The Sharks started the season with a bang by winning the first seven games, unfortunately they have managed to drop the last seven and the current streak is reason for concern.
San Jose has been unable to find the recipe for turning around their fortunes. The Blackhawks had the bounces fall their way tonight and good fortune to go with it, but you have to be good to be lucky and a fortuitous break for San Jose can’t even be spotted on the horizon right now.
The first two goals for the Blackhawks came from fortuitous bounces. First off Patrick Marleau shouldn’t have been in the box for the Sharks first goal which would have made it a power play for the Sharks and secondly it was a lucky bounce as the puck ricocheted off of Dan Boyle and back to Bolland after Niemi made the initial stop.
The second goal could have been played better by Niemi but these types of rolls happen sometimes. The problem for the Sharks is that not only are they far from a good bounce but their opposition are full of them whether it be the Predators or the Blackhawks.
Bad bounces aside, Chicago were the better team tonight and deserved the win. The Sharks have plenty of things to clean up before the bounces come their way and it starts with neutral zone turnovers. Too many by the Sharks obviously take away from opportunities to move the puck forward and create offense, but they are difficult to deal with defensively.
“One team was fast, moved pucks, and was fast. Another team bobbled pucks, misplayed them and was slow. It was as simple as that” were the coach’s post-game comments.
“We were too slow. Execution was poor and the other team was much better.”
One of the biggest differences from the first seven games compared to the last seven is the Sharks were capitalizing on their opportunities. The Sharks missed some golden scoring chances tonight that could have turned the tides.
Martin Havlat is paid to score goals and he had as good of a chance a player can get in the slot with enough time to take a good look and finish, but he was unable to light the lamp.
In the third period Adam Burish had an open cage off of a rebound and hit the post. If the Sharks can fix some of these details it will be a start to turning things around.
Ray Emery got the start tonight for Chicago and he played well enough to win, but he also left lots of juicy rebounds that San Jose didn’t get to. When things are going well the boys in teal get sticks on some of those loose pucks. When they don’t it makes us think that they just aren’t hungry enough and that the Blackhawks want it more than they do.
This team is at a point in the season that could be looked upon as a turning point. If they don’t make the post-season or if they have an early exit, this slump will be remembered and analyzed. If they are able to turn things around and make something of this road trip these losses will become character builders.
Scoring details
1st period
CHI – 19:16 –EV – 36 D.Bolland(5) – assists – 88 P.Kane(12), 2 D.Keith(5)
2nd period
CHI – 3:06 –EV – 16 M.Kruger(3) – assists – 27 J.Oduya(4), 4 N.Hjalmarsson(3)
SJ – 5:03 –EV – 46 T.Kennedy(1) – assists – 39 L.Couture(6), 7 B.Stuart(3)
CHI – 14:40 –PP – 65 A.Shaw(3) – assists – 2 D.Keith(6), 7 B.Seabrook(5)
3rd period
CHI – 6:32 –EV – 4 N.Hjalmarsson(1) – assists – 16 M.Kruger(3), 22 J.Mayers(2)
Turning point
The turning point tonight was the Marcus Kruger goal which ended up being the game winner. It was a lucky bounce goal and it put the Blackhawks up two. This is the best team in the NHL and to come back from being down a pair on the road is asking a lot. It is never easy to come back when down like that, but when the goal comes from a fortunate bounce it makes things even tougher.
Contenders & Pretenders
Contenders
Marcus Kruger – scored the game winner for his team and it was the result of a good bounce, but he played a strong game and seemed to be around the disk all night long. He finished the game with a goal and a helper and finished the game at plus – 2.
Tim Kennedy – has played two strong games since he was called up from Worcester and tonight he scored a beautiful goal which was his first as a Shark.
The Blackhawks defense – deserve some credit for clearing away those rebounds left by their goaltender Ray Emery. They got good body position on the Sharks forwards and they also recorded five points as a unit.
Pretenders
Joe Thornton – is on the list tonight because he is the captain of this team and they just suffered their seventh straight loss. Jumbo no doubt feels it is up to him to right the ship and he has been unsuccessful. He had some turnovers in the neutral zone and at times it looked as though he was trying to do too much.
Brent Burns – was traded two years ago to the Sharks to be an impact player and here we are looking for a spark from him. Tonight he was invisible. Burns is 6’5 – 230 pounds who can skate like the wind and has a boomer of a shot. Calling Brent Burns it is time to show up and do something to make a difference.
The Officials – are on the list again in a Blackhawks game and tonight they weren’t the difference, but they did make a couple of glaring errors. Jonathan Toews deserved the 10 minute misconduct which was pointed out by the broadcast team for instigating a fight with a visor as well as the Marleau minor which negated the Sharks power play. Marleau and Dave Bolland battled down the ice and Bolland got dumped. Just because a player goes down doesn’t mean a penalty is deserved, but Patty was given a minor for interference.
Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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