SAN JOSE, CA – San Jose traveled south to battle with a LA Kings team who so far this year has had their number. Going into Monday’s game at the Staples Center, the Kings had earned 7 of a possible 8 points versus the Sharks. After a very physical contest the Sharks came out victorious in a tight 2-1 win. Evgeni Nabakov should have had a red cape on his back and a big S on his chest after a stellar gut check performance.
After losing on Saturday against the Red Wings and a subpar performance the San Jose net minder was no doubt ecstatic to get the start last night in Los Angeles. There is nothing worse than letting a bad taste ferment in your mouth and having to sit on a bad performance tastes about the same. Not to lay blame for the 4-1 outcome on Evgeni Nabakov because the whole team effort was lacking Saturday against Detroit but against the Kings Nabakov was on his game. You could tell his focus was there right from the start. He was well beyond the blue paint of his crease to face shooters. He scrambled well especially on the penalty kill, and he stopped all 18 shots he faced in the 3rd period. A handful of those shots came on 2 Kings power plays. Not to be outdone by his counterpart at the opposite end of the rink, Eric Ersberg was solid for LA especially in the first 2 periods where the Kings were outshot 29-16. His rebound control was bang on against a team who is loaded with skill and talent up front. Ersberg played well and has had success against the Sharks this year so there was no surprise when he got the start. On December 9th in San Jose the Kings backup goalie earned a 5-4 overtime victory versus their division rival.
The week-end defeat to the Red Wings was, if there is such a thing a good loss for San Jose. It taught them that good teams not only have to show up physically night in and night out, but also to bring your mental focus. The expression for hockey players “bring you’re A game” means if you aren’t going to bring both then you aren’t doing your job. Dany Heatley showed his mental focus on the 2nd goal of the game which turned out to be the game winner. On a power play Heatley took a Joe Thornton pass on the side of the net and tried to wrap it in. Ersberg held his ground on the left post which forced the puck to go straight up in the air. Like a baseball player, the future Olympian took a quick efficient swat at the puck. Before anyone else could react, the Sharks were up 2-0. Randy Jones got LA on the board 27 seconds later and got the crowd back into the game.
This was a great test for San Jose on the road. They scored on a power play to take a 2 goal lead and seconds later the home team snatches away the momentum they had created by getting one back. From this point on the Sharks did the little things well enough to come away with a win. For example Jed Ortmeyer laid his body out to block a shot and take away a great scoring chance towards the end of the second period. Douglas Murray looked more like a rugby player as he scrummed the puck and a pack of Kings out of his own end with sheer determination while killing a penalty. Rob Blake laid himself down in the crease behind his goaltender to block what would have been a goal when Nabaokov was out of position. Joe Thornton played with attitude all night and showed some edge that is required in winning tight games. Scott Nichol was a thorn in the side of all Kings players with a relentless fore check and a physical presence.
Winning a tight game like the Sharks did last night after the loss they endured Saturday is a game that as a team they can build on. The teams that win the one goal games during the regular season are going to be battle tested for the playoffs. Afterwards coach Todd McLellan said his team was more detailed which also means they played smarter hockey. In particular on the penalty kill. They won more of the small battles and paid attention to detail which may not be as exciting to some as a high scoring affair but those are the types of games that you need to be comfortable playing in if you want to be successful in the playoffs.
No time off for the San Jose Sharks, they are in Phoenix to face division rivals the Coyotes in back to back games. Tonight will be the fifth of six meetings between these evenly matched clubs. Each team has won twice and 3 of the 4 games have gone to shootouts. All the games have been decided by a goal. They don’t get any easier for San Jose, but playing in blue collar games will better prepare this team for a deep post season run and the way Phoenix has been performing as of late this could be a post season match up.
Keep your sticks on the ice
cam.gore@prohockeynews.com
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