomorrow night's game against Detroit will be Equipment Manager Mike Aldrich's 1,000th game. Aldrich skipped a game to watch his son play in a hockey tournament, otherwise they would have both hit the 1,000 game mark together.
Sharks fans should be very happy with the quality of the TV coverage. This game was on Fox Sports Ohio (carried by the NHL Network nationally). They didn't carry the Sharks goals very well, and I thought the quality of the play-by-play and color wasn't as high as we get covering the Sharks. It seemed too home team driven, really taking away from the broadcast.
Sharks winning streak extended to 6 games, but there was a price to pay. Rob Blake was hurt in the second period, and did not return for the third. I expect a call has already been put in to Worchester to call someone up to be available in Detroit for tomorrow night's game. Even if Blake can go, it would still be nice to have another defenseman around in case he can't.
The first period was fairly even with each team getting 7 shots on goal. The Sharks opened the scoring on a goal from Joe Thornton right in front. Just prior to the goal, Thornton was jockeying for position with Jan Hejda, and was knocked down into Columbus netminder Chris Mason. Mason never recovered, and appealed to the officials after the goal, but it went for naught. Ryane Clowe fed a pass in to Thornton from low on the left wing side to set up the goal. Rob Blake got the secondary assist on the play.
Columbus answered shortly after with a goal from Jason Chimera. The Sharks didn't have their coverage sorted out right with two forwards covering the same defenseman. When the pass swung his partner, Dan Boyle came out to challenge, leaving the front of the net uncovered. Chimera came in front from down low, getting the easy tip-in.
The only other eventful thing in the first period was Jarred Boll squaring off with Kent Huskins for a fight. It wasn't too special, but I scored it 5-3 for Boll.
The second period was much more up and down, with the teams trading chances for 29 combined shots. (Sharks 16, Blue Jackets 13) Again, the Sharks took the lead. This time, just 8 seconds after Columbus took a penalty. Thornton won the draw and went to the front of the net, screening and occupying a defenseman. Heatley helped the puck back to Boyle at the point, then released to the net. Boyle walked towards center-point, then fed Patrick Marleau. Marleau put the shot on net, but Mason was unable to handle the rebound. It was and easy tap-in for Heatley, his 4th against the Blue Jackets in 2 games. The assist extends Marleau's point streak to 9 games.
Next, Brad Staubitz picked a fight with Boll after Boll had been jawing with Jody Shelley. This was a fairly even affair, with a lot more clutching, grabbing, jockeying for position instead of actual punches. I scored it 3-2 for Staubitz. Staubitz did draw the extra penalty however, getting called for the instigator penalty. This would prove costly for the Sharks as Columbus converted the power play chance. After a couple of chances, including one from Rick Nash in the slot, Nash was able to get one in from a seemingly impossible angle. He was down low on the right wing side, with one skate close to the end line. As a left hand shot, he still had some angle after RJ Umburger fed the puck out to him from right in front.
A sweet goal that the replay on the NHL's web site doesn't to justice to. The low angle from the Columbus telecast they showed later lets you appreciate just how little room Nash had.
The overtime featured the goaltenders making some spectacular saves each way, but neither team was able to score. So, to the shootout we went. The first three shooters were unable to score, then Boyle out waited Mason to put the Sharks ahead.
It was up to Nash to continue it, but Nabokov didn't bite and waited out Nash until he had nowhere to go. Sharks win the shootout 1-0, and the game 3-2.
This game was the return of Manny Malhotra to Columbus, where he played the last several years. Sharks head athletic trainer Ray Tufts worked his 1,000th game. Tomorrow night's game against Detroit will be Equipment Manager Mike Aldrich's 1,000th game. Aldrich skipped a game to watch his son play in a hockey tournament, otherwise they would have both hit the 1,000 game mark together.
Sharks fans should be very happy with the quality of the TV coverage. This game was on Fox Sports Ohio (carried by the NHL Network nationally). They didn't carry the Sharks goals very well, and I thought the quality of the play-by-play and color wasn't as high as we get covering the Sharks. It seemed too home team driven, really taking away from the broadcast.
Sharks winning streak extended to 6 games, but there was a price to pay. Rob Blake was hurt in the second period, and did not return for the third. I expect a call has already been put in to Worchester to call someone up to be available in Detroit for tomorrow night's game. Even if Blake can go, it would still be nice to have another defenseman around in case he can't.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Ray Whitney honored for thousandth game
Prior to the Sharks-hurricanes game today, Ray Whitney was honored for playing in his 1,000th game. During the broadcasts opening segment, Drew Remenda opined about Whitney, his 200 games for the Sharks, and that he played 805 after that, is still going, etc. To me, it seemed like he was taking a shot at previous management for letting Whitney go. My opinion, Drew has forgotten that Whits wasn't that effective for the Sharks. Right after the Sharks let him go, he went to the Oilers for 9 games, was let go, and then hooked on with the Panthers. After that, he had stops in Columbus and Detroit before going to Carolina. He's had a very up and down career, shining at times, and other times not. If memory serves, Detroit signed him to a decent sized free agent contract, then bought him out after a year. So, shame on you Drew for forgetting about the not so good times.
That said, it is something special for him to have lasted as long as he has, shined in spots, but I don't think he's a superstar. He might not have even realized the potential he has if the Sharks hadn't let him go. Also, there are two very key things that could have dramatically changed things for him. He went to Europe right out of the draft and played in Germany, but got out of that contract. Had he not played over there, he could have come back to the NHL. As it was, his only option was to play in the minor leagues. Had he spent that first year in the NHL, he could have developed differently. The other was a knee injury in early 1993. The Sharks had picked up Sergei Makarov and Igor Larionov. Everybody remembers Johan Garpenlov playing with them, but he wasn't the first one chosen. Whitney was playing with the two Russian superstars up until a knee injury. By the time Whitney came back, Garpenlov was looking good, so they didn't change things. Had that knee injury not happened, he might have stuck with that duo and done well.
My favorite Ray Whitney memory comes from the Cow Palace. I think it was early '93, with a preseason practice they had there. As the players were coming off, there were people trying to get autographs, etc. The carpet was too far from the stands for the players to get right over there, so he put down two sticks and stood on them. He wanted to protect his skates, not fall, but still take care of the fans.
That said, it is something special for him to have lasted as long as he has, shined in spots, but I don't think he's a superstar. He might not have even realized the potential he has if the Sharks hadn't let him go. Also, there are two very key things that could have dramatically changed things for him. He went to Europe right out of the draft and played in Germany, but got out of that contract. Had he not played over there, he could have come back to the NHL. As it was, his only option was to play in the minor leagues. Had he spent that first year in the NHL, he could have developed differently. The other was a knee injury in early 1993. The Sharks had picked up Sergei Makarov and Igor Larionov. Everybody remembers Johan Garpenlov playing with them, but he wasn't the first one chosen. Whitney was playing with the two Russian superstars up until a knee injury. By the time Whitney came back, Garpenlov was looking good, so they didn't change things. Had that knee injury not happened, he might have stuck with that duo and done well.
My favorite Ray Whitney memory comes from the Cow Palace. I think it was early '93, with a preseason practice they had there. As the players were coming off, there were people trying to get autographs, etc. The carpet was too far from the stands for the players to get right over there, so he put down two sticks and stood on them. He wanted to protect his skates, not fall, but still take care of the fans.
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