SHARKSPAGE

WCQF Game 2: Emotions boil over for San Jose, string of undisciplined penalties allow Kings to even series with 4-0 shutout win

#29 RYAN CLOWE TOOK PENALTY FOR ELBOW TO #8 DREW DOUGHTY IN 1ST

#8 JOE PAVELSKI WINS FACEOFF VS #9 OSCAR MOLLER IN 2ND

LATE IN 3RD #19 JOE THORNTON BATTLED #15 BRAD RICHARDSON FOR PUCK

There was an unusual amount of positive comments from San Jose for the first game of the WCQF series. Logan Couture discussed his childhood friendship with Drew Doughty. After knocking Ian White out of the game, several players and coach Todd McLellan stood up for the character of Jarret Stoll, and there was much respect given to the ability Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick. After a string of penalties and undisciplined play in the second game of the series lead to a 4-0 blowout loss, the return of tried and true playoff hatred should return for the duration of the series.

“If we don’t have a bit of anger, if we don’t have a bit of shame lingering around us tomorrow or tonight when we go home, I would be extremely disappointed,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan told reporters after the game. After several scoring chances and a failed power play opportunity early, ill-advised penalties on Ben Eager, Ryane Clowe and Jason Demer bottled up the Sharks attack and gave the Los Angeles Kings more than enough opportunity to take over the game.

After avoiding a powder keg of emotion after Ian White’s head was driven into the boards by the forearm of Jarret Stoll, earning him a suspension for the game, the Sharks could not maintain their composure in game 2. In the offensive zone, Ben Eager wildly swung his stick to chop at the back of Jack Johnson’s legs. In his young career, Johnson has made a living an antagonizing opposing forwards. Johnson capitalized with his first goal of the season on the power play. His point shot found the near side as a sliding and unchecked Ryan Smyth provided a screen in front.

After being called for a roughing penalty early in the first game, Ryane Clowe let his emotions get the better of him early in the second contest. In an offensive zone faceoff won by Joe Pavelski, Clowe delivered a punch/buttend to the face of defenseman Drew Doughty. Doughty went down with an exagerrated eyes rolled to the ceiling flair, but Clowe made his way to the box. This time it was Doughty making the Sharks pay with a powerplay slapshot over the glove of Niemi, assisted by Smyth and Johnson. Nearly 5 minutes later, Clowe took his second penalty of the period, a crosschecking call at 17:52. San Jose escaped from the first period trailing 2-0, but it was a margin they could not maintain.

“You have to play with emotion this time of the year, you have to be emotionally attached. You have to have a little fire in your eyes and in your belly,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said. “But you have to play with controlled emotion and smart emotion… They are one of the top defensive teams in the league for a reason. They have the ability to defend. You can’t fall behind 2 or 3 on them because they will shut it down.”

The Kings kept their responsible defensive mantra throughout, aided by several key individual efforts. In one sequence Jack Johnson tracked Marleau to the point, kept his stick in the shooting lane to inhibit a pass, then Johnson got inside position on Marleau to prevent a rebound attempt in front of the net. Across the board, the Kings were winning 1-on-1 individual battles and outworking the Sharks.

While the Kings are a strong defensive team with good goaltending, the Sharks have shown the ability to overcome a number of obstacles during the second half of the season. Drew Doughty’s goal at 15:42 of the second period put that prospect in the rear view mirror. Fans inside HP Pavilion were vocally displeased, and the body language on the ice and on the bench did not look promising.

San Jose skated out the string, but a matchup error down low in the third period added to their problems. Brad Richardson took the puck from behind the net to the side. Rookie defenseman Justin Braun was beat off the wall by Kyle Clifford. As he gained net front position, Thornton switched off Richardson to Clifford. Braun did not challenge Richardson fast enough, and Thornton could not check the stick of Clifford. A quick 1-timer across the crease made the score 4-0.

“It was a very big win coming into this building for game 2. You are short with key players out of the lineup, that requires a real competitive attitude. Guys have to really dig in and play hard for each other,” Kings head coach Terry Murray said after the game. “I think that competitive spirit is something our team has shown for many, many years. They care about each other, they play hard for each other. They did in when they have to. For me that is defined as a great hockey club.”

It was a gut check moment for the San Jose Sharks, not dissimilar from the one they faced internally after a 6-game losing streak in January. Ryane Clowe stepped up and challenged his team for wanting to score its way out of problems, and not do the dirty work to outhustle and outcompete opponents in low scoring affairs. The Sharks did a complete 180 from January 13th on, registering a 27-6-4 record based on a majority of 1-goal and 2-goal victories. Antti Niemi made 34 starts as the team gained confidence in him and vice versa. Instead of a fire and brimstone speech and bag skating the team after its longest losing streak in several years, head coach Todd McLellan went back to the basics. High percentage plays in your own zone, get the puck deep and force opponents to play 200 feet, and establish position in front of the net. A similar return to fundamentals for game 3 should be in order.

“We did nothing right tonight,” center Logan Couture said after the game. “It is a best of 5 right now.”

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

WCQF Game 2: Fan of the Game

SHARKSPAGE's FAN OF THE GAME FROM SATURDAY NIGHT

It was a rough night on and off the ice for the home team Saturday night at HP Pavilion. This fan went above and beyond the call of duty and earned Sharkspage fan of the game honors.

Worcester Sharks 2010-2011 Season Awards

With the Worcester Sharks regular season coming to an end without a playoff run, it’s time to start with the end of season paperwork. Up first are the “210 Awards”. For those new to the “210 Awards”, they are a mix of serious and (hopefully) slightly humorous awards named for the moniker this writer uses on many message boards. This season’s winners are:

Best Forward: Jonathan Cheechoo lead the WorSharks in points despite playing in just 55 games, and was averaging well over a point per contest until being slowed by an injury.

Best Defenseman: Sean Sullivan was the only “every day” defenseman to not be a minus for the season (Mike Moore was a plus but only played half the season for Worcester), and was tied for 4th in team scoring with 35 points.

Tough Guy Award: Often given to the best fighter on the team. for the second year in a row it goes to the best grinder in Andrew Desjardins. There is no Worcester player better along the boards, and Desjardins’ tough style and tenacious play earned him two recalls to San Jose during the season.

Best Single Game Performance: As if Carter Hutton shutting out arch rival Providence 2-0 on February 5th wouldn’t have been enough to win the award on its own, the fact the netminder stared the day in Boston as the back-up to Antti Niemi and then driving an hour west to play for Worcester makes this one a no brainer.

Seventh Player: There are very few players that work harder than Kevin Henderson, but it took head coach Roy Sommer adding him to the Crazed Rats line for many to notice. Henderson’s six goals–tripling last season’s output–and +13 rating were a pleasant surprise for WorSharks fans.

Rookie of the Year: Tommy Wingels wins this after lots of consideration for Hutton. After starting the season in San Jose Wingels went on to lead the WorSharks in game winning goals and really showed himself to be a very good two-way player. The question about Wingels isn’t if he’ll stick full time in the NHL, but when.

Most Improved: If you don’t know why Nick Petrecki is the winner here you weren’t paying attention to the Worcester Sharks last season. Comparing last season to the current one, it was like a completely different player was out on the ice. And many times, it was. He still has a long way to go to make it to the NHL, but with leaps like he made this season he certainly could make a run at it in the future.

Most Valuable Player: For the second year in a row the MVP goes to Alex Stalock. His season ending injury and where Worcester ended up after he was out proves that. Hopefully he’ll suffer no ill effects from his leg injury and can return to form next season.

The Sharkspage Player of the Year: T.J. Trevelyan, who was named Sharkspage player of the game ten times over the course of the regular season.

So now that we’ve gotten the serious awards out of the way, here’s a few that this writer thinks should be handed out…

The Two-By-Two Award: Nick Schaus, for having the most penalty minutes without major.

The Man In The Box Award: Nick Petrecki, for being in the penalty box for the most power play goals against (7) for Worcester.

The Dead-Eye Award: Mike Moore, for having the lowest shooting percentage of any player with 50 or more shots on goal. Honorable mention goes to Jay Leach, who had a lower shooting percentage but didn’t finish the season in the organization.

The Iron Man Award: Dan DaSilva, for playing on all 80 WorSharks games this season.

The Whose Jersey Is This? award: To Riley Gill, Daren Machesney, and Jeff Jakaitis, who all wore #1 for Worcester this season. Machesney and Jakaitis wore it in consecutive games while both were on the roster together. Thomas Greiss was also assigned the number early in the season, but never wore the jersey.

The Get Me Outta Here Award: Jason Pitton, who decided that Worcester really wasn’t the place for him.

The Welcome Back To Worcester Award: Jason Pitton, who on his first visit back to Worcester–this time as a forward for Bridgeport–was absolutely burried by a Sean Sullivan hip check that made ESPN’s Top 10.

The One And Done Award: Chris Blight, who had two assist and was +2 for Worcester on January 23 and then was released.

The All Or Nothing Award: Daren Machesney, who either shut out the opponent or lost the game.

The I Am The Walrus Award: Head coach Roy Sommer, for returning to the bench after being hit in the face with the puck with so much cotton shoved into his nose it looked like he had tusks.

The Bic Award: Assistant head coach David Cunniff, for his incident on the bench that allegedly involved a pen and a linesman in Albany.

The David Haas Award: For the fourth time in five seasons, there is no winner of this “prestigious” award that goes to the player with the most talent that chooses to use none of it.

 

WCQF Game 2: Post-game comments from San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan, Los Angeles Kings head coach Terry Murray

SAN JOSE SHARKS HEAD COACH TODD MCLELLAN GM2 PRESS CONFERENCE

Post-game comments from San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan:

I am not too much worried about individual lines, I am disappointed in our team. When you look at the game it is hard to find two or three guys that competed at the level they needed to. We can talk about Joe’s line if you like, I would like to look at the team as a whole and obviously we need to be better in a lot of different areas. I thought we started well, we had the first 7 or 8 minutes the game we wanted to play. We had a power play and a little momentum there. Then very undisciplined as far as penalties go. We have to understand where we are at this time of the year. Liberties and trying to get away with things doesn’t work right now and it really comes back to cost you. It did tonight.

We don’t just close the book and move forward, we have to go back and look at it. We have to be a more competitive team. We can talk about systems and what we did well, what we didn’t do well, the power play, the penalty kill, faceoffs. It has to start with competitiveness. When you are along the boards, you have to compete as hard or harder than they do. When you get to the net and play, which we have been very good at the last 3 months, you have to be very competitive in that area. We weren’t tonight. We will challenge the group there. We expect a lot more from every individual. Then we will start looking ahead.

(On the Kings defense controlling play) They certainly did, you have to give them some credit. They were very good at breaking the puck out of their zone, our forecheck was really secondary. Any dumps we had they quick handled, they automatically came out. When we had a situation where we had some support, we weren’t strong enough on loose pucks. We weren’t strong enough on the boards. They didn’t have to expend enough energy in their end. We will look at fixing that. Again, I think we are going to have to look at each other tomorrow and ask if we gave enough tonight, if there was enough there to win a game. I don’t think there was.

You have to play with emotion this time of the year, you have to be emotionally attached. You have to have a little fire in your eyes and in your belly, but you have to play with controlled emotion and smart emotion. We actually put that on our boards. The first three penalties in succession in a 7 and a half minute span put a lot of stress on our team and they got the lead. They are one of the top defensive teams in the league for a reason. They have the ability to defend. You can’t fall behind 2 or 3 on them because they will shut it down. There goaltender was obviously very good.

(1-on-1 battles) was a team-wide problem. When you don’t play well you often have one or two lines going. We didn’t have that at all. When you talk about 1-on-1 battles, to me that means board play, net play, all over the ice, they were better. The score dictates that. Anyone who watched the game, you don’t have to be a real astute fan to see that they were a lot hungrier than we were, they were a lot more competitive than we were.

We should be able to (draw on our experience to come back). I believe we can. I know there is a room full of disappointed players. They will see some video of it tomorrow, we will discuss some things. Sometimes when you are as bad as we were tonight, the picture is a lot clearer than if you lose in overtime. It was pretty evident, pretty obvious that some guys need to elevate their game. Do we expect that to happen? Absolutely. We have some decisions to make. We had to make them earlier in the year, we have to make them now.

We had one of these (bad games) in Chicago, we lost 6-2. We had one in Anaheim not that long ago where we were outcompeted and outplayed. The good thing is, following those games we gathered our composure regrouped and came out. That is fully what I expect our group to do. It won’t guarantee us a win, but it will allow us to be more competitive and give us a chance.

(On the decisions made earlier in the season) I was referring back to our losing streak where we had to look at each other and we had to make some decisions. I am mad, and I think everybody should be because we are a better team, a more competitive group than we showed on the ice. If we don’t have a bit of anger, if we don’t have a bit of shame lingering around us tomorrow or tonight when we go home, I would be extremely disappointed.

LOS ANGELES KINGS HEAD COACH TERRY MURRAY AFTER GAME 2

Post-game comments from Los Angeles Kings head coach Terry Murray:

It was a very big win coming into this building for game 2. You are short with key players out of the lineup, that requires a real competitive attitude. Guys have to really dig in and play hard for each other. I think that competitive spirit is something our team has shown for many, many years. They care about each other, they play hard for each other. They did in when they have to. For me that is defined as a great hockey club. The right guys stepped up and produced at the right times, the Doughty’s, the Johnson’s on the back end. Ryan Smyth played a real big game for us tonight. The key guys you needed to step up, played as hard as they could.

Ironically the power play has been something that has been a concern for us the last quarter of the season, and here it is in the big game tonight it stepped up and performed well. There has been a lot of time put in to get this thing going, turned around and to have the right outcome at a critical point. It happened here tonight. It was a good job for guys just getting to the net. I thought we had a great net presence, a lot of traffic in front the whole game. To get pucks from the back end, especially with Doughty and Johnson, they have powerful shots heavy shots.

The defenseman, the 6 guys did a real good job. Composed, they made plays, they blocked a lot of shots, they were very hard in front of their crease. Overall it takes everybody. The forwards came back, they reloaded, I thought we had a real good F3 throughout the game. They worked hard with the defenseman on the low breakout. Whatever Quick had the chance to get, he was there for us.

(Drew Doughty) is playing the last quarter of the season the way he played last year for us. He is skating, he is confident with the puck. He is a dominant player. I think he can take control any shift he wants to when he is out there and that is the kind of confidence he has played with the last 20 games down the stretch and now here tonight. That is the important part of it. Whenever you need something big to happen, tonight because of the adversity we faced with key guys out he had to step up. Doughty has always shown that ability, to step up at the right time and make key plays and get things turned around if neccessary. His upside is unlimited as far as I am concerned. You have great ability. He is the best defenseman I have seen going back 10 years. He really has incredible potential.

The old cliche is getting a split on the road to start a series and coming back home, I guess when you talk about offense. It was never more true than it was here tonight. We had to pour it all in. We knew there was two days until the next game. Guys held nothing back, hard in front of the boards, hard in front of the net, they really paid the price to get the job done. I love the way we cycled the puck, that was critical to the defensive part of our game. Get the pucks behind them, strong on the cycle, Lewis with Smyth and Williams when they were taking over were really good. That takes time off the clock and lets you play with confidence and get pucks to the net at the right area at the right time.

Our MO is we want to be a good defending hockey club. You have to be a good defending hockey club to win in the National Hockey League during the regular season. It becomes highlighted even more in the playoffs. This was a game that we needed that backend to really step up and do a good job for us. Quick was, there was 7 guys back there who did a tremendous job for us. Moving the pucks whenever the opportunity was there, just getting it out of trouble, and at the other times a big penalty kill and blocking shots. It was everybody. Scuderi with his big stick, and Mitchell has tremendous range and I thought discouraged a lot of shooting angles and a lot of shots. We were just able to break up a lot of passes through the seam.

WCQF Game 1: Battle Lines drawn after opening game of San Jose vs. Los Angeles, teams dig in for a long series

#31 ANTTI NIEMI STOPPED 33-OF-35 SHOTS, 1ST PLAYOFF WIN AS A SHARK

#13 LW KYLE CLIFFORD TRIES TO ENTER ZONE AROUND #44 MARC-EDOUARD VLASIC

#8 JOE PAVELSKI #17 TORREY MITCHELL CRASH NET IN 1ST, MET BY 4 KINGS

A hotly contested regular season series evolved into a tight, physical playoff battle after all of 1 WCQF playoff game. The San Jose Sharks needed 74+ minutes, a strong 33-save performance by Antti Niemi, and a resilient defense to adapt to the injury of Ian White on the fly en route to a 3-2 OT win over the Los Angeles Kings. The critical turning point of the game did not occur when Dany Heatley backhanded a rebound for the opening goal 28 seconds in, or when Devin Setoguchi nearly missed a second scoring chance less than a minute later. The Sharks blitzed Los Angeles in the first period, outshooting them 14-3 and coming at them in waves with speed through the neutral zone.

The turning point for San Jose came when Jarret Stoll drove defenseman Ian White’s head into the dasherboard at the end of the first period. The Sharks were able to maintain their discipline and compsure to start the next 20 minutes. “Both sides are trying to get under each other’s skin,” Kings captain Dustin Brown told FSW reporter Heidi Androl at first intermission. “It could be the difference in a game if you take a bad penalty. You have to tuck your ego away and play hockey.” Brown was tested in the first period. After being walled off in the offensive zone hard by Douglas Murray, Brown bounced off the plexiglass and flattened out on top of him. Fans in the front row only had a view of his skates sticking over the boards as Brown took an extra second or two to get back to his feet.

With a number of key young players on each side of the ice, maintaining discipline and playing mistake free hockey was a mantra for both teams. The Sharks got away from the tight, defensively responsible play that saw them earn a 27-6-4 record since mid-January. Jamal Mayers and Ryane Clowe took unneccessary penalties in the neutral and offensive zone in the first period, and defenseman Niclas Wallin took a delay of game penalty firing the puck over the glass in the second. With goal scoring being the most prominent issue facing the Kings, allowing three power plays early was not in the gameplan. A consistent backcheck by centerman Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski helped smooth over some of the rough spots early.

The Kings blunted the Sharks quick transition up ice as the game progressed by stacking players at the blueline and applying pressure to the first man in on the forecheck. After a rocky start that nearly saw a 2-0 Sharks lead inside of the first 2 minutes, Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick settled down and provided solid goaltending for the duration. Against Detroit in the Western Conference Semifinals last year, the Sharks got to young goalie Jimmy Howard early and the problems and second guessing multiplied. Quick is a more determined, mentally tough netminder who battles in net to make saves. Given the Sharks propensity to crash the net with regularity, Quick and the Kings defense will be tested with regularity throughout the series.

A slick display of offensive skill by defenseman Douglas Murray (he took a short pass and snapped a shot off the side of the net, carried it behind for a wraparound, then slid back and got his own rebound for another shot on goal that was blocked), was the result of a shot by Kings forward Wayne Simmonds that ricocheted around the boards and sprung an oddman rush. The Sharks Logan Couture experienced a similar play minutes later. Holding on to the puck shorthanded as he entered the zone on the right wing, he fired a nearside shot that rimmed around the boards just outside the reach of 2 Sharks penalty killers. The Kings broke up ice for a 2-on-1 against Jason Demers, and Dusin Brown buried his first goal of the game at 7:25. Couture would get that back less than three minutes later, after a quick series of passes in the d-zone sprung him up ice and he buried a shot high.

Mistakes, the opportunities created by them, and the ability of the Kings and Sharks to convert would be critical in the opening game. The hitting in the game was voracious, with both teams credited for a total of 79 (Sharks 43, Kings 36). Normally thought of as an offensive skill player, Alexei Ponikarovsky registered 6 hits in the game and was moved up to the top line with Michal Handzus and Dustin Brown to start the third period. Ponikarovsky hammered Douglas Murray on a forecheck in the first, and was knocked to the ice by Jason Demers after firing a shot early in the second. The Sharks dodged two bullets when Ponikarovsky knocked Marleau off balance at the end of the second, the Sharks alternate captain collided akwardly into the boards near the penalty box. Ponikarovsky also caused a similarly awkward collision after checking Devin Setoguchi in the corner. Brown lead the Kings with 7 hits, but Ponikarovsky made an distinct impact with 6 of his own.

At times the focus of trying to put a hit on an opponent can take a team out of their system, and it happened somewhat to both the Sharks and the Kings as the game progressed. On the Kings second goal, Ryan Smyth was manned by Dan Boyle as he carried the puck behind the net. His forward momentum stopped rather violently as Douglas Murray checked him to the ice. The puck kept moving forward, directly to an unchecked Justin Williams on the far side. Williams tucked the puck into the goal as Niemi was turned initially looking in the wrong direction. After the Kings carried long stretches of play in the second and third period, sustained pressure by the Sharks with 7:30 left in the third nearly turned the tide.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty made a highlight reel series of plays, and took a penalty that nearly cost his team the game in the same sequence with 2:11 left in the third period. It was a missed hip check by Doughty that Logan Couture danced around to score the second SJ goal of the game. Late in the third, he lept up to keep a clearing play by Thornton in the offensive zone. Doughty then banked a pass to himself off the wall, went around Wellwood on the outside, and was stopped rather succinctly in the corner by Douglas Murray. In San Jose, Kyle Wellwood has quickly developed on a puck possession third line with fellow forwards Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell. Underrated is their defensive commitment as all three do not give up on a play. Wellwood came in from behind to pick the puck off Doughty, and he was tripped to the ice in the process. The veteran may have offered some visual cues to help the referee make that decision.

The Sharks penalty kill was a focus prior to the series because of the struggles it had down the stretch, but the Sharks power play looked out of sorts with only 2 opportunities on display Thursday night. San Jose could not put the puck passed Quick with the man advantage for nearly the final two minutes, and the Kings forced overtime. In 2 power play opportunities, the Sharks were 0-3 on faceoffs, fired 3 shots on goal, missed the net with 4 shots and had 2 shots blocked. The Kings strong PK was able to clear the puck 5 times.

Asked by a local reporter after the game how the Sharks would have felt if they had lost, the Sharks have a woeful 1-5 record to in game 1’s over the last 3 years, Clowe had the perfect answer. He said that he knows his team can battle back. A stronger, more defensivel responsible San Jose squad still has 3 lines worth of offensive tools at its disposal, and a handful of defenseman who are capable of making the difference in a game and a series. There is an inner confidence born of a pretty comprehensive team turnaround mid-way through the regular season, but also a product of gut check wins over Colorado and long-time playoff nemisis Detroit last year. If the team works hard and plays smart, confidence is not going to be a problem for them.

Kyle Welwood sparked the game winning sequence in overtime. As rookie defenseman Alec Martinez tried to pull the puck up to his stick in the offensive zone, Wellwood poke checked it off him. Martinez hit the ice as he tried to reverse direction, and Wellwood hit Clowe, who in turn fed Wellwood on a rush through the neutral zone. Wellwood gained the blueline and stalled as Clowe drove the front of the net, and a winded Joe Pavelski at the end of the shift took the long pass and buried a wrist shot up high. “The Big Pavelski” scored another game winner, and he didn’t even have to dust off his patented shootout move to do it. Antti Niemi and Jonathan Quick provided spectacular playoff goaltending in the opening game of the all-California series, but 1 mistake or 1 missed opportunity could decide the bulk of the decisions in this playoff matchup. It is that tight between both teams.

A photo gallery from the opening game of the WCQF series is available here.

[Update] Penner a royal disappointment for Kings, Former Oiler demoted to fourth line during playoff series opener, didn’t score in last 12 games of regular season – Jim Matheson for the Edmonton Journal.

[Update2] ‘I think I’ll be back pretty soon,’ says Ian White — and some nice things to say about Jarret Stoll – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

WCQF Game 1: Kings center Jarret Stoll suspended for 1-game after hit from behind to the head of Ian White

JARRET STOLL DELIVERS ELBOW TO HEAD OF IAN WHITE IN 1ST - FSKINGS

JASON DEMERS DELIVERS ELBOW UP HIGH TO RYAN SMYTH IN 3RD - FSKINGS

The NHL announced this afternoon that Kings center Jarret Stoll received a 1-game suspension for a hit to the head of defenseman Ian White. The hit from behind occured at 19:35 of the first period with Los Angeles trailing San Jose 1-0 and being outshot 14-3. There was no penalty called by referees Brad Watson or Greg Kimmerly on the play. Stoll will serve his suspension Saturday, March 16th for the second game of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

“We lost a very good defenseman that we count on,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said in a press conference Thursday night. “The rest of it is unfortunate, because Jarret Stoll is a hell of a player.” The 26 year old offensive defenseman was acquired in a pre-trade deadline deal with the Carolina Hurricanes on February 18th. After adapting to the Sharks tight defensive system, his fourth team in two seasons, White picked up steam in the stretch run using a heavy point shot to register 8 points over his final 17 games. Thursday night’s appearance in the first game of the WCQF was his Stanley Cup Playoff debut after 6 years in the league. Ian White was held out of Sharks practice on Friday and his status remains uncertain.

While the Sharks head coach was diplomatic, Ian White’s teammates were not. “I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it the first time I saw it, I didn’t like it on the replay,” defenseman Dan Boyle said after the game. “I don’t know if Stoll is that type of a guy, but that is exactly the type of hit we are trying to eliminate. The guy’s head is (inches) from the boards and you drive your forearm in there.” In football terminology, Stoll delivered a forearm shiver often used by defensive lineman on the pass rush. The forearm shot from behind drove Ian White’s head into the dasherboard, not the more flexible plexiglass, and Stoll held it pinned against the boards grinding for several seconds with his shoulder. A dazed White had trouble regaining his feet, and trouble leaving the ice under his own power until he was met by San Jose athletic trainer Ray Tufts.

At the time of the hit, defenseman Douglas Murray and forward Ryane Clowe were two of the players who immediately lept off the bench to yell at the officials. “I knew right away he was injured,” Ryane Clowe said after the game. “It was a rallying point, but there is not much you can do. You can’t take liberties and be in the box.” At the first intermission, Clowe told CSNCA that maintaining focus and discipline was a key for the team after the emotional play. 6-foot-2, 225-pound Clowe and 6-foot-3, 245+ pound Murray were leaning over the bench slapping the boards as Ben Eager dropped the gloves with Kyle Clifford on the very next faceoff. In the April 4th regular season finale at San Jose, it was Clifford coming to the defense of Brad Richardson after Douglas Murray checked him hard twice on the same play.

Eager landed a series of quick right hands. With Clifford controlling his left, Eager even raked a few backfists against the jaw of Clifford before throwing again. Clifford landed a couple of blows after Eager lost his balance and fell to the ice. “It was a dirty hit,” Eager said after the game. “I don’t see how you could watch the replay and see it and not see it as a dirty hit. He had his back to him the whole time. Hopefully Whitey is all right.” The Sharks focus was on the bigger picture, winning the game and coming a step closer to holding serve on home ice. There was messages-sending and statements made as well. In past playoff series against Edmonton, against Calgary, against Dallas and even Nashville, opposing teams that took shots at the Sharks were not always responded to. While this Sharks team may face many of the same questions as past iterations, their answers may be decidedly different.

White finished with 1 assist, 2 hits and a blocked shot after skating only 9 shifts for 6:09. The Kings were already dealing with injuries to their top two scorers, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. Now they will have to adjust on the fly without Jarret Stoll for game 2. Williams was able to return to the lineup after missing 9 games with a shoulder injury, and he erased any questions about his ability to play. Williams scored a goal, registered an assist, and dominated stretches late in the game with puck possession. That being said, Kings head coach Terry Murray can see the writing on the wall. Handzus and Stoll were tagged to replace Kopitar’s play on both sides of the ice, and both of the Los Angeles goals on Thursday came from broken San Jose plays. Brown’s second period power play goal came after a Logan Couture shorthanded shot rebounded wildly to create an oddman rush. Justin Williams’ tap in goal came as Douglas Murray and Dan Boyle checked the same player behind the net.

The loss of Stoll will have a big impact on the second game of the series. Heading back to Los Angeles down 2-0 may be an unwinnable proposition. John Zeiler was called up from the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL today, and he or Oscar Moller could see replacement duty on Saturday night.

“I was honest with them, I told them what I thought” Stoll told reporters today when asked about the telephone hearing with NHL VP of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. “It hurts,” he said after learning of his suspension. “I don’t want to miss any games, whether it’s the regular season or especially the playoffs. I’m really disappointed with the decision, but I respect it.”

Los Angeles Kings head coach Terry Murray was furious that a Jason Demers hit on Ryan Smyth was also not called on the ice. Even moreso with the fact that Demers did not receive any supplemental discipline from the league today. “We will accept the decision made by the league and get through the next game,” Terry Murray said after practice. “But I want to say this. If Jarret Stoll gets suspended for that hit, then Demers’ (hit) is five times more severe.” Murray equated the Demers check with a Steve Downie pre-season hit on Ottawa Senators forward Dean McAmmond in 2007 that earned a 20-game suspension. “There is no difference in the intent of that hit,” Murray said.

Murray had to be playing up the outrage to take pressure and to take the scrutiny off of his key player. Sharks second year defenseman Jason Demers burst onto the NHL last year with an offensive display, but this season he quickly developed defensively and is showing better judgement with when and when not to jump up into the play. Demers registered three hits late in the game, on Smyth, Wayne Simmonds and Dustin Penner (aka 3 of the Kings most physical players). 3:35 into the third period, Demers stepped up to Ryan Smyth who had just accepted a rinkwide pass from Drew Doughty at his own blueline. With his stick in the passing lane, Demers angled off at the last second to hit Smyth with an elbow or a shoulder up high.

Demers hits Smyth with speed and did leave his feet, but 1: Smyth was facing the play; 2: Demers did not grind Smyth’s head into the dasherboards until he was crumpled on the ice; and 3: There is no comparison to the Steve Downie hit, because Downie took a half dozen strides and lept into Dean McAmmond along the end boards. More than just a questionable play, Downie could have legitimately been suspended for an entire season. A more apt comparison to the Downie hit would be Steve Ott’s recent 20-foot charge on Jason Demers. Ott ducked under two linesman after the play and Demers accidentally punched one of the officials in the visor trying to get at him. A fourth item that shouldn’t need to be mentioned, Smyth skated to the bench under his own power. White had trouble getting to his feet, and trouble recognizing referee Brad Watson or his defensive partner Niclas Wallin as he staggered back to the bench.

Demers hit could have been worthy of a minor or a major penalty, and in the mould of Dany Heatley’s ill-advised elbow, it could have been worthy of a 1-game suspension. Comparing that high elbow to driving an opponent’s head into the dasherboard from behind with a forearm is ridiculous. Even with the fact that a 1-game suspension in the playoffs is worth 2 regular season games, the ruling by the NHL makes a mockery of it’s stated attempts to protect the saftey of players. Stand up player or not, good guy in the locker room or not, Stoll threw that forearm to the head to injure Ian White. That is exactly what he did.

[Update] Added screenshots of the Stoll and Demers hits from the Fox Sports Kings feed, who had a camera on the east side of the rink. The top down and west side cameras used by the TSN and CSNCA feeds missed a clear shot of the elbow. Fox Sports Kings television analyst Jim Fox describing the play:

There was a forearm by Jarret Stoll to the back of the head of Ian White. White’s head went foreward, I believe it made direct contact with the dasherboards or the glass. You have to let up when hitting from behind, and if possible you have to stay away from the head. It looked like the Kings dodged a bullet there as it looked like they hit from behind and to the head.

Once again, that was the Los Angeles broadcaster’s desciption of the play. Against Nashville in the first round of the playoffs there was an elbow to the head from behind and a knee on knee hit. Against Edmonton there was an elbow coming across the neutral zone to the head of Milan Michalek. Calgary’s Cory Sarich earned a power play for his team, which resulted in a go-ahead goal, for an elbow that bloodied the head of Patrick Marleau. Not for nothing, an earlier headshot by Jarome Iginla on Marleau lead off the league’s video on banning head shots the following season (that was not called at the time either). The NHL’s revamped concussion protocols in this instance appear to be moot because Ian White’s injury was so severe. The no-call on the ice, and the pittance of a suspension really are crossed messages. When Joe Thornton was suspended for 2-games after a hit to David Perron, a hit which knocked out Perron for the season, Thornton asked the NHL what he should have done differently on the play. According to Thornton the league had no response.

Sharks playoff teams of the past would turn the other cheek, put their heads down and try to win the game. This year’s model has much different vibe. Not really sure of the gameplan for Dean Lombardi, Terry Murray and company. Los Angeles has a much worse chance in a knock down drag out series than they do playing it straight.

[Update2] Multiple sources: NHL gives Jarret Stoll one game suspension for hit on Ian White – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

[Update3] Kings-Sharks already causing fireworks – Pierre LeBrun for ESPN.com.

WCQF Game 1: Fan photos from the playoff pre-game street rally

HOCKEY WEATHER, FANS HEAD DOWN W. SANTA CLARA STREET FOR SJ-LA GAME 1

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF FASHION DE RIGUEUR, THE SHARK HAT

FAN SHOWS OFF THE VERTICAL SHARK HAT AT THE STREET RALLY

The Sharks held a playoff block party/street rally outside HP Pavilion before the start of the WCQF series with Los Angeles. There was music from a live DJ, a street drum performance, carnival games booths, and a highly trafficed EA NHL 11 video game booth with large flat screens. Families with younger fans in tow visited a slap shot pen with live goalie, then hit booths for playoff face painting and sign creation. Two contests were held by the Sharks. The first was for a prize package that included spending a day with broadcaster Dan Rusanowsky from morning skate to gametime. The second was a QR Code contest where fans had to scan in codes at each booth to unlock the winning phrase. CSN California broadcasted pre-game segments from the rally, and there was a better than expected contigent of Los Angeles fans who made the trip northward.

In the regular season finale against Phoenix, captain Joe Thornton said San Jose Sharks fans were good “but they could be better” in the playoffs. He took a page out of the Jeremy Roenick playbook and challenged them to make the building the most difficult to play in for the postseason. Outside of HP Pavilion, the Shark hat representation could improve. Inside the Tank, home fans chanted “beat LA, beat LA, beat LA” before, during, and after their team took the ice. At one point the chants were so loud it drowned out player introductions by announcer Danny Miller. A video camera set up on a table in the press box to capture the drop of the Shark head shook so violently the clip was unusable. The low ceiling and steep incline at HP Pavilion makes for good sight lines, but it also reflects the already loud crowd noise back towads the stands.

Right wing Dany Heatley opened the scoring for the Sharks 28 seconds into the first period. After a second scoring chance by Devin Setoguchi less than a minute later, the decibel reading inside HP Pavilion reached 108.5. During a series of third period scrambles in front of the Los Angeles net, the db meter topped 111.

San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings Western Conference Quarterfinal Stanley Cup playoff preview

LOS ANGELES KINGS GOALTENDER #32 JONATHAN QUICK (35-22-3, 2.24GAA, .920SV%)

SHARKS VS. KINGS SEASON SERIES AND OVERALL STATS

CURRENT BETTING LINES:

San Jose -220, Los Angeles Kings +180
Regulation time – LA +260, DRAW +295, SJ -130
Over 5/Under 5 – OVER -125, UNDER +105
First period goals: 0 +300, 1 +170, 2 +250, 3+ +340
Second period goals: 0 +425, 1 +200, 2 +225, 3+ +240
Third period goals: 0 +425, 1 +185, 2 +225, 3+ +240

Betting lines from SportsInteraction.

The opportunity for a California team to face a Californian rival in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a rare one. Over the 43 season history of the Los Angeles Kings, they have met an intra-state rival once. The Kings defeated the Oakland Seals in their second franchise game 7 back in 1969. In the 20th anniversary season of the San Jose Sharks, Team Teal can also look back on a lone intra-state meeting. After rolling through the regular season in 2009 and winning a Presidents Trophy with 117 points, the Sharks lost in 6 games to the hated Anaheim Ducks.

Southern California 2, Northern California 0.

Now could be time for Nocal redemption, but the play on the ice could look considerably different than it was coming out of the lockout 6 years ago. Back then a truculent Brian Burke managed team was more apt to inflict fear on the ice, then try to score goals. A confident Sharks team used it’s size and power game and did not back down in the slightest. What followed for two seasons was some of the best and most demanding hockey over the last decade. That regular season pace and intensity did not directly translate to their first playoff meeting. For the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings, Thursday night’s playoff matchup could take on a different tenor than regular season meetings as well.

A brief San Jose Sharks first round playoff preview:

This is the seventh straight Stanley Cup Playoff appearance for San Jose. In 5 of the previous 6 opening playoff rounds, the Sharks have advanced. A west coast team that often plays under the radar, San Jose was an insider pick by many MSM journalists to go deep in playoffs past. A failure to make a Conference Final or Stanley Cup Final appearance in 4 straight seasons resulted in many shying away from Shark prediction for the last 2 years. This is a much different San Jose team dealing with many of the same issues and questions externally if not internally.

The bulk of the playoff criticism fell on two players, former captain Patrick Marleau and current captain Joe Thornton. “Your best players need to be your best players” may be the most used hockey cliche of all time, but for San Jose in the playoffs the best players were good enough but not quite. Patrick Marleau, tied with Detroit’s Johan Franzen for the most playoff game winning goals over the last 10 years, could be brilliant in flashes but invisible in others. For the Stanley Cup Playoffs, more goals are scored and games are won with hard work in the dirty areas in front of the net and in the corners. Both Marleau and Thornton returned from playoff exits and played a nasty, mean style of defensive two-way hockey to start subsequent seasons. Maintaining that intensity over an 82-game regular season and into the playoffs was difficult. This season, Marleau and Thornton have re-established themselves as strong defensive players, and both have improved on that gritty style of play as the season progressed.

While the bulk of past criticism may focus on Marleau and Thornton, left unmentioned are injuries and playoff dry spells suffered by a number of quality, veteran players. In a 5-year stretch of playoff appearances from 1998-2002, secondary support players like Viktor Kozlov, Tony Granato, Joe Murphy, Teemu Selanne and Adam Graves could not contribute enough to get the Sharks over the top. In the current stretch of 7 straight postseason appearances, secondary offensive players like Alyn McCauley, Milan Michalek, Ville Nieminen, Bill Guerin, Mike Grier and Travis Moen failed to help Marleau and Thornton put their teams over the top. Injuries crept up in 2009 and 2010, with Marleau suffering the first knee injury of his career, and right wings Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi trying to produce while hobbled in 2010. Playoff losses in San Jose have been a team effort, but the direction EVP/GM Doug Wilson took this season is a window into the possible solution.

Struggling with an average record and unpredictable play after a post-Christmas flop, a 6-game losing streak in January signaled a need for changes to be made. Rugged forward Ryane Clowe called out his team for wanting to score instead of getting their nose dirty and using hard work to win close games. Hints of a turnaround were evident before the Sharks first subsequent win, but bad luck and bad bounces did not erase a more defensively responsible play on the ice. San Jose GM Doug Wilson brought in Ben Eager from Atlanta, and picked up Kyle Wellwood on waivers January 18th. Sidestepping a trade deadline shopping spree for offensive defenseman, Wilson also brought in puck moving right shooting defenseman Ian White February 18th.

The results speak for themselves. Adding three veterans to an already deep lineup, the Sharks went on a 26-4-4 run after the end of the 6-game losing streak. Excessive line juggling eventually settled down into three solid scoring lines, and a veteran fourth line that can put its stamp on a playoff series if it stays out of the box and remains in the opponents face. The Sharks defense has changed from years past. It is different from the hard edged, withering net front defensive style employed by former head coach Darryl Sutter. Two of the record point setting four horseman (Boyle, Blake, Ehrhoff, Vlasic) utilized by former coach Ron Wilson are gone. At Todd McLellan’s disposal health permitting are 3 sets of right-left shots with a puck moving and defensive element on each pair. Offensive dman of the future, Justin Braun, and a veteran dman with PK experience, Kent Huskins, could be available as reserves (Huskins missed the last 22 games of the season with an undisclosed injury).

The parity on the ice between the 1 through 8 seeds in the Western Conference is extraordinarily close, with any team having the ability to knock off another on any night. Given that parity from the Western Conference and the Pacific Division in particular, the difference may come down to depth, compete level, and discipline. San Jose has three line scoring depth, a 2-way capable defense, and veteran forwards that have experience being used in different situations on the fly. Without second leading scorer Anze Kopitar and with the possible return of second leading scorer Justin Williams, the Kings will lean heavily on goaltender Jonathan Quick, a strong defense and the second best PK in the NHL. The margin for error for Los Angeles is slim, and there is no room for the attrition that may follow a grueling 7-game series.

The Kings ability to dictate play and force the Sharks to certain areas of the ice made them one of the most dangerous opponents to face in the postseason. That changed dramatically from a 4-3 shootout loss in Los Angeles on March 24th to a 6-1 blowout win in San Jose on Monday, April 4th. The absence of Anze Kopitar’s 24:04 of ice time for the season finale between SJ and LA completely erased the Kings momentum. Whether a Dustin Brown or Dustin Penner can carry a similar load remains to be seen. Based on the latest NHL odds and MSM predictions, that is not the prevailing opinion. The Sharks vs Kings WCQF series will also provide one of the best goaltending matchups in the first round. A thorough look at each starting goaltender in the series will be posted tomorrow.

Bottom line: Even with depth and injury advantages, too close to call.

Hopefully the Sharks and the Kings can build on the respect the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers showed earlier this week. After 42-year old paramedic Bryan Stow was beaten severely following a game in Los Angeles, the Giants and Dodgers came together Monday before the SF home opener in order to ask fans to keep the rivalry on the field and not in the stands. A Santa Cruz native, Stow worked games at HP Pavilion as part of the EMT staff. “Our organization and our players were trying to support Brian and his family through this tough time,” Sharks EVP/GM Doug Wilson told NHL radio after visiting with the family in southern California.

[Update] Justin Williams ready to go for Game 1 – LAKingsInsider.com.

[Update2] All signs point to long run for Sharks – Pierre LeBrun for ESPN.com.

San Jose’s league-wide perception as a playoff underachiever has largely been born of lofty expectations as much from the media as anybody else. They’ve gone from boutique pick to whipping boys by the pundits.

“I don’t get upset when I hear that stuff,” Sharks winger Ryane Clowe told ESPN.com on Wednesday, the eve of his team’s playoff opener. “For good reason we can be criticized about our playoffs, but I think last year was a good year for us and we can build off that.

[Update3] Gearing up for Game 1: Justin Williams to play, Ian White on his first NHL playoffs, Ben Eager on his Chris Pronger moment – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

DOH Podcast #143: San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings playoff preview, recap of the season, first round predictions

[audio:http://dudesonhockey.com/podcast/doh_2011_0413.mp3]

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana preview the San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings Western Conference Quarterfinal opening series, discuss how San Jose matches up against Los Angeles compared to other Pacific Division opponents, how the loss of Anze Kopitar would be comparable to the loss of Joe Thornton, the Kings defensive strength, how the Dustin Penner trade has worked out for Los Angeles, discuss the firing of Dallas Stars head coach Marc Crawford, and preview the first round of the playoffs and more on the 143rd episode of the Dudes on Hockey podcast.

This Sharks podcast is posted here with permission. Visit dudesonhockey.com for more coverage of the team or download the MP3 file directly here.

After strong regular season, San Jose’s ECHL affiliate in Stockton bows out of Kelly Cup Playoffs in first round with 5-0 loss to Utah Grizzlies

#29 TYSON SEXSMITH MAKES GLOVE SAVE AFTER ENTERING GAME IN 2ND

UTAH GOALTENDER #1 J.P. LAMOUREUX LEADS THE HANDSHAKE LINE

STOCKTON HAS FINISHED TOP-3 IN ECHL ATTENDANCE 6 STRAIGHT YEARS

There are ebbs and flows in the development of any hockey franchise. In the finale of the sixth season for the Stockton Thunder, there was more ebb than flow. The 6th seeded Utah Grizzlies powered past the 3rd seed Thunder with a 5-0 win in the best of five ECHL Kelly Cup Western Conference Quarterfinals. Utah advanced to the Semifinals with a 3-1 series win. “We didn’t do enough to win that hockey game,” Stockton head coach Matt Thomas said. “They out played us, out battled us, out worked us, everything you need to do to win in the playoffs.” For the Grizzlies, it was their third Pacific Division playoff scalp after previously defeating the Fresno Falcons and Las Vegas Wranglers.

Game 4 began with physical play. In the Stockton defensive zone, both teams traded hits along the boards. 6-foot-3, 230-pound defenseman Jordan Bendfeld tried to line up Utah center Hugo Carpentier for a big hit in the neutral zone, but Carpentier danced around the check and registered a quality scoring chance on goaltender Bryan Pitton. After an early Grizzly penalty, the Stockton Thunder took 3 straight minors in the first period. After allowing a shorthanded goal and the go-ahead power play goal a night earlier in Game 3, Thunder head coach Matt Thomas noted that a strong penalty kill over the second half of the regular season had struggled against Utah. That would continue on Sunday night.

Bryan Pitton made a strong left pad save on a Paul McIlveen breakway, but a redirect in front of the goal resulted in a delay of game call for Jody Pederson. Shortly after time expired, and while the announcer let go an overinflated ‘THUNDER BACK AT FULLS STRENGTH’ Carpentier opened the scoring for the Grizzlies. The puck was in the net 3 seconds after the penalty expired. Early in the game the Stockton Thunder had opportunities to gain back momentum. After right wing Kelly Czuy beat two players high in the offensive zone, he did not take the puck any deeper and fired a long wrist shot that was easily stopped by Utah goaltender Jean-Philppe Lamoureux.

The Utah Grizzlies goaltender is a player to keep an eye on. Lamoureux was a USHL product and a four year member of the University of North Dakota team earning a Hobey Baker nomination in his final season. After ECHL goaltender of the year honors and a Finals appearance in 2009, Lamoureux played 31 games for the AHL Portland Pirates last year with a 14-12-2 record (.894SV%, 2.98GAA, 2SO). Very crisp and confident in goal, Utah quickly moved the puck from defense to offense and prevented any sustained pressure in their own zone. In the offensive zone, the Grizzlies created scoring chances on the rush and on the forecheck. Paul McIlveen took a short pass and cut hard towards the slot. A shoulder move froze the defenseman, and the quick wrist shot beat Sexsmith to make the game 2-0.

At this point down 2-0 with the seaon on the line, the Thunder started to press and make mistakes. After a violent open ice collison sent sticks flying, center Chris Lawerence tried to carry the puck 1-on-3 into the Utah zone and quickly turned the puck over. A lost defensive zone faceoff resulted in a Grizzly point shot with 2 players battling in front of Tyson Sexsmith. The bounces were going Utah’s way. Stockton defenseman Steve Vanoosten collided with an official opening up Utah forward Matt Reber for a breakaway and a 3-0 lead. The Thunder started to gain a little momentum and get the fans behind them, but then defenseman Ryan Constant hammered Simon Ferguson hard up against the end boards. Ferguson was motionless on the ice for several seconds before he slowly made his way back to the bench.

Battling Martin Gerber and Jeff Deslauriers for playing time with the expansion Oklahoma CIty Barons of the AHL, Edmonton goaltending prospect Bryan Pitton was recalled and earned the start on short notice after Tyson Sexsmith’s 19 save on 22 shot performance Saturday in a 4-2 loss. “You can always look back and question all your decisions,” Stockton head coach Matt Thomas said of the decision to use Pitton. “His record was undefeated in that situation coming in, with less rest than he had… I really felt we need a bit of a spark.” That spark did not ignite the rest of the Thunder lineup. “You can believe in the individual, but if the group doesn’t rally around him it ends up not looking like the greatest move.”

San Jose Sharks goaltending prospect Tyson Sexsmith was inserted into the game to start the second period, but it was an akward 20 minutes. The Utah Grizzlies hung back at times in an almost prevent offense mode while the Thunder struggled to get the puck through the neutral zone. The best chance came early on a home run pass by defenseman Anthony Aiello to Craig Valette. From the bottom of the faceoff circle to the left of Sexsmith, Aiello hit Valette in stride at the blueline. The Thunder forward crashed the net as the Utah defense collapsed around him.

The Thunder failed to gain any momentum for long stretches after that. An offsides was followed by a blocked shot by Utah. Later in the period by a Stockton goal by Jordan Fulton was waived off. After a rebound shot deflect off goaltender Lamoureux and in, a referee ruled that contact was made with the goalie on the play. No goal. After a fan chant directed at the officials, the crowd became restless with the home team as they watched a Thunder side that could not generate any kind of sustained attack. A Utah holding call with 1:45 left gave the Thunder a power play, but frustrated fans boo’d the home team on each Grizzly clear. Hugo Carpentier joined Paul McIlveen in the box for a 5-on-3 power play, but Stockton could not convert despite a quality scoring chance.

The frustration grew in the third period, as the Utah Grizzlies switched from a prevent to a counter-punching attack with a 3-0 lead. As Stockton struggled to get the puck deep, the Grizzlies created a number of odd man rushes testing Sexsmith in goal repeatedly. Utah outshot Stockton 10-6 in the final period with the Thunder needing a comeback, and they added to their lead with goals by Samson Mahbod and Kevin Deeth. “I am really disappointed that there are a lot of guys that didn’t show up for the playoffs, it hurts,” coach Matt Thomas said after the game. “Getting boo’d in front of your own fans. It was a tough night at home, tough way to end the season.”

It may have been a tough finish for 2010-11, but the Stockton Thunder did put together one of their strongest regular seasons to date. They earned a 37-23-12 record, tied a franchise best record with 86 points, earned their best playoff seeding to date (3 seed), and gained home ice advantage in the playoffs for the first time. There is a constantly evolving process at the ECHL level with call ups and reasignments, but fan support and the support of the local community was strong throughout the season. After leading the league in attendance for 4 straight seasons from 2005 to 2009, the Stockton Thunder finished third in 2009-10 and second in 2010-11. The ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks even outdrew several AHL franchises night in and night out. Support from the fans is there, they need a long playoff run like the Conference Final appearance in 2010 to rally around.

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

[Update] Thunder torn asunder, Season ends with disappointing rout – Scott Linesburgh for the Stockton Record.

[Update2] Utah Grizzlies end Stockton Thunder’s season – Lodi News-Sentinel.

The Hockey News/XM Home Ice 204 Podcast: Playoff Preview, Western Conference, Eastern Conference, Calder Trophy

[audio:http://www.thehockeynews.com/upload/audio/THNRadioShowApril82011.mp3]

Last Friday on The Hockey News Radio Show with Adam Proteau and Jim ‘Boomer’ Gordon on XM Satellite Radio Home Ice Channel 204: Adam and Boomer are at the XM Radio studios for a playoff preview edition of THN Radio. In the first segment, THN writer/editor Ryan Kennedy breaks down the Western Conference playoff situation, discusses his teams to watch and avoid, and offers some tips for playoff fantasy pool draft picks. In the second block, THN writer/editor Ryan Dixon does the same for the Eastern conference. In the final block, the Ask Adam mailbag looks at the Mark Messier Leadership award, Calder Trophy candidates, and a coaching option for penalty shots.

This podcast is posted here with permission. Visit thehockeynews.com and XM Radio NHL Home Ice 204 for more NHL coverage. Download the podcast via Itunes, or directly via the MP3 file here.

San Jose Sharks down Phoenix Coyotes 3-1 in rough and tumble regular season finale, await postseason foe

#15 DANY HEATLEY CELEBRATES #39 LOGAN COUTURE'S 3RD PERIOD GOAL

#30 ILYA BRYZGALOV COLLAPSES TO ICE AFTER DESPERATION SAVE IN 3RD

#8 PAVELSKI, #20 WELLWOOD, #17 MITCHELL LINE COMBINED FOR 1G, 3A SAT

San Jose television announcer Randy Hahn noted that a Sharks-Coyotes first round playoff series was possible after a 3-1 win Saturday night at the Tank. Given the previous two home-at-home contests, the thought of a contiguous 9-game superseries would have been a daunting one.

“If you reflect back on our last 3 games, this is the best we have played,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan told reporters after the game. “I thought we picked up players gradually. We didn’t have a lot of players in Anaheim, we picked up a few in Phoenix, and we found a few more. This was a good game to play in. Tight, fast, the intensity was there. Something we needed to experience this week so we can get ready for what lies ahead.”

Phoenix had clinched a playoff berth with a win a night earlier on home ice, but on Saturday they were in full playoff mode over a very physical 60 minutes. They were only credited with 20 hits to San Jose’s 23 on the evening, but several of the Coyotes checks were of the pancake variety that sent Joe Thornton (2), Benn Ferriero, Joe Pavelski (2), Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Logan Couture sprawling to the ice. Referees Dan O’halloran and Tim Peel were going to let players decide the game on the ice, and that was no more evident in a end-to-end sequence between a newly returned Martin Hanzal (playing his second straight game after missing 13) and a newly returned Scott Nichol (playing his second straight game after missing 20). Hanzal placed both hands on Nichol and rammed him into the corner on one end of the ice, mauling him briefly on the way out. As Phoenix gained possession in the corner of their own defensive zone, with a free pass Nichol took an exaggerated run at Hanzal in retaliation.

After Jamal Mayers and Michal Rozsival took penalties earlier in the first, it would have to take an extraordinarily bad play to earn a minor given the intensity on the ice. Martin Hanzal and Joe Thornton both obliged, twice. Thornton took a cross-check at 14:12, then Thornton and Hanzal took unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after the end of the first. Hanzal earned a roughing minor later in the second. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound forward was drafted with more of a finesse than power forward skill set, but that has changed dramatically. Hanzel was tangled up with an aggressive Joe Pavelski in front of his own net, then he stared at #8 the entire way up ice until he took a penalty on the other side.

The physical and intense nature of the home-at-home series had a playoff vibe to it, but inopportune penalties can be the deciding factor in a game. With stellar goaltending like Antti Niemi and Ilya Bryzgalov displayed on Saturday night, one goal can be the difference in a game.

The first 10 minutes were positive ones for the Sharks. All 4 forward lines created scoring chances or sustained pressure with the puck deep on the forecheck. The Torrey Mitchell, Joe Pavelski, Kyle Wellwood line (aka the best third line in hockey ptII), against were buzzing in the offensive zone. Mitchell dropped one of his sickest moves on the year on highly regarded defenseman Rosislav Klesla. Mitchell drew the puck hard to his left, then thew a shoulder fake and took the puck back to his right dropping Klesla to one knee. Torrey Mitchell has been one of the fastest skaters on the Sharks, and a dependable penalty killer, but extended time on a line with Kyle Wellwood and Joe Pavelski could have a transformative effect. His shift moves, nose for the net, and killer instinct are not going to go away any time soon. That the Sharks have enough depth up the middle to allow Pavelski to engineer the third line is a sign of how stacked the team is up front.

The fourth line also created a point blank scoring chance, with Bryzgalov closing the door on Scott Nichol. Joe Thornton also displayed the 2-way game that has gone under the radar nationally. After setting up Marleau from behind the net, Thornton backed checked hard enough to become the third man high in his own offensive zone. He created the turnover, and reversed the rush in the other direction. Later in the period he created a scoring chance before again becoming the third man high on a 2-on-2. With no outlets and solid coverage, the Coyotes puck carrier was forced wide before he turned the puck over.

Bryzgalov stopped all 12 shots he faced in the first period, at times when he was hung out to dry with Sharks camped in front of him. Dany Heatley gained inside position on 2 Coyotes, before a shot was sent wide of the net. Devin Setoguchi also rang a shot off the post.

After the 4-on-4 sequence expired at the start of the second period, the Sharks turned up the heat in the offensive zone. Even strengthed, a Marc- Edouard Vlasic point shot was blocked before Kyle Wellwood gathered the rebound and stuffed another attempt on net. Bryzgalov locked down the lower portion of the net. Heatley dug the puck out from behind the net, and sent it out in front where Logan Couture and Wellwood took multiple whacks. Heatley took two whacks of his own as the puck bounced around the crease, but a clearing attempt by Phoenix defenseman Keith Yandle failed. Jason Demers hammered a hard point shot back on net.

After another shot on goal, Wellwood and Mitchell combined to get the puck back to the point. Ian White loaded up on a slapshot and scored his 4th goal of the season, his second in as many games against Phoenix. The Sharks received a break when a Michal Rozsival shot was nullified when the net was ruled to be off its moorings. Rozsival made a short pass to Lee Stempniak on the rush, and Stempniak sent a hard cross-crease pass that was one-timed on Niemi. Niemi pushed hard right to left to get the tip of his leg pad on the shot, but the puck settled down behind his body. As 4 Coyotes crashed the net, the last of the fourth (Rozsival) tipped it home. No goal.

The Sharks would build on that play with their first power play goal late in the second period. A series of short passes down the right wing found Joe Thornton at the side of the net. His first shot was blocked down low, but he sent a short pass in tight to Pavelski who buried it up high. Pavelski became the seventh San Jose Sharks 20-goal scorer on the last day of the season, assisted by Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

Niemi kept the score at 2-0 with a brilliant highlight reel save at the end of the second. Keith Yandle drove right before reversing the puck across the crease to Radim Vrbata. Niemi pushed hard left to right, and with his glove up in the full splits, made the save down low. Two Coyotes forwards shook their heads as they moved back up ice in the other direction.

“Wow was (Niemi) good,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “When we made mistakes, he was there to make some tremendous saves. That is playoff goaltending.. There are not many nights where I turn to the coaches and we are all going ‘wow’.” McLellan was also impressed by the goaltending of Ilya Bryzgalov. “I thought the guy on the other end, Bryzgalov, was very good too.”

Niemi picked up right where he left off in the third period, but the momentum had swung to the Coyotes as the pressed hard to get on the board. Phoenix outshot San Jose 13-12 over the final 20 minutes. “Nemo” stopped a Pyatt 1-timer, and a subsequent attempt by Belanger. 8:36 in, Lauri Korpikoski blocked a Jason Demers point shot, then jumped on the loose puck in the neutral zone. Speeding down the left wing, Korpikoski threw a shoulder jiggle then wristed a shot short side before the San Jose defense could get back. 2-1 Sharks.

Bryzgalov made his save of the game, and a candidate for save of the year, with a diving head first stop on Joe Thornton. On the penalty kill, Bryzgalov made a save on Ian White while Joe Pavelski was knocked to the ice in front of them. San Jose gathered the rebound, and a quick White pass to Thornton on the right side lead to a quick shot with some height on it. Bryzgalov made the first save, turned to see the shooter in front of him, then dove head first to stop the puck. He laid motionless on the ice for a few seconds after the whistle blew.

San Jose remained on the power play, and Logan Couture would benefit with his 32nd goal of the season at 18:29. Heatley dished the puck from Joe Thornton’s office (behind the net). Bryzgalov stoned the first shot, but Couture got his own rebound and punched the puck off the post and in. Heatley delivered one of the biggest checks of the game as he slammed into Couture for the celebration.

“I think (the sustained pressure in the second) kind of turned the game for us,” Joe Pavelski said of the momentum building win to end the regular season. “I think there is less hype, and less talk about our team, which will help us,” Todd McLellan said. “We have experienced the Vancouver scenario, I have as a coach more than once. It is a tough one. It is up to us now to get ready and to be prepared.”

A photo gallery from the game is available here. Video highlights from youtube are available here.

Green Man of San Jose appears for season finale on fan appreciation night

GREEN MAN OF SAN JOSE MAKES HIS PRESENCE FELT IN 1ST

GREEN MAN OF SAN JOSE MADE SEVERAL WARDROBE CHANGES

GREEN MAN CHEERS JOE PAVELSKI'S GOAL IN 2ND

It was not the first appearance for a Green Man in San Jose, but for Saturday’s regular season finale against the Phoenix Coyotes he was the most easily accessible Green Man in the lower bowl. Like Superman, the Green Man of San Jose made a quick change in the slightly larger bathroom stalls and became a rallying point on the south side of the Tank. He made several wardrobe changes, but finally achieved his goal of being on the scoreboard late in the 3rd period. As he cheered the HP Pavilion video crew green screened him with special effects. Kept an eye on the penalty boxes during absences, but apparently there was work to be done in the bar area. Forgot to write down his name when his seatmate mentioned it, but I am pretty confident he is not related to Spoonman.

If there is one night to be in the stands at HP Pavilion, fan appreciation has to be at or near the top of the list. All 17,562 fans in attendance received complementary car flags from HP, and each Sharks player on the ice autographed and then handed their jersey to a fan after the game. There were a number of different giveaways during the game. One fan received a $3000 refrigerator, and even Sharks rookie of the year Logan Couture received a Sony Playstation for his standout effort. Sharkspage gave away 2 leftover Versus playoff shirts (cool black and white one’s that mimic player practice gear) to random fans in the concourse, as well as a tie up black Versus hooded pullover.

Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton were two Sharks who addressed fans after the game. Goaltender Antti Niemi was named the team most valuable player in a vote by the local media. He also picked up the cumulative 3 stars of the year award. Patrick Marleau earned the inaugural fan favorite award with over 11,000 votes. He spoke briefly to the fans and thanked them for their support. Marleau handed the mic off to captain Joe Thornton and taking a page out of Jeremy Roenick’s handbook, Thornton called out the fans and said they “were good, but they could be better in the playoffs.” He also challenged his teammates and the fans to make the Tank the most difficult building to play at in the postseason. A young fan rinkside screamed for Thornton to bring Slappy onto the ice. Logan Couture earned the team rookie of the year honors, and should be a finalist in the NHL’s Calder voting.

WorSharks Start Summer Vacation A Little Early, Lose 6-2 In Charlotte

The Worcester Sharks were eliminated from the playoffs after Friday night’s loss and played like a team thinking about summer plans as they dropped a 6-2 contest to the Charlotte Checkers Saturday night at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina in front of 11,121 fans. Cory Quirk lead the WorSharks with a goal and an assist. Jamie McGinn had the other goal for Worcester.

Sharkspage didn’t make the trip to The Old North State, and neither did Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. The T&G does have a staff report about the game. Jack Horan of The Charlotte Observer, presumably still in St. Paul, has a recap of the game.

Both the WorSharks and Checkers have their sides of the story on their official sites.

GAME NOTES
The Worcester Shuttle made a stop in Charlotte to pick up Benn Ferriero. That left the WorSharks short a forward, unfortunately not a rarity this season, so head coach Roy Sommer went with seven defensemen. Every healthy player available for Worcester played in the game. Sena Acolatse made his pro debut, setting a new team record of 50 different players playing for the WorSharks this season. Carter Hutton got the start between the pipes in the season finale.

The three stars of the game were
1. CHA – 14 Brett Sutter (g,a)
2. CHA – 29 Michal Jordan (g)
3. CHA – 19 Zac Dalpe (g,a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Cory Quirk.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 0 1 1 – 2
Charlotte 1 3 2 – 6

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Jordan 4 (McNicoll, Graham), 16:49 (PP). Penalties-Boychuk Cha (slashing), 4:11; Petrecki Wor (slashing), 15:27.

2nd Period-2, Charlotte, Sutter 9 (Dalpe), 6:25. 3, Charlotte, Dalpe 23 (Sutter, Boychuk), 10:13. 4, Worcester, McGinn 9 (Davis, Quirk), 18:34. 5, Charlotte, Herauf 4 (Staal, Sanguinetti), 19:44. Penalties-Borer Cha (interference), 11:10; Petrecki Wor (slashing), 13:48.

3rd Period-6, Worcester, Quirk 4 (Irwin, Henderson), 10:56. 7, Charlotte, Pistilli 8 (Nash, Borer), 13:38. 8, Charlotte, Terry 34 (Borer), 15:36 (SH). Penalties-Matsumoto Cha (hooking), 14:17.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 13-3-9-25. Charlotte 12-8-14-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0/3; Charlotte 1/2.
Goalies-Worcester, Hutton 11-7-2 (34 shots-28 saves). Charlotte, Goepfert 1-0-0 (25 shots-23 saves).
A-11,121
Referees-David Banfield (44). Linesmen-Paul Carnathan (93), Terry Wicklum (58).

Sharks lose 4-3 as Phoenix Coyotes clinch playoff berth, Thornton scores 1000th point with third period goal

San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan told his team Thursday on the ice in Phoenix that they might be playing with a little bit of fire. “We have not been in a one goal game for a long time. We have either been ahead successfully 4, 5 or 6 goals some nights… or we have been handed our lunch,” McLellan told KNBR 680AM. During the first two months of the Sharks turnaround that began in mid-January, the Sharks battled through 19 of 24 one goal games and earned an impressive 11-3-3 record in tight contests. Over the last 10 games, San Jose has won by 2 goals twice, 3 goals twice, five goals once and six goals once. The only close decisions came in a 3-2 win over Minnesota on March 17th, and shootout loss to Los Angeles on March 24th. Friday night in the opening salvo of a season ending home-at-home series with the Phoenix Coyotes, the Sharks were in a 1-goal contest for the first time in 2 and a half weeks. Despite a 2-goal rally in the third period, the Coyotes earned a 4-3 win on home ice to clinch only their second playoff berth in 8 years.

Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov may not be a part of the Vezina discussion this season, but he has quietly racked up a 36-19-10 record, .921SV%, 2.47GAA and 7 shutouts for a team whose status remains uncertain for the 2011-12. Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer has tried to negotiate a path through the public and special interest morass in Phoenix to buy the team, but sagging municipal bond sales and a potential court challenge could undermine yet another potential owner for the league owned franchise. Ilya Bryzgalov’s 3-year, $12.75M contract is up after this season, and he could be one of the most sought after #1 goaltenders in the offseason. On Friday night against the Sharks Bryzgalov was still in the business of stopping pucks for the Yotes, and business was good.

As the Sharks surpassed the Stars for first in the Pacific, and went on a 26-4-4 run to push the upper limit of the Western Conference, Phoenix had for the most part matched that blistering pace and remained in striking distance for the stretch run. Without a single 20-goal scorer, and with defenseman Kevin Yandle leading the team with 59 points, the Coyotes have leaned heavily on Bryzgalov to be a rock in goal. In the first period on Friday, he had to contend with the buzzing third line of Kyle Wellwood, Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell. The three undersized forwards can mix it up and play on the rush, hold the puck on the stick to catch players out of position, or they can crash the crease. Kyle Wellwood created the best scoring chance of the period, forcing Kevin Yandle to turn the puck over in the neutral zone, then joining Torrey Mitchell for a 2-on-1 against defenseman Michal Rozsival as he came off the bench. Bryzgalov pushed hard right to left, and blocked Micthell’s one-timer up high.

After a failed clear by defenseman Douglas Murray lead to a Kyle Turris cross ice pass to Andrew Ebbet for a goal at 15:58, Wellwood, Pavelski and Mitchell nearly came back to tie the game with 4 seconds left in the period. Three Coyotes players, Fiddler, Stempniak and Pyatt switched off on Joe Pavelski in front of the net. One bodied him off position in front of the crease, the other checked his stick off the ice as a centering pass went through the crease, and the third delivered a shot after the whistle for good measure. Torrey Mitchell was able to get a stick on the pass that Pavelski missed, but his shot from the right side was swallowed up by Bryzgalov.

Details of the game are important in the final games of the regular season. In addition to working out a struggling penalty kill, the Sharks may also have to work on clearing plays in the defensive zone. Defenseman Niclas Wallin couldn’t clear the puck out of his zone, setting up Ed Jovanovski for a big slapshot from the point. The shot was tipped by Shane Doan in front, but former Shark Ray Whitney gained possession and fed Eric Belanger for a quick 1-timer. A spectacular save by Antti Niemi kept the game within 1. The save resulted in a 2-goal swing, as defenseman Ian White was able to slide to his left to create a shooting lane and pinball a shot through traffic that beat Bryzgalov. Phoenix answered less than three minutes later with a set play in the neutral zone that looked like it came out of the Sharks playbook. Stationary in the neutral zone with his back towards the net, Belanger dropped a pass to Shane Doan who had a head of steam. Doan gained space on Boyle on the right wing, then flung a pass back to Whitney who had gained inside position on Andrew Desjardins. Whitney buried the one timer for his 17th goal of the season, the 341st of his 19-year NHL career.

Whitney’s goal came after Jamal Mayers rang a shot off the post. Joe Thornton’s shot off the post, after a slick pass by Logan Couture, also lead to an odd man rush in the other direction. The puck hopped over Dan Boyle’s stick along the wall as he tried to keep the play in the offensive zone, as Belanger and Vrbata were sprung in the other direction. Douglas Murray tried to get in front of the play, but another crisp pass by Belanger found Vrbata’s stick and the back of the net. After taking a pair of first period penalties that gave Phoenix momentum early in the game, the Sharks took another holding call in the third that set up the Coyotes power play. 20 seconds into the penalty kill, Shane Doan buried a quick wrist shot from the slot with Korpikoski battling Demers for a screen in front.

The Sharks have the offensive depth necessary to mount a comeback with any combination of players on the ice, and they started to battle back midway through the third period. A heavy Douglas Murray point shot was deflected into the air by traffic, and Joe Thornton batted it out of the air for the 306th goal of his career. It was also his 1000th point in 994 NHL regular season games played. Thornton is only the 78th player in league history to reach that milestone. With less than 4 minutes remaining in regulation, Dany Heatley added his 26th goal of the season to make it 4-3. Heatley ripped a shot from the top of the slot that seemed to catch the defenseman and the goaltender on their back foot.

San Jose head coach Todd McLellan pulled Antti Niemi from the net with less than a minute left, and Ray Whitney narrowly missed the open net with 14 left on the clock. The Sharks quickly pushed the puck through the neutral zone. Brzygalov and Ray Whitney combined to deny shots by Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle, clinching a playoff berth in the process. “At the start of the year, your goal is to win the division or to finish in the top 8 to give yourself a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup,” Phoenix Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett told reporters after the game. “Sometimes that happens earlier than others, this time it didn’t happen until the second to last game of the year. We are still in there.”

[Update] Phoenix Coyotes feel relief after clinching playoff spot – Arizona Republic.

It wasn’t easy and it usually hasn’t been against the Sharks, who had beaten the Coyotes in the previous eight meetings. Despite amassing a 4-1 lead with goals courtesy Andrew Ebbett, Ray Whitney, Vrbata and Doan, a pair of third-period goals by the Sharks provided for an antsy final minutes. A last-second shot block by Whitney was a testament to the desperation the Coyotes exhibited against the Sharks.

[Update2] Setoguchi “cramped up” and could play in finale, Thornton’s thoughts on reaching the 1,000 mark – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

WorSharks Lose to Charlotte, Now Out Of Playoff Contention

Heading into the final week of the regular season the Worcester Sharks needed a lot of luck to make the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup playoffs, but no amount of luck can help you if you don’t win, and the offensively challenged WorSharks again couldn’t put the puck in the net when the opportunity arose and dropped a 2-1 decision to the Charlotte Checkers at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina in front of 9,813 fans. John McCarthy had the lone goal for Worcester. The loss, coupled by Connecticut’s win over Bridgeport, eliminated the WorSharks from the playoff chase.

Sharkspage didn’t make the trip to The Tar Heel State, and neither did WorSharks beat reporter Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. In an oddity, the Charlotte Observer does have an article about the game written by Jack Horan. The oddity is Horan is apparently in St. Paul, Minnesota covering the Frozen Four. The T&G does have a staff and wire report about the game.

As usual, the WorSharks and Checkers both have their unique points of view on their official sites.

There is another story out of Charlotte about the Checkers that is worth mentioning, and Elisabeth Arriero describes it all in her story in the Observer. The website for NewsChannel 36, WCNC.com, has a video news story online about it also.

The two team play again Saturday night in a contest that means nothing for either squad.

GAME NOTES
During the week Brandon Mashinter was recalled by San Jose, and the WorSharks signed left wing Matt Francis to a PTO to take his place. Francis became the 49th player to suit up for the Sharks this season, which sets a franchise record. With nothing left to play for but pride it seems likely that Sena Acolaste will play Saturday, which would raise that total to 50 different players used by Worcester this season. Harri Sateri was the starting netminder Friday, with Carter Hutton being the back-up.

The three stars of the game were
1. CHA – 18 Jacob Micflikier (g)
2. CHA – 1 Justin Pogge (21 saves)
3. CHA – 23 Cedric McNicoll (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was John McCarthy.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 0 1 0 – 1
Charlotte 0 2 0 – 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Bellemore Cha (tripping), 18:21; FitzGerald Cha (slashing), 19:08.

2nd Period-1, Charlotte, Micflikier 29 (Terry, Bellemore), 3:49. 2, Charlotte, McNicoll 6 (Boychuk, Dalpe), 10:05 (PP). 3, Worcester, McCarthy 7 (Wingels, Schaus), 10:48. Penalties-Petrecki Wor (interference), 9:25.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Rodney Cha (hooking), 4:10; Sutter Cha (double minor – high-sticking), 18:41.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 6-7-9-22. Charlotte 10-9-8-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0/4; Charlotte 1/1.
Goalies-Worcester, Sateri 1-3-1 (27 shots-25 saves). Charlotte, Pogge 22-18-4 (22 shots-21 saves).
A-9,813
Referee-David Banfield (44). Linesmen-Paul Carnathan (93), Mark Hamlett (81).

San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson interviewed on the NHL Hour with Gary Bettman

San Jose Sharks EVP/GM Doug Wilson was a guest on the NHL Hour with Gary Bettman and E.J. Hradek on Thursday. After a grateful dead intro with Patrick Marleau, Wilson discussed the 4th consecutive Pacific Division title, 5th consecutive 100 point season, and 7th straight playoff berth, his decision to hire head coach Todd McLellan 3 years ago and how that decision has helped the franchise, the ups and downs the San Jose Sharks have had this season, Joe Thornton and Logan Couture, and how San Jose has evolved as a hockey market amonth other topics. The program is available for download at NHL.com under the podcast section.

A partial transcript of the interview:

(On the success in San Jose) I think you have to start with a plan. I am very fortunate to work with very good owners that understand the big picture. They let us hire some really good people. The foundation of what we do is drafting and developing, so our coaches down in Worcester, Roy Sommer and David Cuniff, do a great job. I think we have had more players metriculate through our own organization than probably any other team in the league. Tim Burke, who does an amazing job heading our scouting, and then our coaching staff Todd McLellan and his staff. They will integrate young players in. They understand that every player has to be getting better everyday. When you see the first half of the year, our belief is to use our own young players and see if they are up to the task. If they perform, like a Logan Couture, they take a serious role. If not, we send them back down to the minors so they can grow and maybe add some other players like we did this year with a Ben Eager, Kyle Wellwood and Ian White. Everything is about growth, and giving players the tools they need to succeed. Hopefully that is what we need as a team.

(On hiring Todd McLellan 3 years ago) I had never met Todd before I interviewed him. We had gone through the process of interviewing 21 other coaches or people fro our coaching staff. The path that he had taken. Coaching in Swift Current and having success there, coaching in the AHL with Minnesota’s farm team, and then working in the great environment in Detroit with people I have tremendous respect for, Ken Holland, Steve Yzerman to name a couple. When I met him, he was a guy who understood what the expectations would be. He understood bringing young players in and working with them. The thing that really stood out when I watched him, players like Nick Lidstrom, Steve Yzerman Zetterberg and Datsyuk would naturally gravitate towards him. And Chris Chelios, who was there at the time, because of his hockey IQ. Players can read through you very quickly, whether you know what you are talking about or you don’t. When we brought him in an interviewed him, I think within 5 minutes we knew he was going to be the coach we want for our team. He has built great relationships with Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton to name a few. We think he is not only one of the best young coaches, but also one of the top coaches. He has a tremendous staff also that he hand picked.

This is a guy that has been coaching for a long time, even though he was young. I think the first thing he did which I really admired was he started building relationships with players, clarified how he wanted us to play as a team, clarified what each player needed to do to get better. He is brutally honest. That is what the players really want. Players knows that he wants them to succeed, so when he is tough on them, it is because he will get more out of them that way. He has got that combination of details and fundamentals, but also creativity and letting players play to their strengths.

(What did you like/not like about the Sharks during the season) I think we built on a very successful season last year. We played well during the regular season. We had two very good playoff rounds beating Colorado and a really strong Detroit team. Chicago beat us, it was a very good series. It was a short series, but the games were very close. I think we learned from that and wanted to come back this year. We made some changes, with both Niemi and Niittymaki coming in. Rob Blake retired, but I think a lot of his impact on our younger players has certainly shown through. I think the best thing was right around January 17th. We lost 6 games in a row and made a couple of changes, but nobody pointed fingers and none of the coaches blamed anybody else. They also basically said we need to find a solution and get better. Since that point, we have played our best hockey.

(Is this one of the deepest offensive teams with six 20-goal scorers) It is. We have added some veteran guys. The ages our players are now, they are coming into their prime. Our younger guys are certainly stepping up. It goes beyond numbers too. Historically, you look at some of the best players in the league and sometimes they sacrifice their numbers to be better 3 zone players. I will use Joe Thornton as an example. His numbers may be down statistically, but I think he is playing the best hockey I have ever seen him play. When you take a look at how Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and how their game is, not only their +/- but doing the little things to help team’s win, that is a credit to the players and certainly to Todd McLellan who has told them how important that is.

Since (Joe Thornton) has come to this hockey team, he is one of the great players in this game. Here is a kid who I knew when he won at World Juniors, he has won a World Cup, he has won at the Olympics. He loves the challenge of trying to get better every year, and pressure and expectations. He is playing his best hockey, he cares about his teammates. We have a tight group. A sign of a teammate is what you do when you don’t have the puck. They are playing for and with each other, I think that reveals their character.

(Is Logan Couture what you imagined when you drafted him in 2007?) I mentioned a name before, Tim Burke. I am biased, but I think he is the best scout in the business. We are looking for guys with character, and hockey IQ and hockey sense. Logan has really played well. We left him down in Worcester of the AHL last year a little longer to ripen and really become one of the best players down there. You could argue he has been the best player from the beginning of the year until now. I am an old defenseman, I could probably come back and play with him now because he is an easy guy to play with. He comes back and supports you. There are some other really good rookies in the league this year, but I think Logan in regards to all areas of the rink, is probably the top of the list.

(How do you changeup from the regular season to the playoffs) Now that the trade deadline is over, I can’t screw this team up any more. All you can do, and this is where I think Todd McLellan gets it, is prepare for the next game. Stay in the moment. If you win a game, you get ready for the next game. If you lose a game, you get ready for the next game. We know how we want to play. The players understand a lost detail is a lost game. All the little things that have been working for this team since mid-January, and working so well, that is what you try to do. You try to stay healthy. You don’t need guys to try to win games by themselves, you have to stay within the team structure and bring something to the table.

(How has the game changed since you played) I think the guys are bigger and stronger, they are in tremendous shape. Taking a look back to when I played, or even before then, great players would still have success. I think one thing we work on is making sure the game of hockey is the best game it can be. We love tough, honest hockey. The physical aspect on the game, and we have guys who do that on our team like Ryane Clowe and Douglas Murray. When you go back and look at the guys we all respected, the Larry Robinson’s, the Bob Nystrom’s, the Clark Gillies’, the Bob Gainey’s. You can play physical, tough hockey, you can be feared and respected at the same time, but we can also take away some of the things that players can do that are outside of the rules that nobody respects and that could lead to injuries. You try to make the game the best it can be while trying to maintain the safety for the players.

(What is San Jose like as a hockey market?) Our fans are incredible. Right from day 1. A lot of the fans come from the south bay, but our fan base is spread out larger than that. They would come down to the Cow Palace and follow us there. Fans love our team, connect to our team. The one year we had a tough year recently in 03, we didn’t make the playoffs and we lost a few of the fans. We came back with a young team that did very well. Our building is always full. I think our players and our staff understand that we have to earn their loyalty every day. That is why we feel it is important to put a really good team on the ice that they can relate to. People have choiced on how they can spend their dollars. The economy is tough, but when people come to our rink at HP, they support our team through thick and thin and make it a tough place to play. We want to reward them with a championship.

(On the development of grassroots hockey in San Jose) It is very important. Our ownership deserves a lot of credit for that, building other rinks, managing other rinks and creating the pipeline for boys and girls, men and women to play adult hockey and have the facilities to play. Plus building roller hockey facilities, Kevin Compton has been really involved in that area. What you want to do is give them the opportunity to play the game, love the game, to support our team. They have taken a long term plan on the both the business side and the hockey side. We have got owners that are committed in many, many ways beyond the game on the ice at HP Pavilion.

(What does it mean to have all 3 Californian teams battling for the playoffs) I think it is great. You take a look at the number of young kids drafted out of California. These are now becoming, and have been for many years, very good hockey markets. The rivalries in the playoffs goes to the next level when you play someone in a playoff round. LA has got a very good hockey team trending up. Anaheim has won a Cup. Our team is a good team. When you look at the Western Conference, there are no easy games, and some of the Californian teams are at the top of the list.

(You visited a young man fighting for his life) It is a young man, Brian Stow. He went to a Dodgers game and was attacked. It was a senseless act of violence that is really a sad thing. Brian is part of a group of paramedics that work our games at HP Pavilion. They are there for player safety. It is just sad. It is tough to understand. Here is a guy who dedicated his life to helping others. Now he is fighting for his life. Whether it be paramedics, firefighters or police officers, these men and women do an awful lot for all of us. Our organization and our players were trying to support Brian and his family through this tough time.

San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan was also a guest Thursday on KNBR 680AM’s Razor and Mr T show. McLellan discussed the difficult decisions the Sharks had to make this season, the level of emotion a team needs headed into the playoffs, the goals he has set for the team, how his coaching staff can shake up the lineup if they are flat on the ice, and which players have had a breakout season among other topics.

Hockey Fans in San Jose and South Korea raise over $42,000 for Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster relief

JAPANESE TSUNAMI RELIEF EFFORTS ON THE GROUND- PHOTO JAPANESE RED CROSS

The scale of devastation wrought by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunamis that hit Japan on March 11th was so severe it may take decades for the island nation to recover. According to a late March press release by the American Red Cross, $120.5 million in public donations from the United States will go to help Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami response. The aid will be directed specifically to the Japanese Red Cross in the form of “direct emergency relief, medical services and emotional counseling to affected communities,” as well as additional contributions to the United Nation’s World Food Programme. The Japanese Red Cross is also helping to coordinate the evacuation and shelter of residents who live near the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. In addition to public support, 19 United States naval vessels and 19,000 American military personnel are assisting with emergency and logistical efforts.

The nascent hockey community in Japan was also dealt a severe blow. The Korean Anyang Halla “Mighty Bears” club was the first non-Japanese team to win the Asia League championship in 2010. A year later they were set to defend their title against the Tohoku Free Blades in the Asia League Finals when the earthquake hit. The Tohoku practice facility, 80 miles south of Sendai, was heavily damaged. All of the Tohoku Free Blades were safe, and the Anyang Halla players and staff were able to fly back to Korea. According to the Anyang Halla website last month, the Asia League decided to name Anyang Halla and Tohoku Free Blades as the co-champions for 2010-11.

The status of the 2011-12 ALIH season, with 3 of 4 Japanese teams based in the Northeast, is uncertain. The Japanese Ice Hockey Federation also recently announced the withdrawl of its men’s national team from the IIHF World Qualifiers in Budapest, Hungary April 17-23th, the IIHF World U18’s 1A U-18 tournament in Riga, Latvia, and the women’s team from the Women’s Championship Division 1 tournament in Ravensburg, Germany. Japanese hockey officials told the IIHF that they had a “moral obligation” to withdrawl from the international competition to focus on recovery efforts. “Although we regret the absence of the Japanese athletes at our championships, this is a time where sporting activities become almost irrelevant,” IIHF President Rene Fasel said in a letter to the JIHF. “Our thoughts are with the Japanese people who have suffered immeasurably during the last weeks and we know that it will take many years to overcome the damages.” Puck Worlds blogger Bruce Peter believes the IIHF will offer a special exemption to Japan when it comes to promotion/relegation, but the time frame for a return of hockey to Japan may be furthur out.

Hockey communities tend to bind together to overcome problems, and a small footnote to the situation comes with the news that hockey fans in San Jose and Korea raised over $42,000 for Japanese relief efforts. The San Jose Sharks raised $11,500 through individual donations, and $13,500 through autographed stick auctions held during home games on March 23rd against Calgary, and March 31st against Dallas. Patrick Marleau’s stick drew the highest bid ($1,470), followed by Logan Couture’s ($1,039) and Joe Thornton’s ($1,000). “We’re thrilled with the way Sharks fans responded by generously giving to a quickly assembled initiative,” Sharks Foundation Manager Jeff Cafuir said via press release. “It’s our hope that this money will swiftly benefit all those affected by the tragedy, which undoubtedly includes many from our Bay Area Community.” The Sharks are the lone NHL franchise to have had an ALIH affiliate. They sponsored the China Sharks in 2008-09.

The Anyang Halla “Mighty Bears” also held a split-squad game to raise money for disaster relief. South Korean hockey fans and players donated over 19,904,800 won ($17,000) to the Japanese Red Cross. The Anyang Halla club itself donated nearly $5000. Fans contributed through a charity bazaar auctioning off player items, a goal raffle, and direct donations. “This was the best way to end the season for both Halla and Free Blades,” Anyang Halla General manager of Halla Seung-Jun Yang told the team website. “We would love to continue hockey and play championship final, but as the time goes by, things look worse than what we think in Japan. I am very proud of our players and our team.” Anyang also celebrated the 100th career goal for Sharkspage favorite Dong-Hwan Song, aka the Asian Rocket. Song scored the milestone 100th goal Feb. 19th against High-1. His game jersey was sent to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

[Note] Friend of the blog and former roommate, Atsushi, began sending us random and nearly unintelligble hockey updates from the Japan League back in 1998. A few were published, a few were not fit for consumption on a family sports blog. Atsushi and his family are fine, but shaken up like the rest of the country. A small donation from this blog was made to charity in Atsushi’s name.

[Update] Anyang Halla to play charity game for earthquake relief, Asia League expected to name co-champions after finals series cancelled – ProHockeyNews.com.

DOH Podcast #142: Anaheim drubbing, season ending home-at-home with Phoenix, Los Angeles Kings playoff chances

[audio:http://dudesonhockey.com/podcast/doh_2011_0406.mp3]

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss last night’s drubbing against the Anaheim Ducks and whether there will be any carryover for a potential playoff matchup, the problems with the penalty kill, the season ending home-at-home with Phoenix, examine recent wins over Anaheim and Los Angeles, and describe the Kings playoff chances — “In some cultures you put old people on a raft and put them out to sea, that is what the Kings are like without their top 2 scorers”, discuss defensman Douglas Murray’s hit on Lubomir Visnovsky, and examine the success of the Sharks third line of Wellwood-Pavelski-Mitchell among other topics on the 142nd episode of the Dudes on Hockey podcast.

This Sharks podcast is posted here with permission. Visit dudesonhockey.com for more coverage of the team or download the MP3 file directly here.

San Jose Sharks vs Anaheim Ducks scouting report

SHARKS C #39 LOGAN COUTURE VS ANAHEIM RW #10 COREY PERRY

SAN JOSE SHARKS VS ANAHEIM DUCKS STAT MATCHUP

The San Jose Sharks vs Anaheim Ducks Wednesday night matchup is more than just the regular season series finale (SJ leads 3-2), if the current standings hold it could be a bitter first round playoff preview. After a penalty and brawl filled Sharks and Ducks debut in late October, both teams settled down for the most part and tried to pick up points in the standings for the remainder of the series. Bad blood and hostilities are never far below the surface, but the Ducks have a Californian Stanley Cup and a first round playoff win to bring to any regular season argument.

Saturday night’s 4-2 Sharks win at HP Pavilion was a mini-preview of tonight’s contest, albeit with a few changes. After 34 straight starts for Antti Niemi, a span where the Sharks registered a phenomenal 26-4-4 record, Antero Niittymaki will get the start for the first time since January 13th. His last game action came in a relief effort March 14th against Chicago. “Nitty” earned Sharks Player of the Month honors in October, registering a 4-0-1 record, 1.88GAA and .929SV% while the team in front of him struggled to find its footing. Niittymaki told the official team website he hopes to hit the ground running. “Sometimes you feel right, you get a couple of saves and it feels great right away. Sometimes it might take you the first 10 minutes. (Hopefully) it doesn’t take the whole 60 minutes,” Antero said. His style of play is a little different from Niemi’s, with more anticipation and a more athletic style in goal. Clearing the first rebound may be a priority for Niemi, but communication and proper positioning will help ease Niittymaki back into game action. “Hopefully I can do good,” Nittymaki said.

In addition to the change in goaltenders, Ryane Clowe will also be a scratch after suffering an undisclosed lower body injury against Los Angeles on Monday. Checking line center and defensive specialist Scott Nichol may be ready to return to game action for the first time since he suffered an upper body injury February 19th. The Sharks may utilize 7 defenseman and bring Justin Braun back into the lineup for the first time in 5 games, but power forward Brandon Mashinter was also recalled from Worcester of the AHL. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Mashinter has 14 and 19 assists in 62 AHL games played this season, and has registered 12 fighting majors total this season (10 AHL, 2 NHL). Head coach Todd McLellan has also shown a penchant for using Ben Eager and Jamal Mayers to fill in other lines during in-game situations. The first line of Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton and Devin Setoguchi, and the third line of Kyle Wellwood, Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell should remain intact given their blistering peformance of late.

According to OC Register beat writer Eric Stephens, Jonas Hiller is still on the path to recovering from vertigo symptoms. It may be difficult to work Hiller back into the lineup in a postseason environment. Given that Hiller is signed through 2013-14, it may be in Anaheim’s best interest to maximize his time off the ice and give him the best chance for recovery. The Ducks dodged an enormous bullet when an injury suffered Saturday night in San Jose turned out not to be as serious as first thought for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky. Visnovsky leads the NHL in defensive scoring with 66 points. With 18 goals, he has also scored more than any other blueliner in Anaheim history. Visnovsky was ridden hard into the boards by Douglas Murray midway through the game on Saturday night, but he returned to action Sunday and registered a goal and 4 shots in a losing effort at home against the Stars.

Saturday night’s Sharks-Ducks contest was not a brawl filled affair, but there was definite message sending on both sides. Inside of 2 minutes, third line winger Brad Winchester tried to deliver a shoulder up high to Douglas Murray behind his own net. Unperturbed, Murray continued to carry the puck up along the boards until Matt Beleskey took several strides and tried to line him up against the boards. Murray made the play to move the puck into the neutral zone, and Beleskey was upended and flung to the ice as a result of the collision he initiated. Late in the game after Murray made the hit on Visnovsky that sent him to the bench, Ducks enforcer George Parros challenged Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic after a play. “If Jay (Jason Demers) was on that side, he would have went after Jay. The only guy he wouldn’t have gone after was Douglas Murray. Dougie hits Visnovsky (it’s 4-2, with 20 seconds left), you put the fighter on the ice. What do you think?” Vlasic said according to Eric Stephens. “I could say so many things, but I’m just going to say that.”

Stephens also provided the response by Parros. “He can mouth off all he wants to the media. I don’t really care.” What does matter is the two points. The Sharks are looking to gain a small margin of seperation on Detroit, Anaheim is battling for its playoff life and the 7th or 8th seed. The Sharks faced a similar situation Thursday against Dallas, and again Monday against Los Angeles. Against Dallas the Sharks were coming off two vitriolic contests. The first saw a late Steve Ott charge result in defenseman Jason Demers accidentally punching a linesman in a scrum. In the second meeting in Dallas, there were 3 violent hits that knocked players out of the game, and a Dany Heatley suspension for an ill advised elbow to the head of Steve Ott.

The third meeting on Thursday? Head coach Todd McLellan repeatedly urged his team to get the puck deep, and hammer the Stars on the forecheck. It wore them down to the point where at 6-0, one announcer noted that it looked like there was only one team skating on the ice. On Monday night Kings forwards Brad Richardson and Kyle Clifford both fought Murray after two heavy checks in quick succession. Dan Boyle stepped in to peel off Richardson from his defensive partner. Instead of spillling into furthur problems, McLellan settled his team down and had them play out the string for a 6-1 win.

While many in the media are starting to look at, if not acknowledge, the growing Sharks bandwagon, the parity between 1-through-8 is extraordinarily close. Any team is capable of upsetting any other team, from the first round on. The difference is depth, compete level, and discipline. Noted by the Anaheim broadcast on Saturday night, the Ducks and the Sharks are the two teams in the league with the most 60 point scorers (SJ 5, Anaheim 5). According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Sharks also have the most 20 goal scorers in the Western Conference: Patrick Marleau (37), Logan Couture (31), Dany Heatley (25) Devin Setoguchi (22) and Joe Thornton (20). With 6 goals and 13 assists in his last 10 games, Joe Pavelski has 3 cracks at joining that 20 goal plateau. He currently has 19 goals in 71 games played.

The Ducks may have the top line in hockey (Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry), and a resurgent Selanne clicking with Blake and Koivu, but the third and fourth lines will have matchup problems against San Jose or Vancouver in the postseason. On defense, the Lydman-Visnovsky pair is going to take a leadership role, but there is a heavy reliance on young defenseman Luca Sbisa and rookie Cam Fowler. The Ducks repeatedly targeted Sharks second year defenseman Jason Demers on Saturday night, and other teams are likely to do the same to Anaheim in the playoffs. Discipline may also be an issue for the Ducks. Allowing 3.68 power plays a game with the 21st rated penalty kill in the league is a problem. Allowing the 4th most shots on goal will also test Ray Emery and the Ducks defense, a defense which likes to collapse low around the net and is aggressive on rebounds.

Against the Sharks in particular, set plays on faceoffs could play a factor over 60 minutes or a 7-game series. The Sharks are 2nd in the league from the faceoff dot, and with multiple natural centers on the first and third lines, San Jose has a lot of interchangeable parts. Both Anaheim and San Jose use a strong forecheck, although the Sharks use a little more speed through the neutral zone on all 4 lines. Both teams like to force the defense to turn, then to play a physical forecheck to wear down opponents. The Sharks changed from a more puck possession on the wing, to a more dump and chase style as the season progressed. They have been 26-4-4 since January 13th, so it has been working for them. On Saturday, San Jose forwards were quick closing the gap on the Ducks defense. Making a quick first pass and getting the puck up to the forwards to start the transition, has to be a key for Anaheim against the Sharks.

Matchups to look out for on Wednesday night with Anaheim having last change on home ice: which forward line Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlye will want to use against the Sharks top defensive unit of Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray. Carlye is known for almost overusing matchups at times. If the Sharks use 7 defenseman, which of Vlasic-Demers or Wallin-White will be used against the Getzlaf and Selanne lines. Will Justin Braun be a 7th defenseman, and could he be used in a power play specialist role. Last year with Demers on the playoff roster as a rookie, the Sharks iced 7 defenseman and used him in mostly offensive situations. For the Sharks, special teams have been a concern of late especially with a man down. Staying out of the box, and not straying too far from their own net are keys. With Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi and Wellwood-Pavelski-Mitchell locked, who will take Clowe’s spot on the second line, and will Scott Nichol or Brandon Mashinter take Clowe’s spot? Thornton’s Saturday night battles in front with Lydman and Beauchemin could carry over to Wednesday night as well. The fourth line of Ben Eager, Jamal Mayers and Andrew Desjardins has been effective of late, but with three bonafide scoring lines in front of them, they need to develop more of a shutdown defensive mentality. A clearing play in the defensive zone, or pinning an opponent deep for a line change, could be as good as a scoring chance for them given the situation. Niittymaki’s first start in 34 games will shed light on the status of the backup goaltender as well.

[Update] Lines for the game:

San Jose Sharks:
Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi
Mashinter-Couture-Heatley
Mitchell-Pavelski-Wellwood
Eager-Desjardins-Mayers

Murray-Boyle
Wallin-White
Vlasic-Demers

Niittymaki-Niemi

Anaheim Ducks:
Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry
Blake-Koivu-Selanne
Belesky-McMillian-Winchester
Ruutu-Marchant-Parros

Visnovsky-Lydman
Beauchemin-Sbisa
Fowler-Brookbank

Emery-Ellis

[Update2] Fast Fish – Anaheim Calling.

[Update3] Five reasons we’re excited for tonight’s Sharks/Ducks grudge match – Greg Wyshynski for Yahoo’s Puck Daddy.