The Sharks rolled offensively over one of the better defenses left in the playoffs. The Sharks defense will never have to step up much, but they were fine last night as well. Brett Burns deserves his Norris nomination. One of the most underrated defensemen in the league the last three years.
After a massive third period in which there were six goals – not a whole lot of down time – the Sharks came away with a 5-2 victory. The Predators looked confident after taking the only goal in the first two periods… til that all came crashing down.
Joel Ward was one of the best offseason additions last year. Actually, two of the better offseason additions in the past year came for the Sharks. Martin Jones is the other one. Without these two, I doubt the Sharks are where they are currently standing. A game up over the Predators, another home game up next, after defeating their demons in Los Angeles last round. If Pete DeBoer isn’t one of the Jack Adams finalists, that’s another huge snub and I’ll have to do a “What’s Wrong with Awards Voting” piece.
How can you not root for San Jose this season. I mean, the teams most people root for are out. All of Canada didn’t make the playoffs. Chicago = eliminated. Los Angeles = eliminated. Greater New York = eliminated. The list goes on. There are two teams remaining that have awesome stories, and deserving players, and those are Washington and San Jose.
The Sharks beat the Predators with a whole team effort. Brett Burns had two points. Joel Ward had two points. Logan Couture had two goals, including the game winner. This is a team that can rely on it’s stars – Pavelski, Burns, and in some degree Thornton and Marleau – but that can also find value from it’s depth. It’s a team with great goaltending.
This was a pretty even matchup throughout the game, at least statistically. 38-31 shots (favor SJS). 18-13 giveaways (NSH had less). 25-15 blocks (favor NSH). 54-46 faceoff percentage (favor SJS). It goes on. Where Nashville screwed up is they allowed three power plays, and the Sharks took advantage twice. The Predators finally found their power play again – they only had one goal in 26 attempts versus the Ducks – but it was one of only two goals. The Sharks were also able to score in five on five.
The fight between the teams shows how competitive they both are and just how contentious this series will be. Both long for a WCF berth. Only one can get it. Both were underdogs. In sports, once you become an underdog, you usually keep that mentality. This series will show what happens when there are two of them battling.
Paul Martin really does look like the greatest Dutch painter of all time. #PaulMartinTimeTraveler #ishemissinganear