The Anaheim Ducks played a cautious home opener and came out ahead in a 1-0 win at the Honda center.

The game wasn’t what you would call a barn burner and you weren’t on the edge of your seat. The Sharks looked like they started the game in 3rd gear and half way through the third period found the fourth gear but were not close to opening things up and playing wide open.

The best opportunity to tie the game came in the 3rd period when Ryan Clowe’s shot went just wide hitting the side of the net. He knows the effort has to be better “I’m not sure overall for sixty minutes we were the better team. We got completely outworked in the 2nd, had a lot of turnovers and the third was back and forth.
They did a pretty good job of shutting us down. It was a little different than the first game; we weren’t sharp enough and not assertive enough. They worked harder and won more battles.”

It is pretty difficult to win in the NHL these days if the effort isn’t there. In the cap era there has never been more parity than there currently is and the days of coasting through on skill are a thing of the past. No matter how good a team is without the effort it is tough to come away a winner.

The Ducks 4th liner Maxime Macenauer scored the game’s only goal in the first period after the Ducks enforcer George Parros centered a puck in front of the net and before anybody knew it the Sharks were down 1-0.

There were a few flashes of good hockey tonight, the two team’s top lines squared off against each other and had some great shifts creating scoring opportunities, but both goalies were the best players for either team.

At the end of the day we have to give credit to the Ducks for grinding out the win, but that game wasn’t real high on the excitement meter. The Ducks relied on one of their best players to get the job done and Jonas Hiller was great. He certainly doesn’t appear to be suffering from vertigo which kept him of the line-up for the latter half of last season.

At this level of hockey there are no excuses, but the Sharks looked like a team that needs to sharpen their game and playing your first game of the season and then taking six days off is not the ideal recipe for efficiency. Fortunately for the Sharks they don’t have to wait long to get another crack at the Ducks as they visit the San Jose for a Monday night game.

There appeared to be a lack of intensity considering this was a division game between two teams that dislike one another. This was the first game of six this season and I expected more scrums in front of the nets, a fight or two and at least some attempts to intimidate and set the pace for the year. Instead it looked like a shiny game between friends. After a layoff like the Sharks had it is usually the tough guys who create energy but perhaps this is the new NHL and players are afraid of the repercussions.

The turning point of this game was the only goal scored at 13:59 of the first period. The Sharks had some good looks after that but never looked in control of the game.

Contenders

Jonas Hiller – was the solid net minder we have come to expect, especially when he is able to see most of the shots and is the game’s first contender.

Tomas Greiss – also gets the nod and deserves to be recognized. He gave his team a chance to win and shut the door after letting one past him in the first.

Pretenders

Ryan Clowe – missed what many consider a gift of an opportunity to tie the game and didn’t. Clowe takes one for the team tonight because the whole line-up, aside from Greiss could have made this list for lack of intensity.

The Sharks won’t have to wait long to exercise their demons from tonight’s blah game because the St. Louis Blues visit the Tank tomorrow night.

Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore

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