Photo: TeamNiemiClowe/Flickr

Every team, every game even, has a hero. Heck, every sport has a hero. In hockey, however, there’s usually more than one hero per team. Some, such as Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Washington’s Alexander (Alex) Ovechkin and Boston’s Tim Thomas to name a few, are always near the top of newspaper headlines, appearing in All Star games and Olympic events and often times appearing at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas as a finalist for at least a few awards. Other players, meanwhile, quietly go about their business of trying to win games for their team without much fanfare. For this, I believe these players deserve some recognition of their own. Given that I’ve decided to start a new feature, debuting every Tuesday morning, featuring a different “unsung hero”. This week’s nod goes to the San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski.

In San Jose, the names you usually hear the most are Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle and Logan Couture but the right winger, Pavelski, literally proved to be a rock in the Sharks lineup last season. Appearing in all 82 regular season games, Pavelski was 4th in team scoring with 61 points, tied for first in goals scored (31), third in power play scoring (eight goals) and led the Sharks with a plus-18 rating. » Continue reading “Unsung Heroes: The Premiere”

Logan Couture will be heavily relied upon in the upcoming series. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The seventh seed San Jose Sharks will be playing the second seed St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs.

During the regular season, the Blues dominated the Sharks, winning all four matchups. San Jose was outscored 11-3 during those contests. Hopefully, this series will prove to be more competitive.

Numerical Comparison:

San Jose       St. Louis

G/G:    2.67                   2.51

G/G:    2.50                  1.89

PP%:   21.1%                 16.7%

PK%:   76.9%               85.8%

FO%:  53.3%                50.4%

EV GF/G: 1.10              1.34

Based on these numbers, San Jose has a much better power play, a stronger chance in the faceoff circle, and scores more goals per game. However, St. Louis has one of the strongest penalty kills, and one of the lowest goals against averages per game. These numbers that battle head to head should make for an interesting matchup.

While both Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak have had better numbers during the regular season, Antti Niemi has won a Stanley Cup (Chicago 2010). This makes me think that the goaltenders will end up being evenly matched. Defensively, the Sharks need to be efficient, and prepared to clear the zone quickly with as few icings as possible. Once they are in the offensive zone, they need to fire the puck frequently, and bury their chances when they get them. Five on five scoring is where this series will be won in my opinion. The Sharks have a slightly lower goals per game average during even strength times, but they will need to come up with the majority of their goals during five on five opportunities. When it comes to special teams, the Sharks need to take as few penalties as possible. A dismal penalty kill throughout the season will only hurt them more during the playoffs. Even though San Jose can count on their power play to be very strong, they need to realize that the St. Louis Blues do not take a lot of minor penalties (and most of their majors come from fights, which makes them matching penalties).

Luckily for Sharks fans, San Jose has one of the best offensive cycling games in the league. If the Sharks get moving in the offensive zone, they are often lethal. This fact, combined with St. Louis’ defensive strength, should provide an intense battle. It is often said that playoff hockey is “big boy hockey”. For San Jose, their “big boys” need to be Joe Thorton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski. Dan Boyle and Brent Burns are the best offensive weapons from the blue line. If these six players step their game up, the Sharks will have a very strong chance of winning the series. If St. Louis manages to shut them down? Things will be much more difficult for the boys in teal.