San Jose Sharks

[tgraveline]

Sharks and Kings tonight. I'm actually going to get to watch a game for once. Student teaching has been kicking my butt lately. I think I'm just going to kick the wife upstairs to finish the Saints-Giants game.

Hoping to see a good game from the boys and always enjoy seeing them play the SoCal teams. Beat LA!

[tgraveline]

So it's official that Clowe, Couture, and Havlat are playing together tonight. This will hopefully be a boon to Havlat. One guy did mention that Marleau has played really well with them on that line and so the question is how he responds by being with Thornton again. I think it will be fine as Marleau and Thornton were on the same line last year for most of the season.

I feel like this is going to be a good game and one that the Sharks try to take control of early on. It should be pretty darn impressive. If not, I'm going to be saddened by another loss. I need a good pick-me-up win here from my boys!

[tgraveline]

That powerplay was awful! I can't believe the Sharks couldn't get down to the other end and then let Subban draw a penalty. That was garbage. I hope they get this figured out. And woah, no one told me Yemelin was up these days. Love the way he hits. Pavelski is going to feel that one in the morning! Whoo!

[tgraveline]

Sharks win in the shootout. This was a game that was just mind boggling. I really don't feel like the Sharks deserved that win, but they did play well in OT, but for many periods, just didn't seem to have a gameplan.

The good: I thought Havlat had his wheels moving and he was making plays. Got a Shootout goal and a regular assist on the goal that tied up the game in the last minutes.

The Bad: Niemi just was wild and overly agressive on many plays that resulted in goals.

The ugly: Big Joe. He had some good moments, but was a momentum killer on the first PP. He had like 3 giveaways in the first shift of that and more later on. It was a bit distressing to watch and I'm usually a fan of his play, but tonight was not his night.

[Chili con Carne]

Any insight on Boyle? Is his lack of production simply the result of a bad PP right now?

Really enjoying these updates tgraveline. Keep up the solid work.

[tgraveline]

On Boyle- I got to admit, I think he's playing decently, but it looks to me like this is the first year he's lost a little step in his game at least defensively. So I think that has caused some issues in getting the puck out of the zone, but I think this is just an adjustment period. On the PP he looks good, but the rest of the team up front just hasn't looked good to me lately. They need to practice their possession game a bit more, which is weird since that's their style of play. I think Thornton might be trying to do too much right now and he's a big piece of that. All of this affects Boyle, and he doesn't have to do as much since Burns is there, but Burns isn't getting that many points either.

Like the announcers said last night, the top line was the least effective and was pretty awful. Boyle plays top line D minutes so I don't think it's his fault as he was running back over and over and I think that's the most strenuous on defense both mentally and physically.

[Chili con Carne]

On Boyle- I got to admit, I think he's playing decently, but it looks to me like this is the first year he's lost a little step in his game at least defensively. So I think that has caused some issues in getting the puck out of the zone, but I think this is just an adjustment period. On the PP he looks good, but the rest of the team up front just hasn't looked good to me lately. They need to practice their possession game a bit more, which is weird since that's their style of play. I think Thornton might be trying to do too much right now and he's a big piece of that. All of this affects Boyle, and he doesn't have to do as much since Burns is there, but Burns isn't getting that many points either.

Like the announcers said last night, the top line was the least effective and was pretty awful. Boyle plays top line D minutes so I don't think it's his fault as he was running back over and over and I think that's the most strenuous on defense both mentally and physically.

Awesome breakdown, thanks!

[tgraveline]

I'll be watching the game tonight to see how the Sharks come out of the gates against FLA. Rarely do these teams meet, but I'm actually quite interested in seeing FLA. They have a lot of pieces that I would think cold mesh well with the Sharks to acquire by the trade deadline, but we'll see. Should be a run and gun game in my mind.

[tgraveline]

Sharks score an early one. So 2nd line staying hot since its reunion. PK is lousy again. Murray interferes with Greiss's glove and make sure neither of them stop the puck from trickling in. Doh!

3rd line gets on the board.

[tgraveline]

Well, I'm quite happy with how the top line is playing. They seem to be getting a lot of chances, but Clemmenson is robbing them left and right. Good for him. Just hope top line gets something in now. Especially since Sturm just got to walk in from the corner unmolested and scored.

[tgraveline]

Sharks finally get a PP and it looks hideous. Especially how they're getting pressured in their own zone and then Boyle just gives the puck away for a Short-handed goal against. Something needs to change here. This is bad. Granted, Greiss has been pretty abysmal tonight, but the team is better than this.

[tgraveline]

Okay. Game notes from a terrible game.

The Good: The second line. They scored and did well and honestly the 1st line played well early on getting lots of chances an continued to do so, but the backchecking and defense was... I'm just going to say it was bad.

The Bad: PP and PK. I need to find out which coach is in charge of these as this is terrible. There were giveaways galore and many many poor decisions. They did get a goal on the PP with Couture (again, second line was good).

The Ugly: Greiss. Oh my! Worst game he's had this year. Two stick checks gone bad and some more weak goals. I was feeling fine about trading Nittymaki for a 3rd liner, now I'm not so sure.

[tgraveline]

Some notes on last night's game.

The Sharks came out dominating the game and then Hackett came in goal. The Sharks could for whatever reason not beat this kid. It's a typical slump for the Sharks where goalies can flat out say no to them and they just keep taking shots and don't get enough guys blocking the goalie. I've never understood this and it's the most frustrating times as a fan. I hope something happens here as the Sharks are in need of getting things back on track. Thornton is again less than a point-per-game, but not by too much. One big game or two really good games and he's back at that ratio. This team needs something to really shake them.

There are people out there advocating trading Boyle. I don't buy it. No point in it. I'd trade some of their goaltending depth. Either Greiss or Nitty for a third liner. I think Washington is a good trade partner and they should go after Ward or Brouwer (my favorite choice). Hope something like this can get done.

[tgraveline]

The woeful nature of the PK, inconsistent play, and more continues for this team. I don't understand how they have dominate shifts or periods, and then just completely suck the other times enough to the point that they lose. This team looks to struggle for an identity and someone needs to watch Dead Poets Society and Seize The Day.

Carpe Diem Thornton, Marleau, Boyle, Burns, Pavelski, Couture, etc.

[bigbabybuda]

The woeful nature of the PK, inconsistent play, and more continues for this team. I don't understand how they have dominate shifts or periods, and then just completely suck the other times enough to the point that they lose. This team looks to struggle for an identity and someone needs to watch Dead Poets Society and Seize The Day.

Carpe Diem Thornton, Marleau, Boyle, Burns, Pavelski, Couture, etc.

Give me the straight goods. How bad has Havlat looked?