Since last issue, the cool stuff includes:
* Had dinner with my sister and uncle - that's a relative
type of cool
* Got half my work project done - that's a "half way there"
type of cool
* Talked to some relatives for the first time all year -
that's an "about time" type of cool
* Played two soccer games for the first time this year -
that's a "getting back into shape" type of cool
* The Sharks played tough and hung in there - that's a
gritty, gutsy type of cool
The season is over. But the Sharks made the fans proud,
especially when they came back after being down two games
to none. In the end, the team with more talent won, but
the team with more heart made it interesting.
Destination Denver...
The Sharks had played hard, yet all their efforts put them
within two games of another first round playoff exit. It
wasn't the effort that most San Jose fans found frustrating,
but rather the team's inability to convert on their scoring
chances. In addition, the team was giving Colorado too many
power-play opportunities, which is not a good thing. The
third game would be as pivotal a game as any in the series.
Game 3 began with an early penalty against the Sharks. As
it turned out, it was the first of four against the Sharks
in the period, and any goal scored by Colorado at this
juncture would have sealed the Sharks fate. However, the
men in Teal held out against the barrage, particularly goalie
Mike Vernon, and no goals were scored at all. Instead, on a
Sharks power play, Mike Ricci tipped in Jeff Norton's shot
to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.
The second period saw both sides have their chances, but it
was Colorado who scored, albeit on a controversial play.
Peter Forsberg was breaking away, and as he was hauled
down by Mike Rathje, knocked the puck in past Mike Vernon
with a forward moving motion by his hand. A video review
lasted several minutes, and was eventually ruled as
inconclusive that the forward-moving motion actually
occurred. The goal stood as called.
The NHL replay officials then made an unprecedented
move to send a memo to all the media on why the ruling was
made - which made it look like they were trying to cover
their behinds on a blown call. Only after the game did one
NHL official acknowledge that they had blown the call.
A little late, guys!!!
That kind of goal would have tormented most teams. Not the
Sharks. Instead, they came out in the third period and
continued to play hard. The effort was rewarded when Mike
Ricci stripped Adam Deadmarsh in the Avalanche zone, then
made a perfect pass to Marco Sturm who one-timed it into
the net. A few minutes later, Owen Nolan passed to Mike
Ricci who passed to a streaking Marco Sturm who ended up
on a one-on-one with Patrick Roy. Marco made no mistake
this time as he scored on Roy's short side. And to cap
off the night, Mike Ricci passed to a wide-open Owen
Nolan who scored an empty netter to make it 4-1.
And Now For Something Very Much The Same...
Momentum was now with the visitors as they started Game
4. However, it was the home team that opened the
scoring when Adam Deadmarsh scored early in the first
period. The Avalanche were dominant in all facets of
the game, and it was a surprise that they were only
up by one goal at the end of the first period.
The second period turned out to be a wild period. Adam
Foote gave the Avalanche a two-goal cushion, but the
Sharks were suddenly back in the game when Tony Granato
scored on a back-hander after a blown play by Patrick
Roy. San Jose was then on the power play, and just a
mere 38 seconds after Tony's goal, Billy Houlder scored
the power-play goal to tie the game. A comedy of errors
in front of Vernie led to a Milan Hejduk goal, but
Patrick Marleau scored a beauty after a wonderful feed
from Alex Korolyuk. At the end of two periods, it was
tied 3-3.
Unbelievable is the only word to describe the third
period. K-yuk scored behind the net to make it 4-3,
then with Billy Houlder in the penalty box, Vinny
Damphousse scored short-handed to make it 5-3, and
Mike Ricci knocked in the sixth. And in a case of deja
vu, Billy Houlder was in the box again, and Vinny
Damphousse scored another short handed goal to make the
final score a "can you believe this?" 7-3.
All Good Things Must Come To An End...
So far during the series, the Avalanche hadn't played
their A-game. Their B-game was good enough in the first
two games since the Sharks could not win without playing
their A-game. Well, Game 5 was to show that when the
Avalanche came with their A-game, the Sharks would feel
the impact in a big way.
Steve Shields started out in goal. It wasn't a very
happy outing for Stevie as the Sharks couldn't cope
with the pressure and Stevie was left fending for
himself for most of the game. The Sharks were already
down 5-0 at the end of the 2nd period, and watching the
big guns (Sakic, Forsberg, Fleury) create one scoring
chance after another made the Sharks look like a bunch
of amateurs. The defense had a forgettable night and
the final score of 6-2 was not a true indication of
Colorado's total dominance of the game.
The only consolation for the Sharks was that they had
taken two out of three from the mighty Avalanche on
the road, and had a return engagement at the friendly
confines of San Jose Arena, which was something that
was totally unexpected just a few games ago.
Home Again, But For The Last Time???
It was a tense sixth game. Both sides had their chances,
and momentum shifts were frequent. Theo Fleury opened
the scoring for the Avalanche, but Billy Houlder scored
on the power play to tie it up. In the third period,
Jeff Friesen scored to give the Sharks some hope, but
Sandis Ozolinsh scored on a power play to tie it up
again. A tense final minutes yielded no goals, so it
was sudden death overtime.
In OT, the Sharks had a four-minute power play, but the
closest they came to scoring was Billy Houlder hitting
the post. That would prove the difference as Milan
Hejduk scored the winner, just as he did in game 2.
And just like that, the season was over for the Sharks.
Offensive lines - Shake, Shake, Shake
In an effort to give the Sharks a different look, and
hopefully a different outcome to the game, the lines were
juggled. Jeff Friesen remained with Joe Murphy and Vinny
Damphousse, but Owen Nolan teamed up with Mike Ricci and
Marco Sturm to form the second line. Stephane Matteau
returned to play with Ron Sutter and Ronnie Stern to
become the third line with increased playing time. The
fourth line was Tony Granato, Patrick Marleau and Alex
Korolyuk, and speaking of the fourth line...
Coach Sutter played Tony, Patrick and Alex for a total of
5 minutes in the third game, which was meant to reduce the
burden on the kids while asking the guys on the third
line (Matteau, Stern, Sutter and possibly Dave Lowry) to
step up their play. In the fourth game, the kids stepped
up their play, and the result was that both Patty and
K-yuk scored their first playoff goals. Coach had been
pretty good about mixing up the lines and giving more
ice time to the more effective lines.
Defensive lines - Shake, Shake, Shake, too
Although the tandems of Norton-Houlder, Rathje-Ragnarsson
and Rouse-Marchment played as usual, Coach Sutter ended
up double-shifting Rathje and Ragnarsson primarily to
counter Peter Forsberg, who was considered the primary
threat to the Sharks. In those double-shifting situations,
Rags ended up playing with old partner Mush Marchment,
while Rat played with his old partner Bob Rouse.
Trivia Time...
A playoff trivia question for you. Joe Sakic has scored at
least one point in every game of the playoffs this year. Who
on the Sharks has achieved that accomplishment? Answer at
the end.
Where art thou ex Captain???
Our ex-Shark for this issue is former Sharks captain Bob
Errey. Errey arrived in the Sharks 3rd season, after stints
in Buffalo and Pittsburgh, where he had won the Stanley Cup.
He played a key role in the Sharks reaching the playoffs for
the first time, and his leadership was important in the
Cinderella season that was. Errey was traded in the middle
of his 3rd season to Detroit after the team was slowly
dismantled. Surprisingly he was traded back to the Sharks
in a futile attempt to rekindle the Sharks during their
worst season. In the end, Errey signed with Dallas, and
after playing part of the year, he was traded to the Rangers.
This year Bob has been playing in New York's AHL affiliate,
the Beast of New Haven.
The Morgan Stuart Award
This award is named after my most cool, most excellent, and
most adorable Goddaughter. Awarded to the best Sharks player
since last issue, there were many candidates, and since this
is the last playoff report from yours truly until the end of
season report, I've decided to have multiple winners.
And the award goes to Mike Ricci (for his 4 point effort in
game 3), Mike Vernon (who kept the Sharks in games that
normal goalies wouldn't), Marco Sturm (for his gritty play
and 2 goals in game 3), Owen Nolan (for leading by example),
Vinny Damphousse (who gave the Sharks the experience when
they needed it most, plus 2 short handed goals in one game),
and Marcus Ragnarsson (for his steady play on the defense),
and Jeff Norton (for his point scoring during the playoffs).
The team as a whole earns kudos for making it tough on
Colorado, and playing tough all year. Congrats to the team
for the hard work and effort.
Points per game...
Jeff Norton scored a point in every game the Sharks played
this post season. Congrats Jeff.
P.S. Congrats to my students at CCD Class - Aneta, Kristine,
Catalina, Maria, Aethel, Kristina, Veronica, Sara, Jennifer,
Sheenalyn, Cynthia and Priscilla.
See ya all in the season end issue after the playoffs!
