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Strong effort from the Sharks isn’t enough |
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The Sharks showed up and played hard in Nashville against the Predators but were plagued by poor goaltending, again in a 6-2 loss.
The Sharks found themselves down by two goals 3:23 into the game against a team that prides itself on defensive hockey. Two is often enough for the Predators to shore up a win and tonight they scored four until the final minutes of the game where they potted an empty netter and one more to follow while the Sharks were looking towards the next game.
“Bad mistakes at bad times” quipped Joe Thornton after the game “I’m not sure why this late in the year bad mistakes happen, but we have to start playing good hockey if we want to get into the party. For whatever reason that’s the way things are going right now.”
Thornton looked fatigued and sounded frustrated while answering post-game questions, more so than usual. It makes me wonder if the poor results as of late are having an effect on the confidence of this team.
Thornton himself made a back checking error on Shea Weber’s first goal of the game but besides that he and his line were the best players in white tonight. They scored both of the team’s goals and finished the game with six combined points and were even on the plus/minus scale, even though they were on for the empty netter.
There are going to be the odd defensive breakdown and tonight they were evident but, that is what your goalie is for. The fact is that on many of the Sharks losses on this nine game road trip they have been outplayed between the pipes and Niemi’s inconsistencies have had a pertinent role in this team’s drop in the standings from third to seventh.
Even though Niemi’s play has been awful as of late Coach McLellan continues to go back to him. I would like to think that he wants his number one net minder to find his form again. So far more opportunities have not been the answer. Antti Niemi, like most goalies stand by the theory that the more they play the better their game becomes, but that has just not been the case for the Shark’s Finnish guardian of the cage.
At some point soon they either have to trust Greiss as the number one guy, pull Antero Niittymaki out of exile, or make a move before the trade deadline on Monday.
After last year’s playoffs we have seen poor goaltending and a reluctance from the Sharks coaching staff to stay with the back-up goalie that played well in relief. That strategy didn’t work last year and so far the loyalty shown to Niemi hasn’t help the team win too many games lately. Something has to give.
Recently the Sharks have had a tough time getting off to a good start and they haven’t been able to recover. If you are able to shut down the top two lines you shut down the Sharks. They need more scoring from the third and fourth lines, which is part of the reason Dominic Moore was acquired from the Lightning.
Moore missed his second game in a row as a Shark with an undisclosed injury.
Scoring details
1st Period
NSH - 2:03 –EV – 33 C.Wilson(14) – assist – 22 J.Tootoo(21)
NSH – 3:23 –EV - 6 S.Weber(13) – assists – 10 M.Erat(32), 74 S.Kostitsyn(20)
SJ – 10:58 –EV – 12 P.Marleau(26) – assists – 8 J.Pavelski(25), 19 J.Thornton(42)
NSH – 15:58 –EV – 8 K.Klein(4) – assists – 59 R.Josi(8), 12 M.Fisher(20)
2nd Period
SJ – 0:23 –EV – 8 J.Pavelski(23) - assists – 12 P.Marleau(24), 19 J.Thornton(43)
NSH – 12:04 –PP – 6 S.Weber(14) – assists – 11 D.Legwand(23), 20 R.Suter(30)
3rd Period
NSH – 18:00 –EV-EN – 10 M.Erat(14) – assists – 57 G.Bourque(4), 59 R.Josi(9)
NSH – 19:18 –EV – 13 N.Spaling(10) – assists – 22 J.Tootoo(22), 33 C.Wilson(19)
The turning point in this game came on the first two shots from Nashville, both shots became goals and that was all she wrote for the Sharks.
“Two shots, two goals, and two mistakes…game over” is how Todd McLellan began his post-game presser. “We just had a meeting and addressed those two situations in particular and it came back to bite us. The game was over four minutes in.”
The Sharks head coach also looked tired afterwards and had the look of a man who is looking forward to the end of their sixteen day road trip.
Contenders & Pretenders
Contenders
Shea Weber – was great tonight and showed why he is one of the premier D men in the league. His shot at the All-Star game was clocked at 108 mph and scored his second goal of the night with that big blast from the point. There was no screen and the puck was rolling which makes the shot that much more impressive.
Pekka Rinne – had a save percentage of .941 tonight and stopped all sixteen shots he faced in the third period. Rinne was solid as he usually is and for that he is a contender tonight.
The Sharks top line – were great tonight and led the way with two goals and an impressive effort. The offensive leaders did their part tonight and for that they are on the contender’s list.
Pretenders
Antti Niemi – was yanked after seven shots and most likely shouldn’t have started in the first place. He must be better if this team is going to even make the post-season. He is the first pretender tonight.
The third line - for San Jose have to show up every now and then and tonight would have been a good place to assert themselves into the offense.
Colin White’s – turnover tonight got the ball rolling for Nashville and he had time to do something more productive with the puck. His decision making cost the team the first goal tonight.
The Tootoo fan –in Nashville who always blows that annoying horn when Jordan Tootoo has the puck. I would hate to have to sit near that for a full game. Welcome to the pretenders list.
One more game on the marathon roadie for the Sharks against Minnesota tomorrow at 3 pm and a win would be huge for Sharks who come home to face the Flyers at the Tank on Tuesday night.
Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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