What happened when the Dallas Stars hosted the San Jose Sharks on February 23rd? An All Star fight!

Nearing the midpoint of the second period, Thornton used some stick on Benn. The two exchanged pleasantries and then they paired off. Fights are often chaotic affairs, equipment flying all over the place. This bout? A lot more deliberate. Slowly removing the equipment before moving in to throw ‘em.

To quote the announcer: “This is a prelude!”

» Continue reading “Friday Fisticuffs: Joe Thornton vs. Jamie Benn”

So where were we? Oh yeah. Locked out, all September preseason games cancelled, and NHLers headed to Europe en masse. If the lockout is long enough to allow for some games to be played abroad, hopefully we get some cards out of this.

That is.. a lot of yellow, Joe Thornton. Also, he appears to be smothering a goalie. Totally normal.

» Continue reading “Hump Day Hockey Cards: A Day In The Life”

Olaf Kolzig’s Hot Dog Is Also Named Olaf

Hockey cards. As fans, we inevitably end up acquiring some of these beauties one way or another. It’s exciting when you get a new pack, opening them up to see what surprises are inside. Hockey cards, like life, aren’t always happy surprises.

It’s Wednesday, hockey is over until October or possibly longer. Let’s take a look at some of the best of the worst hockey cards and have a mid-week laugh.

» Continue reading “Hump Day Hockey Cards”

I feel really clever for making this.

After the third game between the San Jose Sharks and the St. Louis Blues, I said that the penalty kill would be the death of the Sharks. (http://aeryssports.com/intermission-report/sharks-penalty-kill-woes-strike-again/)

Tonight the Blues were unable to capitalize on the power play, but they still won the game, (and the series), 3-1.

Throughout the first period, the two teams exchanged a lot of chances, but neither really controlled the game. Eventually during the second period, the San Jose Sharks would make their presence known. The Sharks were dominating the play, however Blues’ goaltender Brian Elliott made 12 saves on 13 shots. The only puck to sneak past him came off the stick of Joe Thorton at 19:19 of the second. (Daniel Winnik earned his first-ever playoff point with an assist on the goal.)

It seemed as though the Sharks were controlling the game, when they suddenly lost steam. 11 minutes into the third, and just a couple of minutes after the noticeable change in momentum, Jamie Langenbrunner would score his first goal of the playoffs to tie things up. 45 seconds later, David Perron scored to give the Blues the lead. From this point on, the Blues dominated the play. They would add an empty net goal (Andy McDonald) before sending the San Jose Sharks to tee time.

St. Louis became the second team this season to punch their ticket in to the second round of the playoffs (Nashville was the first). Interestingly enough, both of the first two teams come from the same division.

At the end of the day, the San Jose Sharks Achilles’ heel was their penalty kill. They were a shocking 66.7% after five games in the playoffs, and during the regular season they hovered around 79%. These poor numbers, combined with the defensive stylings of this particular series, were their undoing.

Andy McDonald may be the grain that tips the scale in this series. He has six points thus far. Photo: jim.cassady/Flickr.

The San Jose Sharks lost their third straight game in their first round playoff series against the St. Louis Blues. While San Jose dominated the first game (an overtime win); since that time they have been outplayed. St. Louis is a dangerous team, particularly when they get the lead. Their defensive strength allows them to shut other teams down very easily.

Seven minutes into the first period, BJ Crombeen scored his first ever playoff goal to give the Blues the lead in the game. St. Louis had been cycling very well down low, and as Crombeen jumped on to make a line change, none of the San Jose players picked him up; this left him wide open for a one time wrister.

The score would remain one to nothing for the next 45 minutes, until Andy McDonald scored the sixth power play goal for the Blues in this series. Once again, San Jose had a poor night when it came to killing penalties. While they managed to kill off the first two penalties, they were unable to kill off a third. San Jose would make things exciting in the final minute and a half, as Joe Thorton finally beat Brian Elliott. Still, once again, it was too little, too late.

For the Sharks to make it out of this round, they will need to win the next three games (two of which are in St. Louis). For two consecutive years, the Sharks had made it to the third round.

Other Thoughts:

-Andy McDonald has been involved in all six Blues power play goals (2 goals, 2 assists).

-The Blues have now scored a power play goal in each game of this series. (And the San Jose penalty kill is at an embarrassing 62.5%.)

-The Sharks had four power play opportunities, and were unable to score, or even sustain pressure during any of them. Something major needs to change in this department.

-San Jose had 18 giveaways during this game. That is just unacceptable. The biggest offender was Dan Boyle with four.

-San Jose also struggled in the faceoff department, ending the night at only 46% as a team. (Joe Thorton should be given credit for the fact that he won 10/14 faceoffs however.)

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.

Niemi helped carry the Sharks to a 6-5 win against the Kings last night (Photo Credit: Kristen Jerkins/Flickr)

Last night while there may have been 14 games on the schedule, one game stood out more than the rest. While many of you were probably already sleeping (if you’re on the East coast), the San Jose Sharks took on the LA Kings in what was undoubtedly a playoff atmosphere. The tempo of this game was absolutely ridiculous with both the Kings ans Sharks sealing playoff positions by the drop of the puck due to the Avalanche and Ducks losing.  The Kings fought hard, showering Antti Niemi with 18 shots to the Sharks 3 in the first period, Niemi all but standing on his head to make saves.  To really get the ball rolling Jumbo Joe Thornton hammered left handed fisticuffs to Kings Drew Doughty, which was followed shortly after by a bout with Ryane Clowe and Matt Greene.  Throughout much of the first period the Sharks were shorthanded, with the referees dishing out obscene amounts of penalties, definitely gearing up for the playoffs.  Coming out of the first period the Sharks and Kings were tied at one goal a piece.

The second period proved to be just as exciting as the first with both teams prepared for battle. Through the first eight minutes the two battled back and forth, but it would be LA who would one-up the Sharks as Jarret Stoll wristed a power play goal of of a roughing penalty served by Winnick.  A few minutes later Dustin Brown added another tally to their column, providing the Kings with a 3-1 lead over San Jose. The Sharks, unhappy with this result fought until the last whistle of the period, cutting the lead to one goal with just 27 seconds remaining in the period.  If they stood a chance they were going to have to prepare to come strong right from the get go and finish the Kings off.

To get the ball rolling Ryane Clowe waltzed right into the zone off of a rebound and shot it right past Quick to tie the game at three a piece.  To the Sharks advantage their power play was on point for the night as they capitalized twice in the third period, giving them a 5-4 lead, their first lead of the game. With just under four minutes remaining in the third Kings Justin William would capitalize on a power play goal and send the game into sudden death overtime. The teams combined for seven power-play goals, three fights and at least one bizarre play when Ryane Clowe reached over the bench with his stick and touched the puck while L.A.’s Jarret Stollwas carrying it up ice. Clowe and Joe Thornton each recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick – a goal, an assist and a fight, but it was the third-period play by Clowe from the bench that stands out to everyone.

When asked about it Clowe said:

“I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I’ll have to see the video or something. Someone show me the video.”(via NHL Recap)

Stoll, who slammed his stick on the ice after the fact in frustration, a minor reaction at most compared to what he could have done, was more calm post-game stating

“I have no idea what to say on that. It’s something that I don’t think any of us can see much of. You don’t see that play happen a lot. I’m sure Clowe will say afterwards that he didn’t know what he was thinking, either. It’s just one of those plays. You hope they see it, and they didn’t. What can you do? Move on. We’ve gotten some calls this year that maybe we shouldn’t have gotten, and maybe it evens it up.”

In the shoot out it would come down to Joe Pavelski as he carried the puck in against Quick with speed, went forehand, backhand and then top shelf to notch the only goal scored, providing the Sharks with a win and point, placing them as the seventh seed in the playoffs, just one point ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes.  They are set to finish their regular season against the Kings on Saturday night, perhaps a bitter rematch is in store?