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Sharks lay a Game 2 Easter
egg
San Jose shut out again by Oilers
Home ice is supposed to be an advantage in hockey.
The Sharks did nothing with that advantage on Sunday night, dropping Game 3 in
their Western Conference Quarter Finals series with the Edmonton Oilers by
getting shutout for the second consecutive game. San Jose played 20 minutes of
hockey and let a mistake end up in their net midway through the 3rd period to
fall 1-0 to the Oilers.
The Sharks fall behind the Oilers 2-1 in the
series, but their inability to get any rubber past Edmonton goaltender Cam
Talbot is a major concern. San Jose hasn't scored in 120 consecutive minutes.
Melker Karlsson's overtime winner in Game 1 was the last time Talbot has
surrendered any form of scoring.
An absence of quality scoring chances
over the last 40 minutes of Sunday's contest was a major black mark on the
Sharks game. They came out firing in the 1st period, sending 13 shots at Talbot
and clearly controlled the period.
They came close on several
occasions in the period, but once the Oilers weathered that storm, the Sharks
called it a night. It was bewildering to see such energy disappear. San Jose
just seemed to pack it in.
Part of the issue with the Sharks approach,
was that they never had any second chance opportunities to challenge Talbot.
That was the effect of a lack of players in front of the net, and a flat footed
approach whenever a puck kicked out to the front of the net.
San Jose
also seemed a little over eager in the opening minutes of the game. Joe
Pavleski missed on a backhand chance 3:30 into the game after rushing his
chance, rather than setting his shot. Chris Tierney missed a wide open net
after recieing a puck on the left side and having plenty of time to pick a
spot, but his shot missed teh net by four feet.
That lack of
self-generated chances and a little puck luck netted another fruitless score
sheet.
All those missed opportunities in the opening period meant the
Sharks had to be perfect to keep the Oilers off the board. They weren't.
With the game knotted at 0-0 in the 3rd period, defenseman David
Schlemko tried to clear the puck out of his own end, but he either mis-fired on
the pass out of the right corner, or he lost focus for the split second that
resulted in the puck landing on the stick of Zach Kassian who was lurking in
front of the Sharks net.
Kassian easily gathered Schlemko's flub then
sent a backhand shot on net from 15 feet out. Martin Jones didn't read the shot
as it floated through the five-hole for the game's only goal.
It was a simple mistake that ended up costing the
Sharks the game. But in the playoffs, there are no such thing as a simple
mistake. Everything is magnified. Schlemko's gaff was the difference between
winning and losing. Simple as that.
Oilers head coach Todd McLellan
has to be loving the results he's getting from his young players. They're
limited in playoff experience, but they now hold a 2-1 lead in the series.
Doing against his former team also has to be satisfying. He was the fall guy
for a series of Sharks playoff failures. The Sharks current situation seems no
different than any of those failures.
Pavelski's disjointed play seems
to be the biggest issue for San Jose. The Sharks captain couldn't miss a year
ago. This year, everything seems to be a step late, or an inability to keep
control of the puck is netting more failed chances than not.
Without
anyone else picking up Pavelski's slack, the Sharks simply look lost. Sunday
was simply a reminder that this season's Sharks aren't great at having role
players there to pick up the slack when a key player falls short. They had that
last season. This year that just doesn't seem to be happening.
Game
Notes:
* The 120 minute shutout span is the 5th worst in Sharks
playoff history. San Jose would set a new franchise record if they are held
scoreless for another 54 minutes. If that were the case, they would also extend
their franchise record of 26 seasons without winning a Stanley Cup.
*
Joe Thornton made his series debut, and obviously nothing to spark the Sharks
offense. Thornton did little to create many chances for the Sharks, and never
ventured tot eh front of the net.
* Mikkel Boedker was the loser in
Thornton's return. The Sharks big free agent acquisition was scratched in favor
of Thornton. It was a peculiar move given that rookie Marcus Sorensen is
getting so much ice time. Sorensen hasn't done much in the three games of the
series.
* Logan Couture ditched the wire mask that he wore in the
first two games. the mask was there to protect his puck induced facial injury.
The move did nothing to improve Couture's vision. He, like every other Shark,
was held scoreless. He didn't create much offensively for San Jose.
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What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| EDM |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| 3rd period - 1, EDM,
Kassian 2 (unassisted), 10:45. |
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| 1st period - Pouliot,
EDM (roughing), 16:43; Ward, SJ (tripping), 17:55. |
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| 2nd period - Caggiula,
EDM (boarding), 6:00. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| EDM - Talbot |
23 |
23 |
| SJ - Jones |
22 |
21 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| EDM |
6 |
12 |
4 |
22 |
| SJ |
13 |
4 |
6 |
23 |
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| Referees: Meier,
Pollock. Linesmen: Cherrey, Panich. |
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