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Cold-Blooded Old
Times
Bring back the gritty days
I'm guilty. I confess. Like most of you,
including the Sharks' players, I spent the season in the "wait for ninety
points and start getting interested" mode. But reality whacked us all the face
and knocked those teal-tinted glasses off. A death-march road trip, injuries to
multiple regular players, and then some comebacks in the last two weeks brought
the Sharks back to familiar territory not too many years ago: a low seed in the
playoffs.
Those old days were exciting to a degree. Even now, each
year after the Sharks' get bounced out of the playoffs there are those who
mumble how much more fun those teams were and that maybe Doug Wilson should
break up the team and rebuild, letting us relive the old Owen Nolan and scrappy
Sharks vs the world thing. Well, they got half their wish. Will the Sharks show
some scrap, or soon be it?
If you drink the kool-aid left over from
the beginning of the season, this team greatly underperformed and is eager for
a chance to redeem itself. If you're like me, and look at how this season
stacks up against life, the universe and the Western Conference in general; you
note that the Sharks' core is getting older, their goal production is beginning
to slide, and those crappy teams we used to beat on are getting better, or as
some say "getting all the lucky bounces". A first round loss will mean major
changes on and probably behind the bench.
Even in their good days,
this present bunch of Sharks was reluctant to crush an opponent in the
playoffs. They'd cough up the home ice advantage by losing games in San Jose;
and last year let the Wings push the second round to seven games after being
down 3-0. It requires real faith to expect that this core will rise up and beat
the Blues.
So, Sharks, prove me wrong. The Blues took the four regular
season games, outscoring you 10-3. In the three games they've played against
you with Ken Hitchcock behind the bench they've held off your first period
blitz very nicely.
There is no excuse for taking them lightly. It should
be no secret how Hitchcock's don't-call-it-a-trap system works in the playoffs;
someplace downstairs in the Tank there's a room with tapes of his old Dallas
teams.
Mike Ricci and Bryan Marchment are on the staff and played
against them for the Sharks in 1998 and 2000. The Blues have less talent than
those Dallas teams, but with no superstar egos in their dressing room they're a
better bunch for Hitchcock to work with. Play patient, play solid and take
advantage of the few openings you get. Otherwise, the off-season could get
quite cold-blooded.
Contact Ken at at Kenin210@eudoramail.com
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