SAN JOSE. Ca – The San Jose Sharks fell to the Colorado Avalanche in overtime as Olympic gold medalist Dan Boyle put the only goal of the game in his own net.
In the first minute of overtime last night Boyle was trying to make a pass behind the net to his defense partner when the puck ricocheted off of Galiardi’s stick and beat the Sharks net minder Evgeni Nabakov. The Stanley Cup champion from the 2004 Tampa Lightning appeared devastated and almost speechless in the post game interview.
Rightfully so, it was quite obvious that number 22 for San Jose felt bad about the outcome of events that took place in overtime. When you listen to players like Joe Pavelski and coach MacLellan in their post game interviews they felt the lack of production throughout the first 60 minutes of the game was the real factor to not taking a 2-1 series lead. The chances were there but the Sharks were unable to beat the game’s first star, Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson.
The Sharks up to this point in the first round playoff series could very easily be up three games. Instead they find themselves trailing 2 games to 1. Game one was their worst outing and they lost that one by a score of 2-1. Both of Colorado’s goals went in off of Sharks players. The first one was a clearing attempt by Rob Blake that hit his defense partner in the neck and then trickled in and the second was a centering pass from behind the goal line that went off of the captain’s skate and in with less than a minute to go in the 3rd period. Add in last night’s unfortunate finish to a great game and to say that the hockey gods have not looked kindly upon the Sharks is a gross understatement. The bottom line is that these things tend to even themselves out in a 7 game series if you are able to play through the bad bounces. Aside from poor goaltending in game 2 San Jose have played exceptionally well in this year’s post season. They have kept shots to a minimal, 23 per game on average and Colorado has taken 7 more penalties in three games than the number one seed. If you are the coaching staff for San Jose there isn’t much to preach to your team about. The power play needs some work but that efficiency percentage typically goes down in the post season as team defense becomes more of a priority.
Last night San Jose out shot their opponent 51-17. They put themselves in a position to score three times more than the Avalanche and came up short. In fact they were unable to light the red lamp once. Colorado’s goaltender Craig Anderson who has been the difference maker so far in this series turned aside a lot of rubber. He was good, really good but he was also lucky. Lucky that the numerous scrambles on rebounds didn’t find there way onto a Sharks stick and into the net. Lucky that one of those pucks didn’t go off one of his own players and in like Colorado’s game winning goals. If you are an Avalanche fan you have to feel pretty fortunate to be up one in this series.
This was the second game in a row where the Sharks put more than 50 shots on net and in game two that kind of shot output resulted in 6 goals. Also an overtime decision San Jose trailed Colorado until the game winner was scored by Devin Setoguchi on a tip in from a Ryan Clowe shot. Hats off to Setoguchi because he redirected a shot that was going well wide to set off an eruption at the HP Pavilion.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger they say and if this holds true for the Sharks they will be Hercules by the 2nd round. If this team is able to overcome what they have been through and move on it will make them battle tested and a very difficult opponent for whomever they face.
As far as getting past Colorado they are going to need better efforts from former captain Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton. While they have been all around the net the top line has yet to score a goal in three games. These guys get paid to put the puck in the net and it’s time they start earning their money. This is the playoffs and the defensive intensity has to be raised as well. Both Thornton and Marleau have to be more engaging with their big bodies and get their hands dirty in both ends of the rink. The output or lack of from Pattie may be why he was stripped of the “C” in the off season.
Dany Heatley missed last game with an undisclosed injury but is hopeful for game four at the Pepsi Center in Denver tomorrow night. Heatley is one of the games top goal scorers and was 2nd in the NHL this year with 18 power play goals.
Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam.Gore@prohockeynews.com
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