The San Jose Sharks were able to overcome the great goaltending from the first place Colorado Avalanche to win 3-1. This closes out their 2 game homestand with 2 wins against teams they had previously lost to on the road. They left for Carolina today to face the Hurricanes Sunday morning. The game is a matinee to not conflict with the NFL's Carolina Panthers.
The Sharks were able to get off to a good start finally, but had a hard time getting the puck past the league's hottest goaltender, Craig Anderson. Anderson was able to stop first shots, rebounds, even scrambles until the waning seconds of the second period. Sharks captain Rob Blake put a shot on net, Patrick Marleau was denied on the rebound, and then Ryane Clowe came in from the left side, swatting at the puck. With just 5.6 seconds remaining, Clowe got off the schneid and got the Sharks on the board.
For the second goal, Jason Demers found Dany Heatley at the side of the net for an easy redirect of Demers' long pass. This was rookie Demers' 9th assist of the season, 3 behind leading defenseman Tomas Kaberle. Colorado was able to cut the lead to 1 when rookie Matt Duchene put in his short handed rebound after Dan Boyle got caught looking at for the puck. San Jose answered just 30 seconds later on Jamie McGinn's first goal of the season. McGinn was up ice and got the stretch pass from Marleau to spring him for a partial breakaway. Rushing up the left wing, McGinn took a shot before the defense could cut him off, beating Anderson with a shot off the post and in. McGinn wasn't even sure it was in initially, and attempted to put in the rebound. That sucked any life Duchene's goal had given the Avalanche out of them.
Joe Thornton missed about 7 minutes in the second period after taking a blocked shot to the face. A linesman picked something up off the ice and brought it over to the San Jose bench at the next stoppage, handling it carefully. The first thing that came to my mind was "Chicklets!" Most likely, Thornton had some dental work done last night, or early this morning to make the 9:00 AM flight.
As the game was going along in the second period, I was thinking, the longer we keep them in this, the more likely they'll win. I've seen too many Sharks games where they bomb the opposing goaltender, give up hardly any shots against, and loose 3-1. So, it's good that they were able to get in front, and stay there.
Also, Manny Malhotra has been named the official NHLPA representative for the Sharks. After Brad Lukowich had been traded, Douglas Murray had stepped up to fill the role. Murray will continue to share the duties with Malhotra, but Malhotra will have the title.
Interesting article from Mark Emmons of the SJ Mercury News about the ice as San Jose Arena.
Video highlights from the game courtesy of the NHL:
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sharks squeak out win in shootout on return home
The Sharks returned home to face division rivals the LA Kings. After getting off to a great start, the Kings were leading the division going into the night, with the Sharks just one point behind. As is typical after a long road trip, the Sharks got off to a slow start. Evgeni Nabokov was able to keep them in the game, weathering the early storm from the Kings. The first period also featured the only 4 minor penalties of the game, 2 for each team. Neither team was able to capitalize on their power play time, nor the 4-on-4 resulting from the Kings penalty while they were on the power play. Being out shot 13 to 5, the Sharks had to be happy to come out of the first period with a scoreless tie.
The Kings got on the scoreboard first with Alexander Frolov working a wraparound try in front. His shot was going wide, but was deflected by Marc-Edouard Vlasic past Nabokov for the 1-0 lead. This happened shortly after an icing where we had gotten a partial change in. This left the mixed defensive pair of Dan Boyle and Vlasic out there.
The goal against seemed to awaken the sleeping monster and the Sharks started to play with more life. Six and a half minutes later, Douglas Murray passed the puck up to Patrick Marleau in the neutral zone. Marleau was able to accelerate by Matt Greene, charging into the left face-off circle. Marleau then ripped a shot from just outside the dot to even the game at 1. Dan Boyle, coming off a broken thumb, got the other assist.
That was it for the scoring in regulation, with the Sharks outshooting the Kings 14-6 in the second. The third period was fairly even, but a tad sloppy with each time giving the puck away. The shots in the third period and overtime were much more even, slight edge to the Sharks in the third 9-7, but the Kings edged the Sharks 3-2 in OT.
In the shootout, the Kings took the early lead with Michal Handzus scoring after Marleau was denied. The Sharks' third shooter, Dany Heatley, was able to score to keep the Sharks' hopes alive. It was scoreless for the next two rounds, then Ryane Clowe got the nod. As Clowe has not scored a goal yet after signing a new contract for a decent raise, he needed to score to give him a little confidence. Clowe came through with a nice backhand. Jarret Stoll was then stoned by Nabokov to win the shootout 2-1.
Third star went to Frolov, second to Marleau, and first to Nabokov, but he make Clowe do the immediate post-game interview.
Again, not the best start, but not terribly surprising after a 6-game road trip. Still, not getting out of the shoot very well, and again giving up the first goal of the game are habits they'll want to break.
With Torrey Mitchel and Joe Pavelski practicing with the team, we know that we should see them back in the lineup soon. That should help get some players back to playing their proper roles. That said, one of the biggest things is that Patrick Marleau seems to be one of those players that plays better when he's not wearing the captain's C. I'm hearing people saying now that he's more of a leader now that he's not the captain. Won't it be interesting if he has his best year after losing the captaincy?
The Kings got on the scoreboard first with Alexander Frolov working a wraparound try in front. His shot was going wide, but was deflected by Marc-Edouard Vlasic past Nabokov for the 1-0 lead. This happened shortly after an icing where we had gotten a partial change in. This left the mixed defensive pair of Dan Boyle and Vlasic out there.
The goal against seemed to awaken the sleeping monster and the Sharks started to play with more life. Six and a half minutes later, Douglas Murray passed the puck up to Patrick Marleau in the neutral zone. Marleau was able to accelerate by Matt Greene, charging into the left face-off circle. Marleau then ripped a shot from just outside the dot to even the game at 1. Dan Boyle, coming off a broken thumb, got the other assist.
That was it for the scoring in regulation, with the Sharks outshooting the Kings 14-6 in the second. The third period was fairly even, but a tad sloppy with each time giving the puck away. The shots in the third period and overtime were much more even, slight edge to the Sharks in the third 9-7, but the Kings edged the Sharks 3-2 in OT.
In the shootout, the Kings took the early lead with Michal Handzus scoring after Marleau was denied. The Sharks' third shooter, Dany Heatley, was able to score to keep the Sharks' hopes alive. It was scoreless for the next two rounds, then Ryane Clowe got the nod. As Clowe has not scored a goal yet after signing a new contract for a decent raise, he needed to score to give him a little confidence. Clowe came through with a nice backhand. Jarret Stoll was then stoned by Nabokov to win the shootout 2-1.
Third star went to Frolov, second to Marleau, and first to Nabokov, but he make Clowe do the immediate post-game interview.
Again, not the best start, but not terribly surprising after a 6-game road trip. Still, not getting out of the shoot very well, and again giving up the first goal of the game are habits they'll want to break.
With Torrey Mitchel and Joe Pavelski practicing with the team, we know that we should see them back in the lineup soon. That should help get some players back to playing their proper roles. That said, one of the biggest things is that Patrick Marleau seems to be one of those players that plays better when he's not wearing the captain's C. I'm hearing people saying now that he's more of a leader now that he's not the captain. Won't it be interesting if he has his best year after losing the captaincy?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sharks win 2 in 2 days to finish road trip
The San Jose Sharks should be happy on their way home tonight after capping off their 6 game road trip with 2 wins in back to back nights. Last night, they hung on against Atlanta for a 4-3 win, and tonight they kept the pressure up against the Flyers for a 4-1 win.
In the first game against Atlanta, the Sharks faced a former Shark in goal, Johan Hedberg. Unlike 9 of their previous 10 games, the Sharks came out and got the first goal of the game. This time, it was Thornton getting a second chance, putting it in to take the 1-0 lead in the first minute of play. For Atlanta Thrasher Dany Heatley got a power play goal from a rebound put into the slot to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead heading into intermission. Free agent aquisition Manny Malhotra got his first point as a Shark assisting on the play. The Sharks then duplicated the goal in the first minute in the second period, this time from Patrick Marleau. Marleau took a feed from Dan Boyle on right wing half boards, pivoted around to square himself to the goal, and shot in the top corner, blocker side. The Sharks build up a 4-1 lead as Marleau got his second of the night, chasing Hedberg.
Atlanta showed they weren't going to go quietly into the night with a from Rich Peverly on a one timer off a pass through the box before the end of the period to cut it to 4-2. Then, in the first minute of the third period, right after Dany Heatley came out of the penalty box, rookie Evander Kane notched his third of the year to make it 4-3. With the Sharks forwards caught up high, and Heatley rushing back into the play, Kane was left alone on the play. Perhaps Joe Thornton could have stayed lower, and kept his stick in a passing lane to make it harder, but that is a tough play to read. Despite great pressure from the Thrashers, the Sharks were able to hold on.
Each team finished with a shortened lineup. Atlanta had their captain, sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, go down in the first period after blocking a shot with his foot. That Kovalchuk was out makes Atlanta's comeback all that more impressive as they were without their best player. The Sharks meanwhile had Devin Setoguchi get hurt in the first period, and rookie Ryan Vesce in the third. Each is day-to-day with lower body injuries.
In the Flyers game, we got a duel of backup netminders with former Shark Brian Boucher going for Philly and Thomas Greiss getting his first start of the year for the Sharks. To deal with the injuries, Logan Couture and Jamie McGinn were called up from Worchester. This was Couture's NHL debut. The injuries required lots of line juggling, with Benn Ferriero getting the nod for the first line with Thornton and Heatley. Manny Malhotra got pushed out to the wing last night to fill in for Setoguchi, and got the nod again to play with Patrick Marleau and Ryane Clowe. Scott Nichol centered Jamie McGinn and Jed Ortmeyer, with Logan Couture rounding things out with Jody Shelley and Brad Staubutz.
Heatley got on the score sheet with a power play goal for the second game in a row as the Sharks opened the scoring. After not scoring first is 9 of their first 10, they have now scored first twice in a row. Heatley slapped at a rebound sitting at the feet of Boucher from behind the end line, knocking the puck in. Thornton and Boyle got the assists on the play. The Flyers answered on a nice shot from Darrol Powe to tie the game at 1. This seemed awkward, but it may have just been that Greiss turned to the side after the goal. Shortly after tying the score, the Flyers had a chance to take the lead, but just couldn't get the puck to go in.
The referees seemed to have a hard time tonight. Several times they got in the way of the play (getting into Heatley's path on a break up ice, in the way of the cycle, etc.). Some of the calls didn't make sense, such as why Shelley got an additional interference penalty on his fight with Ian Laperriere in the first period. Then, Douglas Murray got called for a hold that he did not commit. Early in the second, the Flyers Mike Richards was called for charging Greiss in what seemed like a player driving the net. The coup de grace had to be the announcement of a penalty to the Sharks number 68 when the Sharks had no 68 in the lineup. Instead, it was on number 59, Brad Staubitz.
Malhotra got his first goal as a Shark, this time from a junky redirected play from behind the net. It looks just like a great shot on the score sheet, but was definitely one with a little luck involved. Just a couple of minutes later, Malhotra got his second of the night, for his 200th career point, to make the lead 3-1 for the Sharks. They would take that into the second intermission.
Unlike the night before, with some stellar goaltending, and good pressure from the Sharks, they kept the Flyers from getting back in the game. They even scored a clinching goal with 3:09 left from Jed Ortmeyer off a turnaround drive.
Another thing I noticed was about the play of Dan Boyle. He was really competing hard tonight, which the Sharks announcers picked up on, but he really is quarterbacking the power play when he's out there. Some players seem to only quarterback when they have the puck. Boyle is directing where to go even when he doesn't have the puck. Granted, tonight Vlasic wasn't able to keep the puck in, but the idea of going back to the other point was Boyle's. I've seen him direct with his stick before where the play should go, and I think it really makes it hard for the other team. On defense, you are usually looking at the puck, so anyone behind you pointing to go one way can't be seen. Had they yelled across, you could hear that, and maybe jump on the play. I don't know how long that will work, but Boyle does bring a lot to the Sharks.
With the win, Greiss got his first NHL win, good enough for second star of the night. Malhotra's two goals got him first star, and third went to Philly's Powe.
Highlights from the Flyers game:
In the first game against Atlanta, the Sharks faced a former Shark in goal, Johan Hedberg. Unlike 9 of their previous 10 games, the Sharks came out and got the first goal of the game. This time, it was Thornton getting a second chance, putting it in to take the 1-0 lead in the first minute of play. For Atlanta Thrasher Dany Heatley got a power play goal from a rebound put into the slot to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead heading into intermission. Free agent aquisition Manny Malhotra got his first point as a Shark assisting on the play. The Sharks then duplicated the goal in the first minute in the second period, this time from Patrick Marleau. Marleau took a feed from Dan Boyle on right wing half boards, pivoted around to square himself to the goal, and shot in the top corner, blocker side. The Sharks build up a 4-1 lead as Marleau got his second of the night, chasing Hedberg.
Atlanta showed they weren't going to go quietly into the night with a from Rich Peverly on a one timer off a pass through the box before the end of the period to cut it to 4-2. Then, in the first minute of the third period, right after Dany Heatley came out of the penalty box, rookie Evander Kane notched his third of the year to make it 4-3. With the Sharks forwards caught up high, and Heatley rushing back into the play, Kane was left alone on the play. Perhaps Joe Thornton could have stayed lower, and kept his stick in a passing lane to make it harder, but that is a tough play to read. Despite great pressure from the Thrashers, the Sharks were able to hold on.
Each team finished with a shortened lineup. Atlanta had their captain, sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, go down in the first period after blocking a shot with his foot. That Kovalchuk was out makes Atlanta's comeback all that more impressive as they were without their best player. The Sharks meanwhile had Devin Setoguchi get hurt in the first period, and rookie Ryan Vesce in the third. Each is day-to-day with lower body injuries.
In the Flyers game, we got a duel of backup netminders with former Shark Brian Boucher going for Philly and Thomas Greiss getting his first start of the year for the Sharks. To deal with the injuries, Logan Couture and Jamie McGinn were called up from Worchester. This was Couture's NHL debut. The injuries required lots of line juggling, with Benn Ferriero getting the nod for the first line with Thornton and Heatley. Manny Malhotra got pushed out to the wing last night to fill in for Setoguchi, and got the nod again to play with Patrick Marleau and Ryane Clowe. Scott Nichol centered Jamie McGinn and Jed Ortmeyer, with Logan Couture rounding things out with Jody Shelley and Brad Staubutz.
Heatley got on the score sheet with a power play goal for the second game in a row as the Sharks opened the scoring. After not scoring first is 9 of their first 10, they have now scored first twice in a row. Heatley slapped at a rebound sitting at the feet of Boucher from behind the end line, knocking the puck in. Thornton and Boyle got the assists on the play. The Flyers answered on a nice shot from Darrol Powe to tie the game at 1. This seemed awkward, but it may have just been that Greiss turned to the side after the goal. Shortly after tying the score, the Flyers had a chance to take the lead, but just couldn't get the puck to go in.
The referees seemed to have a hard time tonight. Several times they got in the way of the play (getting into Heatley's path on a break up ice, in the way of the cycle, etc.). Some of the calls didn't make sense, such as why Shelley got an additional interference penalty on his fight with Ian Laperriere in the first period. Then, Douglas Murray got called for a hold that he did not commit. Early in the second, the Flyers Mike Richards was called for charging Greiss in what seemed like a player driving the net. The coup de grace had to be the announcement of a penalty to the Sharks number 68 when the Sharks had no 68 in the lineup. Instead, it was on number 59, Brad Staubitz.
Malhotra got his first goal as a Shark, this time from a junky redirected play from behind the net. It looks just like a great shot on the score sheet, but was definitely one with a little luck involved. Just a couple of minutes later, Malhotra got his second of the night, for his 200th career point, to make the lead 3-1 for the Sharks. They would take that into the second intermission.
Unlike the night before, with some stellar goaltending, and good pressure from the Sharks, they kept the Flyers from getting back in the game. They even scored a clinching goal with 3:09 left from Jed Ortmeyer off a turnaround drive.
Another thing I noticed was about the play of Dan Boyle. He was really competing hard tonight, which the Sharks announcers picked up on, but he really is quarterbacking the power play when he's out there. Some players seem to only quarterback when they have the puck. Boyle is directing where to go even when he doesn't have the puck. Granted, tonight Vlasic wasn't able to keep the puck in, but the idea of going back to the other point was Boyle's. I've seen him direct with his stick before where the play should go, and I think it really makes it hard for the other team. On defense, you are usually looking at the puck, so anyone behind you pointing to go one way can't be seen. Had they yelled across, you could hear that, and maybe jump on the play. I don't know how long that will work, but Boyle does bring a lot to the Sharks.
With the win, Greiss got his first NHL win, good enough for second star of the night. Malhotra's two goals got him first star, and third went to Philly's Powe.
Highlights from the Flyers game:
Does the NHL know what was wrong with yesterday's 15 games?
I'm not sure the NHL quite gets how to schedule their games. For the second time this season, fourth since expanding to 30 teams, all 30 teams were playing, giving 15 games. One other was the season opener out of the lockout that cost us a season, and I'm not sure when the other one was.
15 games on a Saturday sounds great for a hockey fan like me with Center Ice. I'd be able to watch a lot of hockey right? Wrong! The games were all scheduled to take place in about a five and a half hour period with the first games at 4:00 PM Pacific (7:00 PM Eastern). The last games started at 7:00 here on the West Coast, and 10:00 back East.
Still, that gives you two games and you can bounce around, right? Maybe not. How many hockey fans don't have a favorite team? Not many. Most have a particular team they follow. Some are more into it than others, some are more fickle to see what's going on elsewhere, but I would say a majority would watch their team for one of those games. That blocks out about two and a half of the five hours, leaving you with a maximum of three hours for flicking around to catch other games. Unless you watched your team's post game show. Or pre-game show. Or both if your team did both yesterday. So, that's even less time to flick around. With most of them starting early, the games dwindled down to fewer and fewer.
A wonderful day of hockey for me used to be it would start at 10:00 AM with a 1:00 PM back east start, maybe the Devils or the Bruins. That would be followed by a 1:00 PM game, then the Hockey Night in Canada game(s) at 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM. If I was lucky, the Kings or Ducks would have a 7:30PM that I could jump over to catch the end of if I watched the second half of the HNIC double header. That would give me hockey from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM or maybe even 10:30 PM. Basically, 12 hours of hockey. Then, they stopped the 1:00 PM starts. I had a 3 hours gap in the middle of it. I hated it. Still do. Mom liked it. When I was over at my parents' place, she knew she could go shopping then and I'd help her.
Maybe you say they're trying to avoid college football. It's on all day. (started at 9:00 AM Pacific yesterday, and had games starting as late at just after 7:00 PM) Spread the games out so we can watch more, especially with no US national coverage beyond the NHL Network. (Still small time to many people.) Folks trying out the Center Ice package (like on DirecTV's month long preview) might actually get hooked if they think it's on all the time. But if they think the games are always clustered up like yesterday, they might not go for it.
15 games on a Saturday sounds great for a hockey fan like me with Center Ice. I'd be able to watch a lot of hockey right? Wrong! The games were all scheduled to take place in about a five and a half hour period with the first games at 4:00 PM Pacific (7:00 PM Eastern). The last games started at 7:00 here on the West Coast, and 10:00 back East.
Still, that gives you two games and you can bounce around, right? Maybe not. How many hockey fans don't have a favorite team? Not many. Most have a particular team they follow. Some are more into it than others, some are more fickle to see what's going on elsewhere, but I would say a majority would watch their team for one of those games. That blocks out about two and a half of the five hours, leaving you with a maximum of three hours for flicking around to catch other games. Unless you watched your team's post game show. Or pre-game show. Or both if your team did both yesterday. So, that's even less time to flick around. With most of them starting early, the games dwindled down to fewer and fewer.
A wonderful day of hockey for me used to be it would start at 10:00 AM with a 1:00 PM back east start, maybe the Devils or the Bruins. That would be followed by a 1:00 PM game, then the Hockey Night in Canada game(s) at 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM. If I was lucky, the Kings or Ducks would have a 7:30PM that I could jump over to catch the end of if I watched the second half of the HNIC double header. That would give me hockey from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM or maybe even 10:30 PM. Basically, 12 hours of hockey. Then, they stopped the 1:00 PM starts. I had a 3 hours gap in the middle of it. I hated it. Still do. Mom liked it. When I was over at my parents' place, she knew she could go shopping then and I'd help her.
Maybe you say they're trying to avoid college football. It's on all day. (started at 9:00 AM Pacific yesterday, and had games starting as late at just after 7:00 PM) Spread the games out so we can watch more, especially with no US national coverage beyond the NHL Network. (Still small time to many people.) Folks trying out the Center Ice package (like on DirecTV's month long preview) might actually get hooked if they think it's on all the time. But if they think the games are always clustered up like yesterday, they might not go for it.
Quakes drop season finale to Galaxy
The San Jose Earthquakes finished up their season finale 3 game road trip with a 2-0 loss to the LA Galaxy. The win caps the turnaround for the Galaxy as they put up the best record in the Western Conference and now have home field advantage through the playoffs.
The first goal of the match came at the 24th minute. Landon Donovan tried to cross the ball in, but Bobby Burling deflected it. Unfortunately, it turned into a looping deflection that goalkeeper Joe Cannon just could not get to. The good news for Quakes fan who still hate Donovan is that it was ruled an own goal to Burling, so Donovan didn't get credit for the goal. The Quakes were almost able to answer off a free kick moments later, but Brandon McDonald's header was knocked away by the quick reflexes of Donovan Ricketts. The teams went into halftime with the Galaxy up 1-0.
Quakes midfielders Ramon Sanchez and Simon Elliott never really got involved in the play, probably hurting the Quakes chances to really develop offense well. At the 66th minute, the Quakes tried to put some spark in the lineup, bringing in Quincy Amarikwa for Shea Salinas. Amarikwa went up top to join Ryan Johnson, pushing Arturo Alvarez back into Salinas' midfield spot.
Around the 75th minute, the Galaxy's David Beckham found Bobby Convey with a studs up challenge, putting Convey down on the turf for a bit. Becks was not cautioned on the play, but perhaps he should have been. Cannon came out of his goal to exchange words with Becks about the tackle, and while we couldn't hear on the TV broadcast, I could they weren't kind. While you like to see your players passionate, you like to see your keeper stay out of those fracases, especially when they're not in the penalty area. Did this affect Cannon's play on the next exchange? I don't know, but with Chris Klein springing Donovan forward, Donovan was able to touch it past a challenging Cannon for the 2-0 goal.
Beckham was subbed out at the 86th minute with the question still lingering of what will happen at the end of the year? Will he exercise his option to end his contract with MLS and the Galaxy? Will he decide to stay, but they work out a loan again to AC Milan? Beckham wants to play in the upcoming World Cup, but his spot is not guaranteed. Playing for a high level European team would help get him into the best possible form. I would say he has a chance to as he did play in qualifying matches while under the previous loan. The question is if he can contribute enough to be beneficial. I think for him to have any hope of it, any loan would have to be for up to the World Cup. They should work that out after the playoffs, but before the loan starts. None of the "loan until the start of the MLS season" and follow on soap opera of "is he coming back to MLS or not?"
For the Quakes, some lingering questions. Why is our distribution out of the back so poor? Is it that Cannon's not putting the ball where he should be? Or is it our field players not getting to the right spots? I'm not talking the times when the ball is shanked, but when a decent kick down field is done and there's no one near when it comes down. After taking a lot of corner kicks this year, Bobby Convey wasn't taking them, and wasn't anywhere near the box in the game. Why? I would have liked the broadcast to have picked up on that, and said something about it. Was it his lingering hamstring injury? Or, did we want his speed out there to help deal with Donovan as he seemed to be at midfield. But, is that a case of the Galaxy then dictating our offense by forcing us to spend a speedy, should be decent offensive player on a defensive responsibility?
Now it's time for my rant. While I didn't want a lot of Quakes broadcasts this year, part of that is because it's just not entertaining for me. They seem to think that the game isn't interesting and have to spend all 90 minutes talking about something. Or, perhaps John Shrader wants to demonstrate how much he knows by telling us factoids about the players, coaches, etc. Too bad you got a fact wrong last night John. (Kovalenko's time with DC United didn't overlap with Bruce Arena, and you had to correct yourself on air!) It just seems to take away from what's going on. Instead of really getting into the game, I get cheesed off at the broadcast because it's so distracting! The commentary should add to the game, not overshadow what's going on. I'm tuning in to watch a soccer match, not listen to John & Troy Dayak talk about a game. It's only made worse when we can see players get misidentified. Why? They shifted positions because of a substitution, something that should be expected. Instead, the guy that was subbed off was just called out for no one important - just the HIGHEST PAID PLAYER ON THE GALAXY DAVID BECKHAM! Speaking of Beckham, in the open of the broadcast, it was mentioned that it was news that he was starting. Why? Never answered, so I'm left hanging.
The broadcast's problems don't end up in the booth. The truck is to blame too. I know that sometimes they just grab the feed from someone else and put their own commentary on top of it, but that doesn't excuse poor decisions. Someone still made them, and they can be improved. What did I see wrong last night? Lots of shots away from the action. Hero shots on someone, replays, etc. I could not believe that at the 43rd minute they showed the only goal of the game again. I mean, you've got halftime just a fwe minutes away, you're going to show highlights, and a goal is highlights. It's not like you've got more than 17 minutes of highlights, right? One goal. Why, you're probably gonna scramble for 2 minutes worth without showing the goal 17 times. Why show the goal again just before halftime when there's game action going on?!?!?!?
To be fair, it's not just the Quakes or even MLS broadcasts that suffer from poor direction. Broadcasts on ESPN also suffer from this. Another thing though that irks me, especially when a game is on a large network is when they can't pick a start time that works with the sunlight. If the field is partially shadowed, you may not be able to see some of the action. I've noticed the cameras seem to be set to pick up the shadow well (and the sunlit shots are blindingly bright), or the sunlit areas (and when they run into shadow, you're glad they're wearing white socks and the ball is white). It's not like the sun is a surprise. It's there every day, and what shadows are cast should be well know. So, pick a start time that doesn't kill the broadcast. (You TV producers in Europe need to listen to this too!)
As long as I'm ranting, what's up with the Quakes Insider? Did the Quakes stop sending this out after the last home game? Or did they just stop sending it to me? One of my complaints all season long has been the availability and accuracy of information. There were no lineups available from the Barcelona/Chivas game. Sure, there may have been something online, but I wasn't that inclined to go looking. I feel something should have been provided. The MLS game notes are a joke. I think the information is two days old, so the starting lineups aren't always accurate. I know injuries happen, but sometimes the stuff is way out there. Pressure needs to be put on the league to make these more useful, or the team needs to produce something more up to date to pass out.
Yeah, I'm pretty frustrated with the Quakes this year, both on and off the field. That's probably partially coloring my views, but I think the broadcasts can really improve and the availability of information from official sources can certainly improve. They could also get a little luckier in the scheduling. Their last 4 games of the season were a midweek home finale, and three road games. (this after an inexplicable extended break with no league matches for around 2 weeks.)
The first goal of the match came at the 24th minute. Landon Donovan tried to cross the ball in, but Bobby Burling deflected it. Unfortunately, it turned into a looping deflection that goalkeeper Joe Cannon just could not get to. The good news for Quakes fan who still hate Donovan is that it was ruled an own goal to Burling, so Donovan didn't get credit for the goal. The Quakes were almost able to answer off a free kick moments later, but Brandon McDonald's header was knocked away by the quick reflexes of Donovan Ricketts. The teams went into halftime with the Galaxy up 1-0.
Quakes midfielders Ramon Sanchez and Simon Elliott never really got involved in the play, probably hurting the Quakes chances to really develop offense well. At the 66th minute, the Quakes tried to put some spark in the lineup, bringing in Quincy Amarikwa for Shea Salinas. Amarikwa went up top to join Ryan Johnson, pushing Arturo Alvarez back into Salinas' midfield spot.
Around the 75th minute, the Galaxy's David Beckham found Bobby Convey with a studs up challenge, putting Convey down on the turf for a bit. Becks was not cautioned on the play, but perhaps he should have been. Cannon came out of his goal to exchange words with Becks about the tackle, and while we couldn't hear on the TV broadcast, I could they weren't kind. While you like to see your players passionate, you like to see your keeper stay out of those fracases, especially when they're not in the penalty area. Did this affect Cannon's play on the next exchange? I don't know, but with Chris Klein springing Donovan forward, Donovan was able to touch it past a challenging Cannon for the 2-0 goal.
Beckham was subbed out at the 86th minute with the question still lingering of what will happen at the end of the year? Will he exercise his option to end his contract with MLS and the Galaxy? Will he decide to stay, but they work out a loan again to AC Milan? Beckham wants to play in the upcoming World Cup, but his spot is not guaranteed. Playing for a high level European team would help get him into the best possible form. I would say he has a chance to as he did play in qualifying matches while under the previous loan. The question is if he can contribute enough to be beneficial. I think for him to have any hope of it, any loan would have to be for up to the World Cup. They should work that out after the playoffs, but before the loan starts. None of the "loan until the start of the MLS season" and follow on soap opera of "is he coming back to MLS or not?"
For the Quakes, some lingering questions. Why is our distribution out of the back so poor? Is it that Cannon's not putting the ball where he should be? Or is it our field players not getting to the right spots? I'm not talking the times when the ball is shanked, but when a decent kick down field is done and there's no one near when it comes down. After taking a lot of corner kicks this year, Bobby Convey wasn't taking them, and wasn't anywhere near the box in the game. Why? I would have liked the broadcast to have picked up on that, and said something about it. Was it his lingering hamstring injury? Or, did we want his speed out there to help deal with Donovan as he seemed to be at midfield. But, is that a case of the Galaxy then dictating our offense by forcing us to spend a speedy, should be decent offensive player on a defensive responsibility?
Now it's time for my rant. While I didn't want a lot of Quakes broadcasts this year, part of that is because it's just not entertaining for me. They seem to think that the game isn't interesting and have to spend all 90 minutes talking about something. Or, perhaps John Shrader wants to demonstrate how much he knows by telling us factoids about the players, coaches, etc. Too bad you got a fact wrong last night John. (Kovalenko's time with DC United didn't overlap with Bruce Arena, and you had to correct yourself on air!) It just seems to take away from what's going on. Instead of really getting into the game, I get cheesed off at the broadcast because it's so distracting! The commentary should add to the game, not overshadow what's going on. I'm tuning in to watch a soccer match, not listen to John & Troy Dayak talk about a game. It's only made worse when we can see players get misidentified. Why? They shifted positions because of a substitution, something that should be expected. Instead, the guy that was subbed off was just called out for no one important - just the HIGHEST PAID PLAYER ON THE GALAXY DAVID BECKHAM! Speaking of Beckham, in the open of the broadcast, it was mentioned that it was news that he was starting. Why? Never answered, so I'm left hanging.
The broadcast's problems don't end up in the booth. The truck is to blame too. I know that sometimes they just grab the feed from someone else and put their own commentary on top of it, but that doesn't excuse poor decisions. Someone still made them, and they can be improved. What did I see wrong last night? Lots of shots away from the action. Hero shots on someone, replays, etc. I could not believe that at the 43rd minute they showed the only goal of the game again. I mean, you've got halftime just a fwe minutes away, you're going to show highlights, and a goal is highlights. It's not like you've got more than 17 minutes of highlights, right? One goal. Why, you're probably gonna scramble for 2 minutes worth without showing the goal 17 times. Why show the goal again just before halftime when there's game action going on?!?!?!?
To be fair, it's not just the Quakes or even MLS broadcasts that suffer from poor direction. Broadcasts on ESPN also suffer from this. Another thing though that irks me, especially when a game is on a large network is when they can't pick a start time that works with the sunlight. If the field is partially shadowed, you may not be able to see some of the action. I've noticed the cameras seem to be set to pick up the shadow well (and the sunlit shots are blindingly bright), or the sunlit areas (and when they run into shadow, you're glad they're wearing white socks and the ball is white). It's not like the sun is a surprise. It's there every day, and what shadows are cast should be well know. So, pick a start time that doesn't kill the broadcast. (You TV producers in Europe need to listen to this too!)
As long as I'm ranting, what's up with the Quakes Insider? Did the Quakes stop sending this out after the last home game? Or did they just stop sending it to me? One of my complaints all season long has been the availability and accuracy of information. There were no lineups available from the Barcelona/Chivas game. Sure, there may have been something online, but I wasn't that inclined to go looking. I feel something should have been provided. The MLS game notes are a joke. I think the information is two days old, so the starting lineups aren't always accurate. I know injuries happen, but sometimes the stuff is way out there. Pressure needs to be put on the league to make these more useful, or the team needs to produce something more up to date to pass out.
Yeah, I'm pretty frustrated with the Quakes this year, both on and off the field. That's probably partially coloring my views, but I think the broadcasts can really improve and the availability of information from official sources can certainly improve. They could also get a little luckier in the scheduling. Their last 4 games of the season were a midweek home finale, and three road games. (this after an inexplicable extended break with no league matches for around 2 weeks.)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sharks sloppy in loss to Tampa Bay
After two days off, the Sharks continued their 6 game road trip in Tampa Bay to face the Lightning. The game got off to a bad start for the Sharks with Tampa scoring just 30 seconds in the game. It was rookie Jamie Wright's first career goal. (How many times have Sharks fans heard that one? Too many.)
From there, the Lightning played their game, and the Sharks seemed to be unable to really find their game the whole night. Before the first period was up, Tampa scored again to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
This was my first look at second overall draft pick Victor Hedman. He was paired with veteran Mattias Ohlund, also from Sweden signed as a free agent this past summer to mentor the 18 year old. Hedman looked good out there. One time he escaped from Joe Thornton's forechecking pressure to start the play up ice. He then followed the rush and was able to jump out into the offensive zone to corral the puck before making a backhand feed into the slot. Keep an eye on this kid as he may turn out to be something special, like his high draft status would imply.
The Sharks were able to cut the lead to 2-1 on Ryan Vesce's third goal, giving him a three game goal scoring streak. Vesce put in the rebound of Kent Huskins' shot from the point. Also assisting on the play was rookie defenseman Jason Demers, his eighth of the season. That ties Demers with Philadelphia's Matt Carle (former Shark) for the league lead for defenseman assists. (Not rookie d-men, but all d-men.) Tampa Bay answered when former first overall pick Steven Stamkos picked up a turnover from Evgeni Nabokov, skated around, whiffed on his shot, then got it away on the second attempt. Demers was unable to get away from Ryan Malone near the net to cover Stamkos and fell on the play.
Tampa was able to extend their lead to 4-1 on a shot from the blue line from Andrej Meszaros. Unfortunately for the Sharks, this was tipped by Marc-Edouard Vlasic, making it harder for Nabokov to stop. Still, a shot from that distance, I'm sure Nabby would like to have that one back.
The Sharks were able to make it interesting by scoring on the power play with 6:19 to go. This came from Dan Boyle after he moved well laterally to make a shooting lane. Not getting on the scoresheet on the play but still having a big impact was Devin Setoguchi. He screened Tampa's netminder Mike Smith, keeping him from seeing the shot. (I'm not sure, but Smith might still have not seen it.)
After pulling Nabokov for the extra attacker, the Sharks were unable to score. They had a great goal mouth scramble, including the referee in the zone jumping on top of the net to be in the right place to make a call. The pucked stayed alive, wasn't ever frozen, so play continued. Stick tap to the referee there for being there and getting it right. He could have easily stayed a little away and blown the play dead, but he got right up there, into a good vantage point and made the right call - no call.
Tampa was able to put the game away with an empty net goal from Stamkos, his second of the night. Alex Tanguay made a nice play here to head man the puck to Stamkos when he could have shot it at the empty net. Stamkos was in better position to skate clearly to the empty net and rag more time. Even though Tanguay is still looking for his first goal of the season, he made the unselfish play.
Tampa was able to play their game, putting pressure on the Sharks, winning more face offs than the Sharks, while the Sharks just seemed to be off a little the whole night. They weren't able to get much of anything going even though they shuffled around the lines. We'll see if they can regroup in time for Saturday's game in Atlanta. Also, now that we're 10 games in to the season and Thomas Greiss's only game action has been in relief, we're wondering if Greiss will get the nod for either the Atlanta game, or the Philly game the following day.
From there, the Lightning played their game, and the Sharks seemed to be unable to really find their game the whole night. Before the first period was up, Tampa scored again to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
This was my first look at second overall draft pick Victor Hedman. He was paired with veteran Mattias Ohlund, also from Sweden signed as a free agent this past summer to mentor the 18 year old. Hedman looked good out there. One time he escaped from Joe Thornton's forechecking pressure to start the play up ice. He then followed the rush and was able to jump out into the offensive zone to corral the puck before making a backhand feed into the slot. Keep an eye on this kid as he may turn out to be something special, like his high draft status would imply.
The Sharks were able to cut the lead to 2-1 on Ryan Vesce's third goal, giving him a three game goal scoring streak. Vesce put in the rebound of Kent Huskins' shot from the point. Also assisting on the play was rookie defenseman Jason Demers, his eighth of the season. That ties Demers with Philadelphia's Matt Carle (former Shark) for the league lead for defenseman assists. (Not rookie d-men, but all d-men.) Tampa Bay answered when former first overall pick Steven Stamkos picked up a turnover from Evgeni Nabokov, skated around, whiffed on his shot, then got it away on the second attempt. Demers was unable to get away from Ryan Malone near the net to cover Stamkos and fell on the play.
Tampa was able to extend their lead to 4-1 on a shot from the blue line from Andrej Meszaros. Unfortunately for the Sharks, this was tipped by Marc-Edouard Vlasic, making it harder for Nabokov to stop. Still, a shot from that distance, I'm sure Nabby would like to have that one back.
The Sharks were able to make it interesting by scoring on the power play with 6:19 to go. This came from Dan Boyle after he moved well laterally to make a shooting lane. Not getting on the scoresheet on the play but still having a big impact was Devin Setoguchi. He screened Tampa's netminder Mike Smith, keeping him from seeing the shot. (I'm not sure, but Smith might still have not seen it.)
After pulling Nabokov for the extra attacker, the Sharks were unable to score. They had a great goal mouth scramble, including the referee in the zone jumping on top of the net to be in the right place to make a call. The pucked stayed alive, wasn't ever frozen, so play continued. Stick tap to the referee there for being there and getting it right. He could have easily stayed a little away and blown the play dead, but he got right up there, into a good vantage point and made the right call - no call.
Tampa was able to put the game away with an empty net goal from Stamkos, his second of the night. Alex Tanguay made a nice play here to head man the puck to Stamkos when he could have shot it at the empty net. Stamkos was in better position to skate clearly to the empty net and rag more time. Even though Tanguay is still looking for his first goal of the season, he made the unselfish play.
Tampa was able to play their game, putting pressure on the Sharks, winning more face offs than the Sharks, while the Sharks just seemed to be off a little the whole night. They weren't able to get much of anything going even though they shuffled around the lines. We'll see if they can regroup in time for Saturday's game in Atlanta. Also, now that we're 10 games in to the season and Thomas Greiss's only game action has been in relief, we're wondering if Greiss will get the nod for either the Atlanta game, or the Philly game the following day.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sharks over the Rangers on national TV
Again, the Sharks had a slow start, spotting the Rangers 2 goals in the first. Then, they took Stephen Valiquette to school. Brad Staubitz gets things going with a goal from Jody Shelley. It was a 2 on 1 where Staubitz just beat him on the long side. Dany Heatley got his name on the score sheet with a little soccer action. He had to kick the puck up to his stick before evening the score.
Just over a minute in the second period, Jed Ortmeyer got his first as a Shark to take the lead. Devin Setoguchi scored the next two, the first on the power play, with Patrick Marleau assisting on both. The second ended with the Sharks up 5-2, and that was all for Valiquette.
Henrik Lundqvist came in to start the third. The Sharks kept up their play with Ryan Vesce getting his second career goal against his favorite team as he grew up. Vesce tipped in Heatley's shot for Heatley's second assist of the night. New York was finally able to answer with just under 3 minutes to go to cut the lead to 6-3. Patrick Marleau then put the game out of reach with the Sharks 7th goal of the game.
The game's three stars all went to the Sharks, with Setoguchi's 2 goals and assist earning him the first star. Heatley's 2 assists and dangerous play got him second star, while Marleau's 2 assists and capping goal got him the third star. In all honesty, they might have been picked before the last goal, so it might have been based on the 2 assists.
The concern to take away from this game is the slow start. While it is nice to put up the 2 points for the win, they need to work on starting better. At some point, they won't be able to rally from an early deficit.
Just over a minute in the second period, Jed Ortmeyer got his first as a Shark to take the lead. Devin Setoguchi scored the next two, the first on the power play, with Patrick Marleau assisting on both. The second ended with the Sharks up 5-2, and that was all for Valiquette.
Henrik Lundqvist came in to start the third. The Sharks kept up their play with Ryan Vesce getting his second career goal against his favorite team as he grew up. Vesce tipped in Heatley's shot for Heatley's second assist of the night. New York was finally able to answer with just under 3 minutes to go to cut the lead to 6-3. Patrick Marleau then put the game out of reach with the Sharks 7th goal of the game.
The game's three stars all went to the Sharks, with Setoguchi's 2 goals and assist earning him the first star. Heatley's 2 assists and dangerous play got him second star, while Marleau's 2 assists and capping goal got him the third star. In all honesty, they might have been picked before the last goal, so it might have been based on the 2 assists.
The concern to take away from this game is the slow start. While it is nice to put up the 2 points for the win, they need to work on starting better. At some point, they won't be able to rally from an early deficit.
Catching up with last week's games
Unfortunately, my internet connection went down last Tuesday (Oct 13th), and I had limited access until today. Here's some highlights of the last two games.
The Sharks opened their 6 game road trip in Washington to face the Capitals, featuring Alexander Ovechkin. The first period was pretty even, but wide open with lots of shots. Alexander Semin opened the scoring with a 5 on 3 goal, but Benn Ferriero answered off a nice give and go to make it 1-1 at the first intermission. Ovechkin broke the game open with 2 goals 28 seconds apart. His first came on a 2 on 2 that Kent Huskins improperly defended. He ended up switching lanes to go with the puck carrier, leaving Ovechkin all alone. That said, Mike Knuble made a nice saucer pass to get the puck to Ovechkin. It was one of those short saucer passes that are hard to make. On Ovechkin's second goal, he got caught up to, but kept position on his check to be able to score.
For the second game of the trip, despite it being against the Islanders, they stayed in Manhattan. Again, they got off to a slow start, spotting the Islanders the first goal on the power play. In our first look at John Tavares, he assisted on the goal, but that was all she wrote. In the second period, the Sharks play picked up, and they took the game over. Patrick Marleau evened the score, then Long Island native Ryan Vesce got his first career NHL goal to take the lead. While growing up, Vesce was a fan of the Rangers though, so he might have really liked scoring on the Islanders. Joe Thornton put the game away in the first minute of the third with a goal to make it 3-1. Devin Setoguchi capped the night with a nice goal, coming off the boards, taking the pass from Ryane Clowe, and popping it up into the roof of the net.
Sharks open the trip 1-1, staying in Manhattan to face the Rangers next.
The Sharks opened their 6 game road trip in Washington to face the Capitals, featuring Alexander Ovechkin. The first period was pretty even, but wide open with lots of shots. Alexander Semin opened the scoring with a 5 on 3 goal, but Benn Ferriero answered off a nice give and go to make it 1-1 at the first intermission. Ovechkin broke the game open with 2 goals 28 seconds apart. His first came on a 2 on 2 that Kent Huskins improperly defended. He ended up switching lanes to go with the puck carrier, leaving Ovechkin all alone. That said, Mike Knuble made a nice saucer pass to get the puck to Ovechkin. It was one of those short saucer passes that are hard to make. On Ovechkin's second goal, he got caught up to, but kept position on his check to be able to score.
For the second game of the trip, despite it being against the Islanders, they stayed in Manhattan. Again, they got off to a slow start, spotting the Islanders the first goal on the power play. In our first look at John Tavares, he assisted on the goal, but that was all she wrote. In the second period, the Sharks play picked up, and they took the game over. Patrick Marleau evened the score, then Long Island native Ryan Vesce got his first career NHL goal to take the lead. While growing up, Vesce was a fan of the Rangers though, so he might have really liked scoring on the Islanders. Joe Thornton put the game away in the first minute of the third with a goal to make it 3-1. Devin Setoguchi capped the night with a nice goal, coming off the boards, taking the pass from Ryane Clowe, and popping it up into the roof of the net.
Sharks open the trip 1-1, staying in Manhattan to face the Rangers next.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sharks fall to Coyotes in Shootout
In a game that was a rousing 0-0 through 65 minutes of play, the Sharks fell to the Coyotes in a shootout. There were a few chances, but not many, all night. Phoenix seemed to have more of the run of play, outshooting the Sharks 30-26.
As a game to watch, I found it boring. Phoenix is currently playing a very defensive style, which makes me think of The Trap. I was wondering if their new coach was Jacques Lemaire or not. There was a fight in the second period between Jody Shelley and Paul Bissonnette. It was fairly even, with each throwing many short lefts. Shelley when down after missing with a big right, with Bissonnette landing on top. Bissonnette isn't considered a heavyweight, but is listed only 5 pounds lighter than Shelley and held his own pretty good there. I think both guys were trying to get their teams going a little with this fight.
Ryane Clowe had a tough night, taking a penalty at the offensive blue line, seeming to hold on to the puck too much, and just not being too effective. He might be starting to get sawdust out of his stick now since he hadn't been able to contribute anything offensively, having 20 PIMs and a -1 to show for it.
Some of their best pressure came in the second period only after Dan Boyle jumped into the play, and stayed involved down on the left wing halfboards. Despite taking a penalty in the first to kill a power play, Boyle played a good game. He got the only Sharks goal in the shootout.
Steven Zalewski played 8 shifts in his NHL debut for 5:26 of total ice time. He had 1 missed shot and 1 takeaway on the night. Otherwise, he didn't really stand out for me, especially since he only had 1 shift in the 3rd for his last shift of the game. We'll see if they decide to keep him up with the big club and take him on the road or not.
Here's the highlights from NHL.com:
The Sharks now head out on the road for an Eastern Conference road swing. They will be out for 6 games, starting in Washington, DC, on to New York for both the Islanders and the Rangers, down to Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and finishing up in Philadelphia.
As a game to watch, I found it boring. Phoenix is currently playing a very defensive style, which makes me think of The Trap. I was wondering if their new coach was Jacques Lemaire or not. There was a fight in the second period between Jody Shelley and Paul Bissonnette. It was fairly even, with each throwing many short lefts. Shelley when down after missing with a big right, with Bissonnette landing on top. Bissonnette isn't considered a heavyweight, but is listed only 5 pounds lighter than Shelley and held his own pretty good there. I think both guys were trying to get their teams going a little with this fight.
Ryane Clowe had a tough night, taking a penalty at the offensive blue line, seeming to hold on to the puck too much, and just not being too effective. He might be starting to get sawdust out of his stick now since he hadn't been able to contribute anything offensively, having 20 PIMs and a -1 to show for it.
Some of their best pressure came in the second period only after Dan Boyle jumped into the play, and stayed involved down on the left wing halfboards. Despite taking a penalty in the first to kill a power play, Boyle played a good game. He got the only Sharks goal in the shootout.
Steven Zalewski played 8 shifts in his NHL debut for 5:26 of total ice time. He had 1 missed shot and 1 takeaway on the night. Otherwise, he didn't really stand out for me, especially since he only had 1 shift in the 3rd for his last shift of the game. We'll see if they decide to keep him up with the big club and take him on the road or not.
Here's the highlights from NHL.com:
The Sharks now head out on the road for an Eastern Conference road swing. They will be out for 6 games, starting in Washington, DC, on to New York for both the Islanders and the Rangers, down to Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and finishing up in Philadelphia.
Zalewski Makes NHL Debut Tonight and Other Musings
Steven Zalewski makes his NHL debut tonight as the Sharks host the Phoenix Coyotes. He'll be wearing #48 and playing on the fourth line with Manny Malhotra and Jody Shelley. He was taking in the 5th round of the '04 draft, went to Clarkson for college, and played last year in Worchester. Frazer McLaren was previously sent down, and Brad Staubitz is expected to be the healthy scratch.
The Sharks have a very short roster so far, with just a scratch or two, typically. They are playing with just 6 defensemen right now, and have been since they sent Joe Callahan down to Worchester on October 5th. They have even played at least one game with no scratches, exactly 20 players on the roster. This seems like more of a risk that I would feel comfortable with. Should a defenseman get hurt in the pregame skate, you don't have enough time to call anyone up to fill in. You could end up with having to play with just 5 defensemen, with possibly a forward filling in.
For the younger players, since they can be sent down to Worchester, it makes sense for them to be playing. They won't develop in the press box, and playing in the AHL is better than not playing in the NHL. Why not have someone like Mathieu Dandenault around? He could play defense or forward, filling the hot spare for both positions with just one roster spot.
I believe the Sharks are trying to keep their salary cap low by keeping the number of players on the roster down. I think they're trying to save up now for late in the season when they'll have to carry more players.
Should something happen and someone can't go, it might not be a bad thing. Last year, they led wire-to-wire pretty much. While they didn't play their best hockey down the stretch, there wasn't a lot to play for. So, they didn't get much in the way of adversity until the playoffs, and didn't quite know how to deal with it. Now, if they can get some right away, learn to deal with it, they'll be in better shape for later in the year, and the playoffs.
The Sharks have a very short roster so far, with just a scratch or two, typically. They are playing with just 6 defensemen right now, and have been since they sent Joe Callahan down to Worchester on October 5th. They have even played at least one game with no scratches, exactly 20 players on the roster. This seems like more of a risk that I would feel comfortable with. Should a defenseman get hurt in the pregame skate, you don't have enough time to call anyone up to fill in. You could end up with having to play with just 5 defensemen, with possibly a forward filling in.
For the younger players, since they can be sent down to Worchester, it makes sense for them to be playing. They won't develop in the press box, and playing in the AHL is better than not playing in the NHL. Why not have someone like Mathieu Dandenault around? He could play defense or forward, filling the hot spare for both positions with just one roster spot.
I believe the Sharks are trying to keep their salary cap low by keeping the number of players on the roster down. I think they're trying to save up now for late in the season when they'll have to carry more players.
Should something happen and someone can't go, it might not be a bad thing. Last year, they led wire-to-wire pretty much. While they didn't play their best hockey down the stretch, there wasn't a lot to play for. So, they didn't get much in the way of adversity until the playoffs, and didn't quite know how to deal with it. Now, if they can get some right away, learn to deal with it, they'll be in better shape for later in the year, and the playoffs.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sharks Rally against the Wild
I might have figured out the secret for the Sharks' success finally. My new mascot that I'm bringing to the games - Little Sharkie Guy. I brought him to the game to put in this picture of a distinctive food item from the Tank. It was something for Puck Daddy. The Sharks rallied for a win, with Dany Heatley getting a hat trick in his home debut. So, I brought him again tonight. What happened? Patrick Marleau got two goals and an assist as the Sharks rallied from 2 down to win 4-2.
Again, the Sharks got off to a slow start, conceding the lead to Minnesota. The nice thing is that they were able to rally and post four unanswered goals.
The early part of the game was very choppy with a lot of penalties, including 2 at the same time to the Sharks for a full 5-on-3. I think this helped the Sharks get off to a slow start again. The odd thing is each team was able to get a floater goal in where it ended up floating over the goalie. Minnesota's had a player out front, who waved his stick at it, but did not touch it. (They did the whole video review thing, but I thought it was going to stand up.)
One of the coolest non-scoring plays was when Devin Setoguchi faked a guy out of his stick to walk towards the front of the net for a chance. The killer play was right at the beginning of the third period with Marleau sprung up ice, catching the Wild defenders flat, scoring at just 9 seconds into the period.
At the start of the game, I noticed some times when the Sharks would be a little off. The power play would have two guys in the same spot, or the penalty kill would have two forwards coming back in the same lane. Later, they seemed to be better at reading where everyone else would be, where they were supposed to be, and so on. This looked better than the last game, so I think they're on the right track to getting the chemistry worked out.
One real nice thing was Jed Ortmeyer scored for the Sharks, bringing the bottom six forwards onto the scoresheet. As they involve the bottom six in the offense more, the whole team will improve.
Nabakov also looked better this game, including one stellar stop on a two pad slide. Plus, Ryane Clowe and Marc-Edouard Vlasic combined to make a sliding save when Nabby was caught out of position.
All-in-all, a nice game to be at.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Big Night for Heatley in Home Debut
The Sharks faced off against the Columbus Blue Jackets in their home opener. Before the game started, they unveiled three banners (Pacific Division, Western Conference and President's Trophy). They got off to a slow start, with the top line of Heatley-Thornton-Setoguchi still a little off. The Blue Jackets were able to take the lead when Rick Nash was uncovered as he crossed the face of the net to pick up a loose puck. The Sharks came alive in the second however when Dan Boyle was sprung on a break up ice while the teams were 4-on-4. Streaking down the right wing, he let a shot go for the first Sharks goal of the night to even the score at 1.
A little later, Dany Heatley was able to walk the puck out in front from behind the end line for a chance that was his first goal as a Shark in San Jose. Columbus was able to tie the game at 2 after Boyle tried to jump up to intercept a pass, but it eluded him. This left Jason Chimera able to drive into the zone with plenty of time and space to score. The Sharks countered with a goal from Vlasic where he used the defender as a screen. I'm not sure, but I think Columbus goaltender Steve Mason still hasn't seen it. Late in the second, Boyle was able to spring Heatley for a breakaway up the left wing. Heatley took a shot short side that gave the Sharks a 4-2 lead going into the second intermission.
Early in the third, the Sharks top line was able to click together again, this time from Setoguchi getting on the scoresheet with the goal. This chased Columbus netminder Mason, bringing on Mathieu Garon. Columbus was able to score the only special teams goal of the night later to cut back into the lead with a power play marker. This came from Raffi Torres in the slot, picking up a point drive rebound. San Jose was able to get a three goal lead back when Dany Heatley was sent on another breakaway, this time benig hauled down for a penalty shot. With two goals on the night, Heatley came calmly down the slot, unleashing a wrist shot for the hat trick, and the hats start to rain down. After play resumed, the crowd chanting Heatley's name, quite enamored of the newly acquired sniper. Final score was 6-3, Sharks.
The three stars were Dan Boyle (a 3 point night), Joe Thornton (a 4 assist night), and Dany Heatley with 3 goals and 1 assist. All in all, a nice result, but not quite perfect. There are things to work on still, but they didn't seem to start to play better once Heatley got on the scoresheet.
A little later, Dany Heatley was able to walk the puck out in front from behind the end line for a chance that was his first goal as a Shark in San Jose. Columbus was able to tie the game at 2 after Boyle tried to jump up to intercept a pass, but it eluded him. This left Jason Chimera able to drive into the zone with plenty of time and space to score. The Sharks countered with a goal from Vlasic where he used the defender as a screen. I'm not sure, but I think Columbus goaltender Steve Mason still hasn't seen it. Late in the second, Boyle was able to spring Heatley for a breakaway up the left wing. Heatley took a shot short side that gave the Sharks a 4-2 lead going into the second intermission.
Early in the third, the Sharks top line was able to click together again, this time from Setoguchi getting on the scoresheet with the goal. This chased Columbus netminder Mason, bringing on Mathieu Garon. Columbus was able to score the only special teams goal of the night later to cut back into the lead with a power play marker. This came from Raffi Torres in the slot, picking up a point drive rebound. San Jose was able to get a three goal lead back when Dany Heatley was sent on another breakaway, this time benig hauled down for a penalty shot. With two goals on the night, Heatley came calmly down the slot, unleashing a wrist shot for the hat trick, and the hats start to rain down. After play resumed, the crowd chanting Heatley's name, quite enamored of the newly acquired sniper. Final score was 6-3, Sharks.
The three stars were Dan Boyle (a 3 point night), Joe Thornton (a 4 assist night), and Dany Heatley with 3 goals and 1 assist. All in all, a nice result, but not quite perfect. There are things to work on still, but they didn't seem to start to play better once Heatley got on the scoresheet.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
I went the Quakes Fan Appreciation Night and all I got was Ryan Johnson's autograph
The San Jose Earthquakes played their final home game of the MLS regular season tonight. It was their first annual Italian Heritage night, and also Fan Appreciation Night. Other than announcing it was Italian Heritage night, I didn't notice anything else they did. There had been some mention if you wore an Italian National team jersey you could go on the field before the game, but I didn't see any of that. Was it that no one showed any interest? Or, that they switched away from that.
The game itself was a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Dallas open the game with having the better control of the game for the first 30 minutes. They enjoyed more possession, but didn't really generate a lot of quality chances. The slow start from the Quakes may have come from the patchwork lineup they had. With Jason Hernandez unavailable due to a hamstring injury, Cornell Glenn not in the starting lineup (again injury), and Simon Elliot, Arturo Alvarez, and Ramon Sanchez off on national team call ups, adding to season ending injuries to Darren Huckerby and Andre Luiz, the Quakes were left with a very shallow bench. They had just four field player substitutes available.
The Quakes were able to step it up in the last 15 minutes of the first half, controlling play more, getting chances, etc. However, neither team capitalized before the half time whistle. I noticed the crowd seemed awfully quiet. While the attendance was announced as over 9,000, that's tickets sold. I'm sure the number of people that showed up was much less.
Early into the second half, Dallas was able to get the first goal of the match to take a 1-0 lead. About 10 minutes later, the Quakes countered with their first sub off their thin bench, bring in Quincy Amarikwa for Antonio Ribeiro. Amarikwa went to forward and Chris Wondolowski came back into attacking midfield. Just 12 minutes after coming in, the change paid dividends. Shea Salinas sent a ball forward, springing Amarikwa. Quincy looked around, but decided to chip it over the onrushing goal keeper for his first professional goal. Video of that can be found on the MLS website here.
Unfortunately for the Quakes, Dallas was not through, and scored the go ahead goal in the 82 minute. Cunningham was offside when the ball was sent through to Dax McCarty who was flying up the field. Cannon came out to challenge, but McCarty laid the ball off to Cunningham who put it in the empty net for his league leading 17th goal.
The Quakes brought in an ailing Cornell Glenn in the 87th minute, taking off defender Michael Zaher. At this point, they switched from a 4-4-2 into a 3-4-3 with Glenn joining Amarikwa and Ryan Johnson up top. Their best chance to equalize came 2 minutes into stoppage time. The only Quake not in the box was Salinas, and that was because he was taking the corner kick. Both defenders who normally hang back and Joe Cannon came up into the play. Brandon MacDonald got his head on the corner, nodding it down off the turf. Cannon and Dallas keeper Dario Sala then came together, with Cannon getting his head on the ball. Wondolowski then followed up,m knocking heads with a Dallas defender, but to no avail. The ball was cleared out, and the Quakes didn't get another chance.
With the loss, the Quakes are now officially eliminated from the playoffs. Prior to the match, the Quakes announced their awards. Shea Salinas got the humanitarian of the year, Chris Leitch got the defender of the year, and the team MVP was Ryan Johnson.
So, for Fan Appreciation Night, the Quakes gave away as you entered the game - programs, just like every other game. Mine had a picture card of retiring star Darren Huckerby stuffed in it, but that was it. There was a raffle for a Huckerby signed banner or jersey for season ticket holders at the season ticket holder tent. They did the t-shirt toss at halftime, but it appeared to be the same number of t-shirts as last year. No other in game raffles. It looked like several players came over to the stands and gave away jerseys. I'm not sure if that was semi-organized or not, but it seems if it was, it could have been better done to spread the jerseys out to more folks than just the ones that crowded up to the rail. After that, there was autograph alley. I went over, saw Ryan Johnson coming, set myself up to get him to sign the front of my program because he was on the cover. I also saw Chris Leitch and got a chance to congratulate him on his great year. Otherwise, it could have been just another game. Last year, there seemed more of a to do about getting autographs, and there was something the Quakes gave out that was good for signing if I remember correctly. Maybe it's because this was on a Wednesday night.
I think they got hurt by having a mid-week game for their last game of the season. They draw fewer fans, and for something like a fan appreciation night, you want folks to want to stick around, not go home because they have work/school/etc. the next day. Still, I really feel they could have done more. More to show appreciation to their fans. More to make Italian Heritage night something other than a line item. I really think there should have been some sort of giveaway to everybody. More things should have been raffled off during the game. The giving away of jerseys could have been made more formal, and done in a jerseys off the players back. You get a photo opportunity, and the players can sign the jersey for the person getting it.
Full game highlights from the MLS web site here.
The game itself was a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Dallas open the game with having the better control of the game for the first 30 minutes. They enjoyed more possession, but didn't really generate a lot of quality chances. The slow start from the Quakes may have come from the patchwork lineup they had. With Jason Hernandez unavailable due to a hamstring injury, Cornell Glenn not in the starting lineup (again injury), and Simon Elliot, Arturo Alvarez, and Ramon Sanchez off on national team call ups, adding to season ending injuries to Darren Huckerby and Andre Luiz, the Quakes were left with a very shallow bench. They had just four field player substitutes available.
The Quakes were able to step it up in the last 15 minutes of the first half, controlling play more, getting chances, etc. However, neither team capitalized before the half time whistle. I noticed the crowd seemed awfully quiet. While the attendance was announced as over 9,000, that's tickets sold. I'm sure the number of people that showed up was much less.
Early into the second half, Dallas was able to get the first goal of the match to take a 1-0 lead. About 10 minutes later, the Quakes countered with their first sub off their thin bench, bring in Quincy Amarikwa for Antonio Ribeiro. Amarikwa went to forward and Chris Wondolowski came back into attacking midfield. Just 12 minutes after coming in, the change paid dividends. Shea Salinas sent a ball forward, springing Amarikwa. Quincy looked around, but decided to chip it over the onrushing goal keeper for his first professional goal. Video of that can be found on the MLS website here.
Unfortunately for the Quakes, Dallas was not through, and scored the go ahead goal in the 82 minute. Cunningham was offside when the ball was sent through to Dax McCarty who was flying up the field. Cannon came out to challenge, but McCarty laid the ball off to Cunningham who put it in the empty net for his league leading 17th goal.
The Quakes brought in an ailing Cornell Glenn in the 87th minute, taking off defender Michael Zaher. At this point, they switched from a 4-4-2 into a 3-4-3 with Glenn joining Amarikwa and Ryan Johnson up top. Their best chance to equalize came 2 minutes into stoppage time. The only Quake not in the box was Salinas, and that was because he was taking the corner kick. Both defenders who normally hang back and Joe Cannon came up into the play. Brandon MacDonald got his head on the corner, nodding it down off the turf. Cannon and Dallas keeper Dario Sala then came together, with Cannon getting his head on the ball. Wondolowski then followed up,m knocking heads with a Dallas defender, but to no avail. The ball was cleared out, and the Quakes didn't get another chance.
With the loss, the Quakes are now officially eliminated from the playoffs. Prior to the match, the Quakes announced their awards. Shea Salinas got the humanitarian of the year, Chris Leitch got the defender of the year, and the team MVP was Ryan Johnson.
So, for Fan Appreciation Night, the Quakes gave away as you entered the game - programs, just like every other game. Mine had a picture card of retiring star Darren Huckerby stuffed in it, but that was it. There was a raffle for a Huckerby signed banner or jersey for season ticket holders at the season ticket holder tent. They did the t-shirt toss at halftime, but it appeared to be the same number of t-shirts as last year. No other in game raffles. It looked like several players came over to the stands and gave away jerseys. I'm not sure if that was semi-organized or not, but it seems if it was, it could have been better done to spread the jerseys out to more folks than just the ones that crowded up to the rail. After that, there was autograph alley. I went over, saw Ryan Johnson coming, set myself up to get him to sign the front of my program because he was on the cover. I also saw Chris Leitch and got a chance to congratulate him on his great year. Otherwise, it could have been just another game. Last year, there seemed more of a to do about getting autographs, and there was something the Quakes gave out that was good for signing if I remember correctly. Maybe it's because this was on a Wednesday night.
I think they got hurt by having a mid-week game for their last game of the season. They draw fewer fans, and for something like a fan appreciation night, you want folks to want to stick around, not go home because they have work/school/etc. the next day. Still, I really feel they could have done more. More to show appreciation to their fans. More to make Italian Heritage night something other than a line item. I really think there should have been some sort of giveaway to everybody. More things should have been raffled off during the game. The giving away of jerseys could have been made more formal, and done in a jerseys off the players back. You get a photo opportunity, and the players can sign the jersey for the person getting it.
Full game highlights from the MLS web site here.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sharks rally fails to pay off
After going down 4-0 to LA, pulling starting goaltender Evgeni Nabakov, the Sharks started to rally. The Kings surrendered power play chances, including a double minor for high-sticking right at the end of the second period. The Sharks were able to capitalize on the first chance to cut the lead to 4-2 going into the second intermission. Then, they made good on the second chance at 1:01 of the third to make it 4-3 on Devin Setoguchi's second power play goal of the night. With nearly 19 minutes remaining, they had a chance. A little over midway through, they get another power-play. This time, Dany Heatley gets his first goal as a Shark with Setoguchi screening Kings netminder Jonathan Quick perfectly. Now it's 4-4, and everybody thinks the Sharks have everything going for them. 26 seconds later, it's all over as Teddy Purcell took a shot from behind the end line, banking it in off Thomas Greiss. The Kings go on to get an empty net goal to make the final score 6-4.
The Sharks can take away some positives in that the power-play was 4 for 4, and they didn't give up after going down by 4 goals. They also should take note of giving up two 4-on-4 goals in the same 2 minute chance, and that they didn't quite come out of the gate quite as they needed. Plenty to work on before the home opener against Columbus.
Former Shark update: Arturs Irbe was mentioned on tonight's Versus broadcast of the Caps-Flyers game as the goaltending coach for the Capitals.
The Sharks can take away some positives in that the power-play was 4 for 4, and they didn't give up after going down by 4 goals. They also should take note of giving up two 4-on-4 goals in the same 2 minute chance, and that they didn't quite come out of the gate quite as they needed. Plenty to work on before the home opener against Columbus.
Former Shark update: Arturs Irbe was mentioned on tonight's Versus broadcast of the Caps-Flyers game as the goaltending coach for the Capitals.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sharks Pavelski out with leg injury
San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski had minor surgery on his left leg today as a result of a shot block in the first period of last Saturday's game. He is expected to miss at least two weeks, but as they don't appear to have immediately put him on LTIR (long term injured reserve), they are probably expecting him to be back before 10 games. However, I think they can still put him on that list later if they determine he won't be ready before the minimum time for being placed on LTIR.
In another move, the Sharks sent Joe Callahan to Worchester. (Sharks web story) This should give Callahan some playing time, but does leave the Sharks roster awfully thin. With Pavelski, it is at 21 players, with no one to scratch besides the injured Pavelski. I expect that one, maybe two players will be called up before the game against LA. They may be waiting until tomorrow to manage their total salary for the cap.
Prior to training camp, with something like this happening, the plan may have been to bring up Logan Couture to fill in. This would have even been good for him, as he would have had a chance to play his natural center position. Then, there was training camp, and Benn Ferriero grabbed a roster spot. He has earned his spot in the lineup, so Patrick Marleau will be sliding back to his old position of center. His wings will be Ryane Clowe and Ferriero.
The new second line still looks good, and now Brad Staubitz will get his first game of the season in. The Sharks should be okay for the short term, and they get a chance to get some of the younger players into some NHL games. The important thing is getting it (whatever the injury to Pavelski is) treated right. We want him healthy for the playoffs. Before that, it would be nice if he was healthy for consideration by USA Hockey for the Olympics.
In another move, the Sharks sent Joe Callahan to Worchester. (Sharks web story) This should give Callahan some playing time, but does leave the Sharks roster awfully thin. With Pavelski, it is at 21 players, with no one to scratch besides the injured Pavelski. I expect that one, maybe two players will be called up before the game against LA. They may be waiting until tomorrow to manage their total salary for the cap.
Prior to training camp, with something like this happening, the plan may have been to bring up Logan Couture to fill in. This would have even been good for him, as he would have had a chance to play his natural center position. Then, there was training camp, and Benn Ferriero grabbed a roster spot. He has earned his spot in the lineup, so Patrick Marleau will be sliding back to his old position of center. His wings will be Ryane Clowe and Ferriero.
The new second line still looks good, and now Brad Staubitz will get his first game of the season in. The Sharks should be okay for the short term, and they get a chance to get some of the younger players into some NHL games. The important thing is getting it (whatever the injury to Pavelski is) treated right. We want him healthy for the playoffs. Before that, it would be nice if he was healthy for consideration by USA Hockey for the Olympics.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Did anybody else find the NHL Game Center Live preview a waste?
I signed up for the free preview of NHL GameCenter Live for October 3rd. I had heard some good things about it, and wanted to give it a try. I hadn't gone for it before because I usually get the DirecTV Center Ice package, but was especially curious about the ability to watch multiple games at once.
I tried in the morning, and quickly found out that the games on NHL Network were unavailable. Okay. So, all I could watch was the Cannucks-Avalance game. The nice thing about that was that I was getting the Cannucks announcers, and I like John Shorthouse's style.
I couldn't try it later as I had tickets in the evening for the San Jose Earthquakes. I needed to get ready to go to the game, and leave early enough to get to the game. By the time I got home, all the games were long over.
That makes me think of something else - the Saturday night XM NHL Home Ice coverage. I get in my car after the soccer match, hoping to listen to Ice Cap so I can find out the results from the late games. What do they have? A replay of game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. While this was a good game, they have played it a lot since then. I'm not looking for someone to keep talking live into the wee hours, but I would like a replay of the final Ice Cap show so those of us away from a computer, away from a TV can find out what happened.
I tried in the morning, and quickly found out that the games on NHL Network were unavailable. Okay. So, all I could watch was the Cannucks-Avalance game. The nice thing about that was that I was getting the Cannucks announcers, and I like John Shorthouse's style.
I couldn't try it later as I had tickets in the evening for the San Jose Earthquakes. I needed to get ready to go to the game, and leave early enough to get to the game. By the time I got home, all the games were long over.
That makes me think of something else - the Saturday night XM NHL Home Ice coverage. I get in my car after the soccer match, hoping to listen to Ice Cap so I can find out the results from the late games. What do they have? A replay of game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. While this was a good game, they have played it a lot since then. I'm not looking for someone to keep talking live into the wee hours, but I would like a replay of the final Ice Cap show so those of us away from a computer, away from a TV can find out what happened.
More of a look at the Sharks-Ducks game from last night
I've now had a chance to look at some of the game. Too much going on to really take the time to watch it all, but I've looked at the goals. Benn Ferriero's first goal was nice. On a delayed penalty call, he beat his check off the boards to pick up the rebound from the shot by Jason Demers. He was able to beat Jonas Hiller five-hole for the goal.
Ryan Whitney had a tough night. On the second Sharks goal, he broke rule number 1 when shooting from the point - miss the man in front of you. He drilled it right into Patrick Marleau and got caught flat footed. Marleau's off to the races, beating Hiller on the backhand for the short handed goal. Whitney also scores himself in a diving effort to break up the play, but to no avail.
The Sharks third goal of the period came just after they killed a penalty and were able to spring a 2-on-1 break with Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton. Thornton head-manned it to Heatley, carrying up the right wing. Here, Whitney slid over to cover the puck carrier, Heatley, leaving Thornton all alone to come barreling down the slot. That's mistake number 1. Number 2 came from Ryan Getzlaf, trailing the play. He was a little behind Thornton, and when Thornton stopped striding, so did Getzlaf. This left Thornton uncontested in making his shot. Had Getzlaf continued striding, he could have been able to get on to Thornton's stick, making it harder for Thornton to make a play. However, it looks like everyone thought Heatley was going to shoot, so when he passed, they were out of luck. This gave the Sharks a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period.
In the second, the bad breaks continued for Whitney as he took a retaliation penalty against Jed Ortmeyer. Devin Setoguchi worked a give-and-go with Heatley to get his first of the campaign, giving Heatley the sniper two assists on the night.
The Sharks went into the third with a 4-0 lead. A little into the period there was a meeting of the clans behind the Sharks net after Dan Boyle cranked Todd Marchant into the boards. Lots of players got involved, resulting in some quizzical calls by the referees. Douglas Murray clearly threw punches, but was called for only a game misconduct. As they don't record the reason on the score sheet, we can guess that it was for 3rd man in an altercation. Why wasn't there at a minimum a roughing penalty, or a fighting major? There were also several other players that got involved in it, so to single out any one player seems like a bad precedent to set.
The Ducks broke the shutout with a power play goal. Looking at the goal, you can see that the Sharks penalty killers got shifted out of their box, leaving Whitney open at the point with a clean shooting lane for his one-timer.
From what everybody is saying, and the little I saw, it was a better effort from the Sharks. Hopefully they can keep this going, but I expect some rough spots early.
Ryan Whitney had a tough night. On the second Sharks goal, he broke rule number 1 when shooting from the point - miss the man in front of you. He drilled it right into Patrick Marleau and got caught flat footed. Marleau's off to the races, beating Hiller on the backhand for the short handed goal. Whitney also scores himself in a diving effort to break up the play, but to no avail.
The Sharks third goal of the period came just after they killed a penalty and were able to spring a 2-on-1 break with Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton. Thornton head-manned it to Heatley, carrying up the right wing. Here, Whitney slid over to cover the puck carrier, Heatley, leaving Thornton all alone to come barreling down the slot. That's mistake number 1. Number 2 came from Ryan Getzlaf, trailing the play. He was a little behind Thornton, and when Thornton stopped striding, so did Getzlaf. This left Thornton uncontested in making his shot. Had Getzlaf continued striding, he could have been able to get on to Thornton's stick, making it harder for Thornton to make a play. However, it looks like everyone thought Heatley was going to shoot, so when he passed, they were out of luck. This gave the Sharks a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period.
In the second, the bad breaks continued for Whitney as he took a retaliation penalty against Jed Ortmeyer. Devin Setoguchi worked a give-and-go with Heatley to get his first of the campaign, giving Heatley the sniper two assists on the night.
The Sharks went into the third with a 4-0 lead. A little into the period there was a meeting of the clans behind the Sharks net after Dan Boyle cranked Todd Marchant into the boards. Lots of players got involved, resulting in some quizzical calls by the referees. Douglas Murray clearly threw punches, but was called for only a game misconduct. As they don't record the reason on the score sheet, we can guess that it was for 3rd man in an altercation. Why wasn't there at a minimum a roughing penalty, or a fighting major? There were also several other players that got involved in it, so to single out any one player seems like a bad precedent to set.
The Ducks broke the shutout with a power play goal. Looking at the goal, you can see that the Sharks penalty killers got shifted out of their box, leaving Whitney open at the point with a clean shooting lane for his one-timer.
From what everybody is saying, and the little I saw, it was a better effort from the Sharks. Hopefully they can keep this going, but I expect some rough spots early.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Quakes win, Sharks win, life is good
The Earthquakes had a nice highlight video for Darren Huckerby that they showed before the game started. It was a nice way to start off the night as the players, front office and fans genuinely wanted to celebrate his brief stay with the Quakes.
The game started with yet another lineup. This time, due to Jason Hernandez's hamstring injury, Andre Luiz tried a go at center back even though he was coming back from a sprained ankle. Unfortunately, he was unable to continue after spraining his knee. Our other center back, Brandon McDonald, had to be subbed out as well after suffering a left leg contusion in the first half. It might have tightened up during halftime, preventing him from continuing.
The only goal of the match was scored by Ryan Johnson on a penalty kick drawn by Arturo Alvarez. Alvarez split two defenders to carry the ball into the box, but just as he looked like he was getting clear, he was pulled down. Johnson now has 10 goals on the year, among the league leaders.
While this game was going on, the Sharks were giving the Ducks a thrashing down in Anaheim. Scott Nichol got into two fights, Douglas Murray got a game misconduct, rookie Benn Ferriero got his first NHL goal, and Dany Heatley got his first two points as a Shark (both assists). The Sharks won 4-1, facing LA on Tuesday.
The rookies contributed on Ferriero's opening goal of the game with Frazer McLaren and Jason Demers getting the assists.
The game started with yet another lineup. This time, due to Jason Hernandez's hamstring injury, Andre Luiz tried a go at center back even though he was coming back from a sprained ankle. Unfortunately, he was unable to continue after spraining his knee. Our other center back, Brandon McDonald, had to be subbed out as well after suffering a left leg contusion in the first half. It might have tightened up during halftime, preventing him from continuing.
The only goal of the match was scored by Ryan Johnson on a penalty kick drawn by Arturo Alvarez. Alvarez split two defenders to carry the ball into the box, but just as he looked like he was getting clear, he was pulled down. Johnson now has 10 goals on the year, among the league leaders.
While this game was going on, the Sharks were giving the Ducks a thrashing down in Anaheim. Scott Nichol got into two fights, Douglas Murray got a game misconduct, rookie Benn Ferriero got his first NHL goal, and Dany Heatley got his first two points as a Shark (both assists). The Sharks won 4-1, facing LA on Tuesday.
The rookies contributed on Ferriero's opening goal of the game with Frazer McLaren and Jason Demers getting the assists.
Quakes wind down season honoring Huckerby
As the San Jose Earthquakes wind down their season, they will honor injured and all but retired star player Darren Huckerby. After season ending hip surgery, Huckerby has stated that he's 99% sure he will retire after this year. As he is a fan favorite with his emphatic passion and stellar play, it is good to see the Quakes trying to do the right thing here. They're giving the fans a chance to wish him well in a nice farewell.
Unfortunately, it is part of a year that had not gone as anyone has wanted, both for Huckerby and the Quakes. Huckerby has been in and out of the lineup with injury issues as have several other Quakes. Between the injuries and several early season suspensions, the lineup has been very inconsistent all season. To me, sometimes the team looked like they weren't reading the same book, let alone on the same page.
Here's a video from last year on him winning the MLS Newcomer of the Year:
Fortunately for Quakes fans, the Quakes have been playing better and look to end the season on a high note. Unfortunately, they close the season with three road games, so they may lose some fan following after this week. They are out of the playoff picture, the NFL is in full swing, MLB is winding down and heating up its post-season, and the NHL just started.
Unfortunately, it is part of a year that had not gone as anyone has wanted, both for Huckerby and the Quakes. Huckerby has been in and out of the lineup with injury issues as have several other Quakes. Between the injuries and several early season suspensions, the lineup has been very inconsistent all season. To me, sometimes the team looked like they weren't reading the same book, let alone on the same page.
Here's a video from last year on him winning the MLS Newcomer of the Year:
Fortunately for Quakes fans, the Quakes have been playing better and look to end the season on a high note. Unfortunately, they close the season with three road games, so they may lose some fan following after this week. They are out of the playoff picture, the NFL is in full swing, MLB is winding down and heating up its post-season, and the NHL just started.
Are commentators remote from event bad?
I was watching some of the NHL Premiere from Finland and Sweden, and I noticed that some of the commentary could not have been there. Pierre McGuire was on both TSN broadcasts, and I'm pretty sure that was the same play-by-play guy calling it. The Versus coverage sounded like it was remote as a couple of time Dave Strader seemed to not quite know what was going on, or the exact time left.
I am not saying it is definitely bad to be calling an event remotely, but I am concerned. What kind of a feed are the broadcasters getting? Is it the same thing I am seeing? Doesn't that limit them to the things that happen away from the shot being shown? I know when I go to a hockey game, I see much more of what's going on. That's not just the play, but things like players going off injured or for equipment issues, seeing things going on behind the play, and so on.
The first I recall really seeing this was in 2008 for the Olympics in China. For some sports (like table tennis), they were definitely getting used to it, and I recall some comments being made. Next I remember watching the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. There I would have really preferred for the commentators to be there. I have found a lot of direction of soccer game coverage to be poor. (Too many "hero" shots and not focusing on the play are my two biggest complaints.) In that case, if they're remote, they're left in basically the same boat I am in trying to figure out what happened when something significant happened. Were they there, they could potentially see the bigger picture better.
I also fear that if the commentators are remote that they won't be able to get a feel for the crowd - what the mood/energy is like. If they don't have that feel, they can't convey that.
What will happen with the meetings with the coaching staff and players for the game? Someone else will have to do that pregame scouting, or will some productions going for being cheap just skip that, thinking it's unimportant?
I am not saying it is definitely bad to be calling an event remotely, but I am concerned. What kind of a feed are the broadcasters getting? Is it the same thing I am seeing? Doesn't that limit them to the things that happen away from the shot being shown? I know when I go to a hockey game, I see much more of what's going on. That's not just the play, but things like players going off injured or for equipment issues, seeing things going on behind the play, and so on.
The first I recall really seeing this was in 2008 for the Olympics in China. For some sports (like table tennis), they were definitely getting used to it, and I recall some comments being made. Next I remember watching the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. There I would have really preferred for the commentators to be there. I have found a lot of direction of soccer game coverage to be poor. (Too many "hero" shots and not focusing on the play are my two biggest complaints.) In that case, if they're remote, they're left in basically the same boat I am in trying to figure out what happened when something significant happened. Were they there, they could potentially see the bigger picture better.
I also fear that if the commentators are remote that they won't be able to get a feel for the crowd - what the mood/energy is like. If they don't have that feel, they can't convey that.
What will happen with the meetings with the coaching staff and players for the game? Someone else will have to do that pregame scouting, or will some productions going for being cheap just skip that, thinking it's unimportant?
Friday, October 2, 2009
Sharks call up McLaren, send down McGinn
No, not that McLaren. It's Frazer McLaren, the 6-4, 235 pound rookie who picked up 181 PIMs in 75 games in Worchester last season. Assuming he is being called up to go into the lineup, he will make his NHL debut against the Ducks. This could be a move to bring a big body with a little truculence into the lineup. I saw him next to Joe Thornton at the Teal & White game, and McLaren looked bigger to me. Not by a bunch, but definitely bigger. Even though the Ducks have traded Chris Pronger and lost Francois Beauchemin to free agency, the Ducks are still a physical team. Putting some players with size and a willingness to mix it up is probably a good idea.
Truculence is in reference to the Leafs GM Brian Burke saying that was a quality he wanted, which was picked up on fabulously by Down Goes Brown in several blog posts this past summer.
I won't be able to watch the game against the Ducks live as I will be at the San Jose Earthquakes match taking place at the same time. I know I won't be able to make it home without finding out who won as the drive is just too long and I will be too curious.
ack.
Truculence is in reference to the Leafs GM Brian Burke saying that was a quality he wanted, which was picked up on fabulously by Down Goes Brown in several blog posts this past summer.
I won't be able to watch the game against the Ducks live as I will be at the San Jose Earthquakes match taking place at the same time. I know I won't be able to make it home without finding out who won as the drive is just too long and I will be too curious.
ack.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Sharks stumble ouf of the gate in 5-2 loss to Avs
I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise. Seven of the eighteen skaters weren't around last year. Two of the are rookies. (Benn Ferriero and Jason Demers) Kent Huskins was around after the trade deadline, but was hurt up until the very end of the season. I saw him in warmup once, but he didn't get a game in.
With the preseason so shrunk down, it seems to be more about the games (scrimmages that fans get to pay for in one sense), they don't get to spend a lot of time practicing. So, they haven't worked too much on their systems. All the new faces, we saw players out of position. ("Guarding air" as Drew famously said once.)
I like Ferriero. He seems to have a nose for making things happen. (Only Shark with 2 shots on goal after the first period.) He played his way on to the team, earning this first game. I think he'll get another, and if he keeps it up, a lot more.
Demers gives us a third right hand shot on the blue line. He might get some spot duty on the power play because of that.
Lots to work on. Two days down in LA between the Ducks and Kings games, so they'll get a chance to practice a little there.
Still, why do the Sharks seem to have a knack for making opposing goalies look like Terry Sawchuk? Even with the turn over of lots of the players, they still make the other goalies look good. Tonight, first win for the Avalanche for Anderson. They need to figure that out.
The nice part about the evening was the Avs retiring Joe Sakic's number. Always a classy player, it was nice to see Sakic honored. He was great up in the booth on the Versus broadcast, and seemed to be enjoying the whole experience. In a couple of years, he'll be honored again as he goes into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
ack.
With the preseason so shrunk down, it seems to be more about the games (scrimmages that fans get to pay for in one sense), they don't get to spend a lot of time practicing. So, they haven't worked too much on their systems. All the new faces, we saw players out of position. ("Guarding air" as Drew famously said once.)
I like Ferriero. He seems to have a nose for making things happen. (Only Shark with 2 shots on goal after the first period.) He played his way on to the team, earning this first game. I think he'll get another, and if he keeps it up, a lot more.
Demers gives us a third right hand shot on the blue line. He might get some spot duty on the power play because of that.
Lots to work on. Two days down in LA between the Ducks and Kings games, so they'll get a chance to practice a little there.
Still, why do the Sharks seem to have a knack for making opposing goalies look like Terry Sawchuk? Even with the turn over of lots of the players, they still make the other goalies look good. Tonight, first win for the Avalanche for Anderson. They need to figure that out.
The nice part about the evening was the Avs retiring Joe Sakic's number. Always a classy player, it was nice to see Sakic honored. He was great up in the booth on the Versus broadcast, and seemed to be enjoying the whole experience. In a couple of years, he'll be honored again as he goes into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
ack.
Sharks open the season
In a couple of hours, the Sharks will open the season after Joe Sakic's number is raised to the rafters. Colorado made some big changes this offseason and most folks are thinking this will be a rebuilding year. While the Sharks are still working on things, they can't afford to take anyone lightly.
Lots of focus for Sharks changes has been on bringing in Heately, but there as been more upheaval in the bottom six. Of tonight's expected starters, only 2 of the 6 saw time last year, and that wasn't as regulars. That was Jamie McGinn and Jody Shelley. New faces include Manny Malhotra, Scott Nichol, Jed Ortmeyer and rookie Benn Ferriero. I think the changes here are going to be the most telling in how the Sharks do come playoff time.
I'm annoyed at the whole Versus/Comcast/DirecTV carriage dispute and that it's looking like DTV won't be showing the game. There's online options, so I think I'll be looking for one of those come start time.
Lots of focus for Sharks changes has been on bringing in Heately, but there as been more upheaval in the bottom six. Of tonight's expected starters, only 2 of the 6 saw time last year, and that wasn't as regulars. That was Jamie McGinn and Jody Shelley. New faces include Manny Malhotra, Scott Nichol, Jed Ortmeyer and rookie Benn Ferriero. I think the changes here are going to be the most telling in how the Sharks do come playoff time.
I'm annoyed at the whole Versus/Comcast/DirecTV carriage dispute and that it's looking like DTV won't be showing the game. There's online options, so I think I'll be looking for one of those come start time.
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