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Sharks can’t figure out Blues goalie Elliott |
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Sharks can’t figure out Blues goalie Elliott
The San Jose Sharks get stumped by Blues defense and goalie Brian Elliott who got the start in an uneventful game between two teams going in different directions.
The first stop on this three games in four days road trip for the Sharks was St. Louis to face the Blues. The Blues have been on fire since Coach Ken Hitchcock took over for Davis Payne and are considered to be one of the elite teams in the west. They are as stingy as can be when it comes to giving up scoring chances and goals, which is expected by a Hitchcock coached team and have received top net minding. Tonight was a perfect example of Hitchcock hockey as the Blues won 1-0. This was the 4th time this year that San Jose was shut out.
That recipe, along with miserable special teams for the Sharks was all that was needed to make this a low scoring and uneventful affair at the Scottrade center. The game often resembled a tennis match with the constant turnovers and giveaways that took place in the neutral zone.
Once again the Sharks special teams failed them giving up a power play goal in the first period.
On the other end of the spectrum the power play was painful to watch. Lately the Sharks have had good puck movement and control with the man advantage creating some pretty good scoring opportunities, but have not buried the puck. Tonight however they failed to get a shot on net on their first two chances and had trouble getting into the offensive zone. The Blues deserve some credit for stumping San Jose, but a lack of energy and intensity was quite apparent. They finished the game going 0 for 6 and 1 for 23 on their current slump.
Coach Todd McLellan touched on the power play after the game “I was disappointed in the desperation of our first two power plays. I thought that’s where we lacked it and their confidence (meaning St Louis’) went up.”
There was a lack of urgency for the Sharks until the final minutes of the game where they finally created some scoring chances and traffic in front of the Blues net. The lack of shots on net back up the passive play from San Jose as the team fired a mere 24 shots on net, against Minnesota the Sharks had 21 shots in the first period.
The turning point in this game for me was when the puck was dropped. Many would think that the power play goal was the difference, and it was on the scoreboard but the lethargic effort we saw from the Sharks tonight began with the start of the game.
Contenders & Pretenders
Contenders
Brian Elliott – was signed by the Blues this off-season after he was traded from Ottawa to Colorado at the trade deadline last season, and then he was not re-signed by the team that traded for him. Often that can kill a goalie’s confidence, but not Brian Elliott who has many in the hockey world believing he is the number one man between the pipes in St Louis. He is the game’s first contender.
Ken Hitchcock – has this team turned around and playing boring, but affective hockey.
David Perron – was hit by Joe Thornton last year and missed 97 games due to a concussion and has only recently returned to the NHL. Perron gets a contender nod for not holding a grudge and moving on, he has stated that the play where he was hit was unfortunate but he doesn’t blame Joe for his actions and hasn’t let the press make a bigger deal of this than it has to be.
Marc-Eduoard Vlasic – was solid tonight. Ready Eddie had a great stick and some great pinches keeping the play alive in the offensive zone.
Pretenders
Sharks special teams – suffered tonight and looked way too complacent for the amount of talent this team has, they also lacked urgency considering they have been unsuccessful lately.
Joe Thornton – is the key to this team success and needed to show more get up and go. Tonight the team was lacking on ice leadership so the man with the “C” finds his way on the pretenders list.
The Sharks will need to find another gear tomorrow night when they face the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center and the 21,000 plus who are always loud.
Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore