Ah, the Gnashing of Shark Teeth
by Quisp on Apr 17, 2011 11:27 AM PDT
in Playoffs
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PrintKings exploit Sharks biggest weakness - Lets Go Sharks
So much for home ice advantage. So much for avenging Ian White. So much for Jarret Stoll's suspension. The Sharks flat out missed the bus to their Game 2 match up with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.[..] the Sharks failure to mount much of a fight can be attributed to everyone up and down the lineup. Ten Shark players were a combined -10 +/-, and goaltender Antti Niemi could only stop 19 of 23 shots.
The Sharks need to figure out how to rebound from what may have arguably been one of their worst playoff performances in team history. [...] The series is now a best of five affair, but the Sharks will need to figure out what hit them first.
Los Angeles finished the evening 2-of-6 on the power play, San Jose a distant 0-for-5. [...] Ryane Clowe didn't get the memo regarding the Sharks penalty killing issues and decided to exact a little revenge by throwing an elbow at Drew Doughty a minute after the Johnson goal.[...] Sharks captain Joe Thornton helped the [Kings'] cause by deciding to hold on to a puck at his own blueline, rather than clear it. The Kings stripped the centerman and worked the puck in the Sharks zone before Doughty converted his first of the playoffs. Clowe's decision making got even more suspect when he laid out Doughty with a cross check in front of the Sharks net. [...] San Jose's power play unit was as effective as the penalty kill, wasting the opportunity with two minutes of perimeter passing that got the puck nowhere near Quick. [...] The wheels completely came off [...] when Clifford bagged a goal from the Sharks doorstep. Thornton fell asleep while parked at the top of the crease, allowing a Brad Richardson pass to slip past him as he lost track of Clifford. [...]
The Sharks [...] have three days to figure out what went wrong and patch up the gaping holes that allowed Doughty and company to run roughshod on HP Pavilion ice.
Road win energizes Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Mercury News
Ryan Smyth has seen plenty in his 16 NHL seasons. And before Saturday night's [game], he spoke calmly about [the Kings' chances]. "Good teams find a way through adversity," Smyth said. And that's what the Kings were on this night, thoroughly whipping the Sharks 4-0 at HP Pavilion to even the first-round playoff series at one game each. "It's about the will to win," Smyth said in a happy Kings locker room afterward. "You have to dig deep, and everybody stepped up, collectively. A series doesn't really start until somebody wins on the road."
Consider this one officially under way as the teams head to Staples Center for Games 3 and 4. [...]
The Kings played like hockey royalty, and the undisciplined Sharks did everything possible to beat themselves with seven penalties and lackluster play. [...] The Kings' special-teams play also was extra special. Their penalty kill zapped all five of the Sharks' power-play opportunities. (San Jose now is scoreless in seven power plays in the opening two games.) The Los Angeles power play, ranked only 21st in the NHL during the regular season, converted twice in six attempts Saturday. "We were moving the puck well," Doughty said. "We studied their PK closely, found their tendencies, and we exploited them."
I'll leave you with a reasonable, but entirely inaccurate, quote from the comment section of Fearthefin:
Kings stomp Sharks 4-0 to knot the series at one headed back to Los Angeles - Fear The Fin
The way I see it No one expected the Sharks to win in 4 games, myself included. So a loss is a loss. This is just a minor bump on the way to winning in 5, 6, or 7. "
teal_and_orange on Apr 17, 2011 11:16 AM PDT
Reasonable because the idea of the Sharks sweeping was always more or less absurd. Inaccurate because, despite Teal-and-orange's -- and my -- conviction that this was going to be a long series, nearly everyone on the planet (by which I mean pundits, and, as was pointed out by someone else in the fearthefin comments, many Kings' commenters) had the Sharks closing out this "easy" series in four or five games.
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suspensions
Isn’t interesting how this kind of suspension scenario so many times makes the team serving the suspension rally. I didn’t watch the game but it seems like the Sharks were clearly undisciplined – perhaps looking for revenge for the “hit” with no one to focus on.
Bottom line the Kings had to come to play without Stoll and they did. I think they benefited psychologically from the suspension.
Not just suspensions. Recall that the Kings won their first two games after Kopitar went down. Unfortunately, they started to press after those first couple of games and thus fell apart. But over the very short term, you can get that rally ’round the flag effect.
"Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" — Invader Zim
I think with suspensions you get the boost driven by the fear having to perform without a key player – and a boost from the knowledge that you will get the guy back soon. Whereas the team who is missing a key player due to injury faces the challenge of overcoming the loss with no guarantee of his return.
I would so much more enjoy this community if we could all agree on one thing:
TEAMS DON’T LOSE PLAYOFF GAMES BECAUSE THEY AREN’T TRYING HARD ENOUGH!!!
That is all.
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Apr 17, 2011 12:14 PM PDT reply actions
Is this sarcasm? I mean there is luck involved for sure, but next to luck, and talent, the number one indicator of playoff success is effort or “competitiveness” as McClellan puts it.
No you are wrong
9 ways to Sunday, this is a myth
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Apr 17, 2011 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions
to clarify
You’re stating effort plays no part in whether a team wins or loses in the playoffs, or that it is an insignificant part? Surely you recognize at least the possibility of a player on one of the playoff teams having a sour temperament and displaying less effort when, for instance, he becomes frustrated at non-called penalties
#feelinacertaintypeofway
Just sayin'
I think the team that works the hardest, has the most luck, and talent, wins (not in any particular order). It’s not an insult to Kings fans to say that the Sharks got out-worked. They did. It’s a compliment to say the Kings without their best forward and Stoll whooped the pants off an under achieving Sharks team in game 2.
But I see how much cooler it would be to be able to say that the other guys played their best game ever and lost to us 4-nothing.
I think that the true difference
is between widespread loss of effort or individual effort. I seriously doubt that a team, as a whole, that has made it this far would be able to use the excuse “lack of effort”. On a more individual level though, I can see how it plays into a players contributions (or lack there of) on the ice.
by Axis of Evil on Apr 18, 2011 8:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Not surprised at all.
I love the Sharks, I really do. But to think this was going to be over in 5 was absurd. I mentioned this over at FeartheFin, but I’m not sure it was even taken into consideration at the time. The point is, this isn’t the same Sharks team that went on a tear just little over a month ago. THAT Sharks team had a penalty kill unit that was on fire. People stayed out of the box. Did I mention that people stayed out of the box?
My opinion – The Sharks stole game one. I was jumping for joy, because I’ve seen that scenario before, and it’s usually not a Sharks victory. I had optimism for game 2, and no one, NO ONE, game out to play. Highly ******* disappointed fan here.
But seriously, 5 games? Did anyone watch the 6 regular season games? The three of them the Kings won, looked exactly like last night.
6 or 7. Maybe. If we show up to play. If not… well, anyone over Vancouver and the Ducks. Hell, Vancouver over the ducks. Damn Ducks.
by Dermal Denticles on Apr 17, 2011 12:17 PM PDT reply actions
well, anyone over Vancouver and the Ducks. Hell, Vancouver over the ducks. Damn Ducks.
I think that’s something we can all agree on. :-)
"Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" — Invader Zim
by DougX on Apr 17, 2011 12:34 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Momentum and Coaching
not “compete” and PK. Thats the Sharks problem. They took some stupid penalties but the Kings haven’t had much of a power play all season, in the end the penalties were 5 for the Kings, 6 for the Sharks. Its just that the Kings stole the momentum by converting early, and Terry Murray is outcoaching Todd Mclellan. For the Sharks to steal the momentum back in this series they’ll have to find a way to crack the King’s solid defensive scheme in game 3, they can’t afford another shutout.
The Kings are a good team and they outplayed the Sharks
The Kings system was executed to a T last night and the Sharks failed to make the necessary adjustments. Getting on the board early and controlling the pace of the game is the King’s recipe for success.
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Apr 17, 2011 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions
The lack of Line Matching...
… is a really big deal. Mitchell and Doughty were out there most of the time against Thornton’s line, and San Jose didn’t do anything about it.
If you remember the matchup battles last year between the Kings and Canucks, this is a much different series from the other side. It’s almost as though the Sharks bought into the hype that this was going to be easy, and when the Kings didn’t fold after the first period in Game 1, they didn’t have a plan B.
Or, it could just be that Joe Thornton hasn’t played well in a playoff game since Davos.
Stop making excuses
…or maybe the Kings play a system and have bought into it, making the lack of skill players irrelevant sometimes. This is not always the case, and it means that somewhere, sometime, the Kings are not offensively skilled enough to overcome high powered teams or defensive breakdowns. But for the undisciplined, overrated, overly-reliant-on-skill-at-the-expense-of-a-system Sharks? Bait, my friend. The Kings have been the better team for 5 of 6 regulation periods and it shows. How else do you explain them waxing the Sharks without Kopitar and Stoll, two of their most productive offensive threats this year? It takes a disciplined team to beat the Kings, and the Sharks are not it.
That's it in a nutshell...
And, the question is… will this trend continue or can the SJ coaching staff make some adjustments to turn things around? Or is it too late?
It’s early in a 1-1 series. The Kings had better not take the attitude that their opponent is going to pack it in.
I want them to work just as hard next time out. Hopefully they can build on it.
In Dinglebarn We Trust -- JftC
I wouldn’t be worried about that — except that we’ve seen it before. This team has shown an unfortunate tendency to become overconfident after easy success. We saw it immediately after the last easy win over SJS.
"Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" — Invader Zim
I think not having Kopitar actually helps them here though. They know without him they are going to have to really scrap and fight for every goal and chance they get and they can’t take it easy. I think missing him will help keep them working hard and not become overconfident.
You may well be right about that
Goodness knows, the loss of Kopitar has caused enough anxiety here in the fan base. I wouldn’t be surprised if the players feel it to some degree, too, even though they probably are loathe to admit it. And wouldn’t it be ironic if the thing that keeps them on edge and playing their best game is the loss of their best forward?
"Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" — Invader Zim
Its all conjecture at this point.
It is also only two games but Kopitars absence has had the desired effect on the PP. I am not advocating that we would not rather have him out there but, as you can all see, there is a lot of puck movement and plenty more shots so far. There can be a myriad of different reasons and scenarios that you could place here and debate the nuiances but again, it is all conjecture.
by Axis of Evil on Apr 18, 2011 8:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Well, I think Doughty hit on another possible explanation for the Kings’ success on the power play when he said that they had analyzed SJS’ PK tendencies and tried to exploit them. That’s something you don’t necessarily have the time to do during the regular season when you’re almost never playing the same team back-to-back.
Drew also mentioned being reunited with Johnson at the points as a factor.
"Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" — Invader Zim
I still think that shellacking in Phoenix had a hell of a lot to do with being at the tail end of the exhausting December schedule. But I know what you mean.
Confidence is a tricky thing. I think a lot of them needed a dose of it. But now we’re worried about them having too much. Heh.
But the fact remains that they should be ready for SJ to come out and adjust their penalty killing, etc., and not just count on them to make the same mistakes.
In Dinglebarn We Trust -- JftC
Confidence is a tricky thing. I think a lot of them needed a dose of it. But now we’re worried about them having too much. Heh.
We’ve seen quite a reversal of fortune, haven’t we? This is not the “fragile” Kings team that got busted up by the Ducks just a week ago.
I wonder if, in retrospect, we will see Justin Williams’ return as the key to the Kings’ post-season because he gave them such an obvious lift in Game 1. Like King Arthur returning from the Isle of Avalon, it was, and the fact that the Kings gave such a good account of themselves has really changed the tone of the series.
But the fact remains that they should be ready for SJ to come out and adjust their penalty killing, etc., and not just count on them to make the same mistakes.
I found Doughty’s remark about analyzing SJ’s PK to be interesting, and maybe the key to why it did so well after practically an entire season of irritating dormancy: the chance to focus on a single opponent and their specific tendencies and develop tactics to exploit them. That’s good coaching, but most definitely, they’ll have to anticipate that the Sharks will develop a response.
"Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" — Invader Zim
They take a decent number of shots on the power play without getting the same results as last year. Luck affecting shooting % could be a factor. But I think they do get too static/predictable, and they have more shots blocked, and some pressure results in turnovers at the blueline. Then the power play officially becomes A Probelm and everyone’s overthinking it. Sometimes it seems like they hesitate before shooting instead of going with a one timer. That gives your opponent more time to set up. And less success leads to even more hesitancy.
All just theorizing…
In Dinglebarn We Trust -- JftC
ROFL “minor bump” in 5 ok, but then saying “6 or 7” makes him sound stupid, getting to a game 6 or 7 isn’t a “minor bump” that’s being pushed to the brink by a team that matches up to you.
by DodgersKings323 on Apr 17, 2011 9:36 PM PDT reply actions
Read the Sharks take. The assholes act like the Kings did nothing to win the game. More like the Sharks had the win before the first puck was dropped and somehow they decoded to be no shows.
Are Teemu Selanne and Melanie Griffith Twins?
by USHA#17 on Apr 17, 2011 9:52 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
I find that this is the case a lot. I’m a spiteful person and as such I like to go to the opposing teams sites that the Kings just beat and read the articles and comments on the game. It’s never “the Kings did this right”, it’s “our team did this wrong”. These sites aren’t for praising the team that just walloped you. It’s for nonsensical ramblings about the playoff games not being decided on effort…
*Not my real name.
A Game 3 win will really put the pressure on the Sharks
I’m not bothered by the view that the Sharks didn’t show up overriding the fact that the Kings won the game… Hey, don’t show up on Tuesday too, we’ll be fine with that…
Angelofdeath? Ringing any bells? He's dead.
"A wedding is a funeral where you smell your own flowers"
Barca Blaugranes
All hell is going to break out...
..in Game 3. I strongly believe this game will determine the outcome of the series.
No Bolgna has a first name, it's O*S*C*A*R
That would not surprise me at all, if the winner of Game 3 wins the series. In a best-of-7 set, you can only have so many momentum shifts before you get to the one that proves decisive. The Kings really changed the momentum in Game 2. If the Sharks can take it back in Game 3, that’s huge for them. But if the Kings keep it rolling, it will probably be hard to stop them.
"Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" — Invader Zim
Last year's game 3 was amazing.
It was an absolutely insane atmosphere at Staples. I guess that’s what a long playoff hiatus will do to a fanbase. We did have a strong contingency of Canuck fans in our section. I don’t expect there to be as many Sharks fans. Staples should be rocking again, can’t wait.
As a "Sharks in 5" commenter:
After Kopi’s injury I was distraught. After the last games against the ducks I was despondent. Then I go to a site which allows me to write my emotional fan comments down. If you would’ve polled us after the first game in the series, even though it was a loss, I’m sure the result would’ve been much different. I didn’t feel horrible. I was actually encouraged by their play, their effort.
After game 2? I spent money I didn’t have for PLAYOFF TICKETS!!!!
Aw yeah.
*Not my real name.
I dont know if this has been posted already...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSAOn0JFp7U
Drew Doughty – History will be made. SJ Sharks announcers, finally not being totally worthless.
please feel free to repost it where kings fans will see it.
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