The Sharks own the Ducks this year.
There’s only one thing not to like about this game – and it has nothing to do with the players – but I’ll get to that shortly.
The players that needed to step up, stepped up. Marleau had two points, Hertl had two points and Nieto had an assist. The supporting cast of Sheppard and Goodrow even got in on the fun. Great team win.
Patrick Marleau, James Sheppard, Barclay Goodrow, Brenden Dillon, Matt Irwin and, of course, Joe Pavelski scored for team teal as the Sharks chewed up and spit out Ilya Bryzgalov en route to demolishing the Ducks last night.
The powerplay had success, the penalty kill was perfect and the defenders kept the shots below 30. The Sharks played a solid game of hockey in all aspects outside of the crease.
In the crease, though, Antti Niemi was, well, Antti Niemi.
I won’t blame him on the first goal because that was Scott Hannan’s wonderful defensive skills - carefully keeping himself just the right distance away from two Ducks players so he doesn’t interfere with their potential scoring chances.
Matt Beleskey’s goal was a direct result of Niemi’s inability to track the puck like an NHL goaltender. Maroon’s goal was pathetic. That’s the type of goaltending that will get you bounced from the playoffs early, but that's nothing new here.
Back to positive things. Pavelski’s power play goal. Let’s take a look.
I would, hands down, take the Sharks top power play unit over any other unit in the league – except when Crosby/Malkin are both healthy. Thornton-Marleau-Pavelski-Couture-Burns is one of the nicest PP lines to watch in the entire league. They’re all a threat with the puck and they cycle with perfection.
The best part about that goal was what Pavelski did when Marleau sent the cross-ice pass to Thornton. Rather than continue a full shift across with the goaltender, Pavelski stopped halfway because he knew who was getting the puck and he knew there would be a scoring chance coming his way. Had he shifted across completely that goal never happens. Such a beauty play by #8, and some nice passing by #12 and #19.
Alright, now let’s get to Coach McLellan and reason 19.8 that McLellan should have been fired already.
In the first period Matt Nieto took a puck to the face and left the ice for a little while. Not a big deal, right? Bump up Hertl, or whoever, from the bottom six to fill in for a few shifts so as not to disrupt the flow of things. It’s an easy call, common sense if you will.
Not when Todd is running the show.
McLellan voted against that logic and decided to break up the best combination of players he’s ever had – Thornton and Pavelski – to fill the hole on the second line. Because that always works out so well, doesn't it Todd?
I don’t care if it was only for a little while and I could care less if it was even for one shift. There was one bad decision that could have been made with regards to replacing Nieto and McLellan managed to do it. That’s impressive, especially when he should have learned his lesson already when he was trying to hold Patrick Marleau’s hand during his slump.
Those are the coaching decisions that will be the death of the San Jose Sharks. I’d even take John Scott in the lineup every single game on the fourth line over breaking those two players up – and I don’t even think John Scott should be employed by anyone the NHL.
You’re not masking your poor decisions in a 6-3 win here, coach.
The Sharks finish the season series with Anaheim 4-0-1 for a near clean sweep of their in-state rivals. No rest for the wicked, though, as the Sharks are back in action against another top Western team on Saturday when they host the Chicago Blackhawks.
If they show up with the same level of compete as they did against Anaheim they’ll give themselves a chance to win, and that’s all you can ask for against Chicago.
Thanks for reading.