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Dorothy, Toto or the Tin
Man?
Finally some heart
4/16/08 - By Steve Flores
It was a time of
reckoning: A time of gut-check: A barometer of heart, if you will. For the
first time in San Jose Sharks history that the boys were backed up against the
proverbial wall and came out with guile and with some punches flaring.
The Sharks overall team effort in game four of their Western Conference Quarter
Final was a solid and, at times, dominant performance.
We all know
about the late goal-scoring heroics of the team but the number that keeps
jumping out at me was 10. That is the number of shots allowed to Calgary's
offense. 10! I am by no means a firm believer in the shots on goal statistic
but 10 speaks for itself.
The Sharks entered the game with their very
manhood being questioned by nearly all of the games press. Their history of
folding like a soft taco is well documented and has been paraded around the
print, television and radio media as if it were a New York City float on New
Years day. The Sharks have earned that rep but Tuesday night they made a huge
step towards showing a possible new level of heart.
The team's talent
has never been questions; in fact it is the main factor that leads to the
constant scrutiny regarding their post-season failures.
The Sharks are young, big, fast and skilled. They have
solid goaltending, good team speed, good team defense, an MVP center-man and
enough goal scoring ability to scare the bulk of the teams in the NHL.
Tuesday night's victory has defrayed the detractors and have won them at least
a couple days praise and hopefully will only add to their mental toughness come
Thursday night.
Ahh Thursday night, the Shark tank should be raucous
and as loud as it has ever been!
The Sharks have escaped the hunters
net and seem to have found a gear that was previously never seen in these
parts. Like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz the Sharks never really were
without a heart they simply needed to find a way to find it and use it to their
advantage.
Contact Steve at stevybo@yahoo.com
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