Sharks Still Circling

The Sharks almost gave me a heart attack in Game 3 of their first round matchup with the Ducks. Trailing two games to none, this after loosing both games on their home ice, the Sharks looked strong in vaulting to a 1-0 lead. Then the Ducks scored. Then the Sharks scored. Then the Ducks scored. Then the Sharks scored. Then the Ducks scored. Then, Patrick Marleau redirected a pass from Rob Blake into the net in the Sharks thrilling 4-3 victory over the Ducks to pull within one game, 2-1, in the best of seven series. Can the Sharks come all the way back to become one of the 13% of all teams that have lost the first two games of a playoff series to emerge victorious? Here are some key data points to consider.

The home team has never, not once in three games, actually had the lead.

First off, the Sharks scored on the power-play. After going 0-for-12 to start the playoffs to extend their recent power-play funk in the playoffs to an amazing 14-for-170 (8.2%), the Sharks finally scored on the power-play, twice in fact, including the game winner by Marleau. Obviously this bodes extremely well for the club moving forward.

Dan Boyle was a man who was possessed on Tuesday. He was hitting everything on ice, was pumping his fist with exuberance and was engaged in the physical aspect of the game from the drop of the first face-off. He also scored two points and dished off an assist. He truly was the first star in this outing, a great sign for a Sharks club that brought him in this off-season to be a difference maker. He was in Game 3.

Evgeni Nabokov has looked shaky all series, as evidenced by his .890 save percentage. He has looked completely lost on a few wrap around plays, and even kicked a puck in his own net in Game 3. He doesn’t have to be great for the Sharks to win, but he certainly needs to be better than average, something that he has not done thus far.

Joe Thornton is a (-1) and has just two assists in three games. Though it’s really unfair to call him a chocker, after all we are talking about a mere handful of playoff games here and there over the years, there is no disputing the fact that he needs to take his game to the next level in the playoffs to avoid being labeled as a great regular season performer. During the regular season he has 842 points in 836 games, that’s good for a point-per-game mark of 1.01. In the playoffs, his production dwindles to 50 points in 73 games, a mere 0.68 per game. It’s a bit unfair to Thornton given that he is a passer who needs others to come through for his points – perhaps the tight checking action of the playoffs means that Thornton just doesn’t have the openings he is used to finding during the regular season to get the puck to others – and for the Sharks to come all the way back against the Ducks Jumbo Joe will need to be the first star in at least one game, perhaps two, the rest of the way.

Patrick Marleau ended the regular season scoring just one point in five games as he struggled to find his game after missing some time (five games), in early April. As mentioned he scored the game winner in Game 3, his first point in three games. Unlike Thornton, he has shown up in playoffs past scoring 36 times in 89 games with a total of 25 of those goals coming in his last 53 games. He needs to come up big himself though as he has lit the lamp just eight times in his last 27 playoff games.

So can the Sharks come back? Certainly, though winning four of five games in the NHL is never easy, especially when you are facing a team filled with 12 skaters who won the Cup with the Ducks a few years ago. The old adage one game at a time certainly applies, and tonight step two in the 16 steps it takes to hoist the Cup will be the Sharks goal.

Tags: Dan Boyle, Evgeni Nabokov, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Rob Blake