SHARKSPAGE

WorSharks Iced By Penguins 5-3, Fall Further Behind In Playoff Race

The Worcester Sharks had the lead twice against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins but couldn’t hold it either time, and has been happening far too often surrendered the game winning goal in the third period and dropped a 5-3 decision Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in front of 8,227 fans. The loss drops the WorSharks four points behind Connecticut for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the AHL’s Atlantic division, and three points behind Binghamton for the playoff crossover spot.

Sharkspage didn’t make the trip to the Keystone State, and neither did Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. So for the particulars we’ll left with Tom Venesky of the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader and Jonathan Bombulie of the The Scranton Times Tribune.

And, as usual, the WorSharks and Penguins official sites have their points of view.

GAME NOTES
As was rumored Friday, the WorSharks have indeed signed Robert Morris University standout Nathan Longpre to an ATO and the forward played Saturday night against the Penguins. You can add Mike Swift to the injury list with a cut on his hand suffered Friday night in Providence. Patrick Davis was also injured Friday night when he took a puck to the face, but he was in the line-up for Worcester Saturday. Harri Sateri got his first North American pro start against the Penguins after seeing a period of relief action Friday night, and Carter Hutton was the back-up netminder.

Both John McCarthy (3g,3a) and Tommy Wingels (5g,1a) have five game points streaks. No other player on the roster has even a two game streak active.

Tyson Sexsmith, sent down to the Stockton Thunder (ECHL) earlier this week, is showing his demotion won’t effect his play as he has defeated the Idaho Steelheads twice so far this weekend. Friday night saw him make 29 saves on 31 shots and all seven shootout attempts for 3-2 win. One of the two goals he surrendered was against an extra attacker. On Saturday Sexsmith was the third star of the game in stopping 23 of 24 attempts during a 5-1 victory over the same Steelheads. Sunday will see these two squads meet again.

The three stars of the game were
1. WBS – 24 Tim Wallace (2g)
2. WBS – 44 Keven Veilleux 2a)
3. WBS – 2 Corey Potter (g)

For being the only player with a goal and a “plus” rating for Worcester, Cam MacIntyre is the Sharkspage player of the game.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 2 0 1 – 3
W-B/Scranton 1 2 2 – 5

1st Period-1, Worcester, MacIntyre 4 (Quirk), 10:21. 2, W-B/Scranton, Sill 9 (Veilleux, Wagner), 13:42. 3, Worcester, DaSilva 15 (Landry, McCarthy), 16:44 (PP). Penalties-Walker Wbs (boarding), 10:32; Wallace Wbs (tripping), 15:08; McLaren Wor (roughing, roughing), 17:28; Boulerice Wbs (roughing, roughing), 17:28.

2nd Period-4, W-B/Scranton, Sterling 23 (Hutchinson, Street), 0:39 (PP). 5, W-B/Scranton, Potter 4 (Collins), 10:48 (PP). Penalties-McCarthy Wor (roughing), 0:20; McGinn Wor (roughing), 4:30; Collins Wbs (roughing), 4:30; Landry Wor (hooking), 9:00; McGinn Wor (roughing, misconduct – continuing altercation), 9:24; Boulerice Wbs (roughing, misconduct – continuing altercation), 9:24; McLaren Wor (tripping), 10:45; Wagner Wbs (holding), 16:55.

3rd Period-6, Worcester, Wingels 16 (Trevelyan, Ferriero), 3:19 (PP). 7, W-B/Scranton, Wallace 19 (Veilleux), 11:16. 8, W-B/Scranton, Wallace 20 (Collins, Craig), 19:59 (EN). Penalties-Bortuzzo Wbs (tripping), 0:09; Veilleux Wbs (roughing), 2:56; Moore Wor (tripping), 4:10; Bortuzzo Wbs (roughing), 7:04; Hutchinson Wbs (boarding), 8:35; Irwin Wor (slashing), 15:43.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 8-4-10-22. W-B/Scranton 6-10-10-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 2/7; W-B/Scranton 2/5.
Goalies-Worcester, Sateri 0-1-0 (25 shots-21 saves). W-B/Scranton, Thiessen 30-7-1 (22 shots-19 saves).
A-8,227
Referees-Ryan Fraser (14). Linesmen-Matt McNulty (26), Bob Fyrer (72).

Hutton and Sateri Make 52 Saves In 4-1 WorSharks Loss To Providence

The Worcester Sharks drove south down Route 146 to take on the Providence Bruins for a 7pm start Friday night, and apparently everyone on the team except the goaltenders decided to take the night off as the Bruins defeated the WorSharks 4-1 while outshooting them 56-22. Carter Hutton got the start and made 30 saves on 33 shots. Harri Sateri came in to play the third period for his first professional North American action and stopped 22 of 23 attempts, including a Trent Whitfield penalty shot. John McCarthy scored the only goal for Worcester.

Just like the WorSharks’ skaters, Sharkspage didn’t make the trip to The Ocean State. For the particulars we again look toward Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette for his game story and notes column. For many years the Providence Journal couldn’t be bothered with covering the P-Bruins, and not surprisingly that was the case again Friday night, so they had nothing to add.

Both the WorSharks and Baby Bs official sites have their points of view on the action.

GAME NOTES
Prior to the game The Worcester Shuttle made a stop, dropping off John McCarthy and picking up Brandon Mashinter. In other transactions, goaltender Harri Sateri was reassigned by San Jose from Tappara (SM-Liiga) to Worcester. Netminder Tyson Sexsmith and defenseman Jody Pederson were both loaned to Stockton (ECHL). There is an unconfirmed rumor that Worcester has signed Robert Morris University standout Nathan Longpre to an ATO. Details on that–one way or the other–should be available soon.

The loss in Providence kicks off one the hardest road trips Worcester faces all season, as they now head out to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to take on the Penguins, who are the at this point the best team in the AHL with 97 points, Saturday night. After that game they head back into New England for a 3pm start Sunday against the Atlantic division leading Monarchs in Manchester, NH. After an off day Monday the WorSharks get back on the bus and head to Portland, Maine where they take on the Pirates in an 11am matinee. By that point Portland could be in first in the Atlantic. All of these games could be penciled in to the “must win” category as the WorSharks fight for the last spot in the AHL playoffs.

The three stars of the game were
1. PRO – 23 Trent Whitfield (g,a)
2. PRO – 25 Stefan Chaput (g)
3. PRO – 30 Anton Khudobin (21 saves)

The Sharkspage player of the game, for coming in cold off the bench for his first AHL action and making 22 saves, is Harri Sateri.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 0 0 1 – 1
Providence 1 2 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Providence, LaVallee-Smotherman 12 (Whitfield, MacDonald), 6:57. Penalties-DaSilva Wor (tripping), 10:20; LaVallee-Smotherman Pro (slashing), 15:54; Swift Wor (roughing), 18:25.

2nd Period-2, Providence, Chaput 5 (Bodnarchuk, Bartkowski), 12:43. 3, Providence, Ling 7 (MacDermid, Alexandrov), 18:18. Penalties-Moore Wor (tripping), 2:53; Laliberte Pro (tripping), 4:18; Quirk Wor (hooking), 15:25.

3rd Period-4, Providence, Whitfield 12 (Sauve, Laliberte), 3:44 (PP). 5, Worcester, McCarthy 3 (McGinn), 7:19. Penalties-McLaren Wor (hooking), 3:32; McLaren Wor (roughing), 12:34; Bartkowski Pro (cross-checking), 12:34; Hamill Pro (holding), 15:09; MacIntyre Wor (high-sticking), 17:23; Ferriero Wor (hooking), 19:16.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 8-7-7-22. Providence 18-15-23-56.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0/3; Providence 1/7.
Goalies-Worcester, Hutton 7-4-2 (33 shots-30 saves); Sateri 0-0-0 (23 shots-22 saves). Providence, Khudobin 24-13-1 (22 shots-21 saves).
A-9,185
Referee-Mark Lemelin (84). Linesmen-Todd Whittemore (70), Bob Paquette (18).

Western Conference Playoff Push – 95 points or bust?

Current Western Conference standings:

WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS:
(before games played March 18th, 2011)

1 – Vancouver Canucks* 72GP, 47-16-9, 103 points
2 – Detroit Red Wings* 71GP, 43-20-8, 94 points
3 – San Jose Sharks* 72GP, 41-23-8, 90 points
4 – Phoenix Coyotes 72GP, 38-23-11, 87 points
5 – Los Angeles Kings 71GP, 40-26-5, 85 points
6 – Dallas Stars 71GP, 38-25-8, 84 points
7 – Chicago Blackhawks 71GP, 38-25-8, 84 points
8 – Calgary Flames 73GP, 37-27-9, 83 points
9 – Nashville Predators 71GP, 36-25-10, 82 points
10 – Anaheim Ducks 70GP, 38-27-5, 81 points
11 – Minnesota Wild 71GP, 35-29-7, 77 points
12 – Columbus Blue Jackets 70GP, 32-28-10, 74 points
13 – St. Louis Blues 71GP, 32-30-9, 73 points
14 – Colorado Avalanche 70GP, 26-36-8, 60 points
15 – Edmonton Oilers 71GP, 23-39-9, 55 points

* division leader

Projected Western Conference standings:

PROJECTED WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS:
(after 82 games played)

1 – Vancouver Canucks* 82GP, 54-18-10, 118 points (4 PSOW, 50 PROW)
2 – Detroit Red Wings* 82GP, 50-23-9, 109 points (4 PSOW, 46 PROW)
3 – San Jose Sharks* 82GP, 47-26-9, 103 points (6 PSOW, 41 PROW)
4 – Phoenix Coyotes 82GP, 43-26-13, 99 points (4 PSOW, 39 PROW)
5 – Los Angeles Kings 82GP, 46-30-6, 98 points (8 PSOW, 38 PROW)
6 – Chicago Blackhawks 82GP, 44-29-9, 97 points (6 PSOW, 38 PROW)
7 – Dallas Stars 82GP, 44-29-9, 97 points (7 PSOW, 37 PROW)
8 – Nashville Predators 82GP, 42-29-11, 95 points (7 PSOW, 35 PROW)
9 – Anaheim Ducks 82GP, 44-32-6, 94 points (5 PSOW, 38 PROW)
10 – Calgary Flames 82GP, 42-30-10, 94 points (9 PSOW, 33 PROW)
11 – Minnesota Wild 82GP, 40-34-8, 88 points (2 PSOW, 38 PROW)
12 – Columbus Blue Jackets 82GP, 37-33-12, 86 points (5 PSOW, 32 PROW)
13 – St. Louis Blues 82GP, 37-35-10, 84 points (4 PSOW, 33 PROW)
14 – Colorado Avalanche 82GP, 31-42-9, 71 points (3 PSOW, 28 PROW)
15 – Edmonton Oilers 82GP, 27-45-10, 64 points (2 PSOW, 25 PROW)

* projected division winner
PSOW – projected shootout wins
PROW – projected regulation/overtime wins

The Sharks earned critical points with a 3-2 win over a struggling Minnesota Wild team on Thursday night. Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau scored on deflections off of John Madden and Brent Burns, and a phenomenal 47 save performance by Niklas Backstrom was wasted as the Wild fell to 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. After a stretch where the Sharks lost 3 straight, 2 in overtime shootouts to Vancouver and New York, they earned their 2nd straight win after a grueling contest against Dallas. San Jose has the slimmest of margins over a surging Phoenix Coyotes squad for the Pacific Division lead. The Sharks last 8 games will exclusively feature divisional opponents, with a home-at-home season finale against the Coyotes that could decide the Pacific Division.

The Los Angeles Kings will face the rival Anaheim Ducks Saturday in a Western Conference matchup with enormous playoff implications. Any loss by Anaheim over the final 12 games could be the loss that drops them out of the playoff picture. The Kings are coming off one of their worst losses at home this season. After winning 4 straight on the road, the Kings returned to the Staples Center and were boo’d on the ice repeatedly by their home fans. Los Angeles head coach Terry Murray lit into the home crowd. “That is the most embarrassing thing I have ever been through. That’s the worst I have ever been through in all the years I’ve been coaching.” Goaltender Jonathan Quick let in two goals that should have been stopped, including a shot tee’d up just inside the red line. With another recent tough performance against Detroit where he did not last the full 60, the Bernier or Quick question may be a playoff one. According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, Kigns winger Ryan Smyth has no concern about Quick. “There’s no concern. He’s been outstanding all year long for us. We’ll see him bounce back for sure. At the start of that game last night, he was phenomenal. He made some outstanding saves for us. he gave us a chance,” Smyth said.

The playoff race in the West has morphed considerably since this blog began tracking it after the allstar break. At that point on February 1st the Stars were 30-15-5, in the Pacific Division lead, and they were pushing Vancouver and Detroit at the top of the league. The Sharks were projected to miss the playoffs via tiebreaker, trailing Anaheim, Minnesota and Chicago for the final 3 playoff spots. The race changed on February 17th, win streaks by San Jose and Phoenix moved the chains on the playoff window. An 0-8-1 streak for Dallas saw their stock plummeting faster than TriMount Studios. A flurry of trades surrounded the playoff push on February 25th. Anaheim brought in Jarkko Ruutu and Dan Ellis, St. Louis traded Eric Brewer, a disasterous series of trades saw Craig Anderson, Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk leave Colorado, and Dallas traded James Neal and D Matt Niskanen for offensive defenseman Alex Goligoski.

If Anaheim, Los Angeles, Chicago and Minnesota finished tied for points, they are also projected to finish tied for the first standings tiebreaker with 38 games won in regulation/overtime. That is where it gets confusing. The next tiebreaker is the greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. In a 4-team tie, Chicago (16 points) would lead Minnesota (13 points), Anaheim (9 points) and Los Angeles (7 points) in points earned between the clubs. The problem comes with the fact that Los Angeles (11 games played, 3 remaining) and Anaheim (10 games played, 4 remaining) will have played in a larger number of games than Chicago (11 games played, 1 remaining) and Minnesota (12 games played, 0 remaining). The next tiebreaker comes when teams have not played an equal number of home games against each other. Then points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. Not applicable. Next tiebreaker caveat; If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any “odd” games, shall be used to determine the standing. Given that scenario, only Anaheim could catch Minnesota, but no one could catch the Chicago Blackhawks. The fourth tiebreaker, which may come into play with Minnesota and Anaheim, comes down to greater goal differential over the regular season. At this point in time, Anaheim (-6) leads Minnesota (-11) with one game in hand.

Post-lockout, 90-95 points was the target for teams to make the playoffs. Last season was the first time a team qualified for the postseason with less than 91 points since the introduction of the shootout. The Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers both qualified with 88 points, and both advanced to the Conference Finals in the East. In the five seasons since the lockout, Western Conference teams that qualified for the 8th playoff spot needed to earn an average of 93.6 points (05-06 Edmonton – 95 points, 06-07 Calgary – 96 points, 07-08 Nashville – 91 points, 08-09 Anaheim – 91 points, 09-10 Colorado – 95 points).

[Update] Current NHL Playoff Matchups – ESPN.com.

[Update2] Has rule change cut down on shootouts? – John Kreiser for NHL.com.

The NHL Board of Governors changed a rule for this season, making non-shootout wins, rather than total wins, the first tiebreaker when teams end the season with the same number of points. If the objective was to reduce the number of shootouts, then the rule appears to have worked, because the League is on track for the fewest shootouts since the tiebreaker was enacted for the 2005-06 season.

Through 1,065 games this season, there have been 124 shootouts, a pace that would result in 143 over a full 1,230-game season. That’s a 22 percent drop from the 184 shootouts last season, and two fewer than the 145 in 2005-06, the first season the tiebreaker was used to settle games that were even after overtime.

It’s not that a lot more games are being decided in regulation — the 23.8 percent of games tied after 60 minutes are just slightly fewer than last season’s 24.5 percent (254 so far; 283 over a 1,230-game season, down from 301 in 2009-10), and still more than any of the four previous seasons since the arrival of the shootout. But while 61.1 percent of games that went into overtime last season went to a shootout, that figure is down to 48.8 percent — a number that would be the lowest in the shootout’s six seasons.

[Update3] New tiebreaker rule could come into play in tight West – Kevin Allen for USA Today.

It is possible that a team might pull its goalie for an extra attacker during a tie game to avoid a shootout, although there is risk involved in doing that in overtime because according to Rule 84.2, if a team is scored upon, it forfeits its guaranteed point.

[Correction] Fixed garbled projected standings.

Examining the aftermath of the Sharks-Stars game – Heatley’s suspension, Wallin/Eriksson injuries, Ott’s ridiculous comments

#3 DOUGLAS MURRAY HIT ON #81 TOMAS VINCOUR - CSNCA

#15 JAMIE LAGENBRUNNER HIT FROM BEHIND ON #7 NICLAS WALLIN - CSNCA

#3 DOUGLAS MURRAY HIT ON #21 LOUI ERIKSSON - CSNCA

Some games leave a mark. San Jose’s 6-3 win at Dallas on Tuesday night left a mark, injured a few key players, resulted in a league suspension, and raised the bar on already heightened tensions between two Pacific Division rivals. The game itself was far closer than the score suggests, but a key missed call by vetern referee Bill McCreary and Kyle Rehman unleashed a powder keg on the ice.

In the second period Sharks defenseman Niclas Wallin turned towards the boards and played the puck down into the corner when he was run from behind by Dallas forward Jamie Langenbrunner. Wallin was smashed face first against the metal stanchion that holds the panes of plexiglass in place. Despite McCreary being a few feet from the play, there was no call. Play was allowed to continue, and with a clearly affected Wallin still on the ice, Mike Ribeiro circled behind the net and wristed a shot far side. Rookie defenseman Justin Braun stopped on one side of the net and failed to track Ribeiro through the crease. Dallas captain Brenden Morrow used a stationary Wallin as a screen to seperate himself from a backchecking Thornton, puting himself in a position for a rebound. After the goal, Thornton argued with the referees about the non-call.

That is where the hostilities ticked off on Tuesday night, but the game also has to be looked at in context. Last week the referees completely lost control of a Sharks-Stars game in San Jose. It culminated when Steve Ott put a dangerous hit on Jason Demers. When Demers retaliated, Ott ducked behind two linesman and Demers accidentally punched one of the lineseman in the visor. In the second night of a back-to-back on Tuesday, the Sharks were also coming off their worst loss in 2 months Monday night at Chicago.

When Langenbrunner was not called for the hit on Wallin, Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray stepped in. Minnesota’s Cal Clutterbuck may be the NHL’s hit leader with 318, but Murray is far and away the heaviest hitter in the game. Listed at 6-foot-3, and between 240 and 245 pounds, opponents have realized it is nearly impossible to catch him off balance with a hit. They have also realized, or should realize, that Murray is capable of playing the puck and the body in devestating fashion. On the next shift Loui Eriksson and Murray battled for a deflected puck in the offensive zone. Eriksson stretched forward to punch it past the blue line, but he ran straight into the shoulder of Murray and had problems regaining his feet and leaving the ice. Eriksson was listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury after the game. As Eriksson headed to the locker room, Wallin turned and left the bench as well. After the loss of their second leading scorer, Ott immediately dropped the gloves with Murray.

In the third period, the action did not get any easier on the ice. Battling for front body position on Brendan Morrow, Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic got his stick out to deflect a point shot. The shot deflected off his stick and hit him in the throat. According to an interview on Thursday with Comcast, Vlasic said he could not breathe for a few seconds. He added that the decision for him to remain overnight in Dallas was not his call.

A few minutes after that play, Douglas Murray was in another 50/50 battle at the blueline with Stars center Tomas Vincour. Vincour challenged Murray hard on the play, and Murray followed through with a check that crumpled Vincour. According to Defending Big D’s Art Middleton, Murray had just dumped the puck into the offensive zone and was not in a clean position to make a hit. Middleton believes it was a borderline incident, but also that it was a result of a ‘hockey play’ and not one warranting any supplementary action. Vincour initiated the challenge on a puck carrying Murray, and the Sharks defenseman leveled him on the follow through. According to Middleton, Vincour tried to take another shift but he was essentially done for the night. “If the GMs are serious about tightening the rules rather than adding one banning head shots, then they have to target crap like this,” Yahoo’s Greg Wyshynski said of the Murray hit on Vincour without seeing full video of the game. It is a tough call considering Murray made a play on the dump in, hit Vincour on the followthrough, then lost his stick on the play.

Both Murray hits, and Joe Thornton’s hit on David Perron that earned him a 2-game suspension earlier this season, came on plays where opposing players put themselves in a dangerous position. Eriksson was reaching for a loose puck instead of preparing himself for a hit, Vincour came hard at a charging Murray, and Perron was skating through the neutral zone with his head turned behind him looking for a breakout pass. In boxing and mixed martial arts, competitors are encouraged at the start of every fight to ‘protect yourself at all times’. The same should be true for ice hockey. Perron has not returned to the ice since the hit on November 4th. According to reports out of St. Louis this weekend, he has been shut down for the season. Eriksson missed Thursday’s contest with concussion like symptoms, and is listed as day-to-day.

“After watching the NHL video at the beginning of the year, I’ve held up a couple times where in the past I might have followed through with a hit, especially when somebody is cutting across the ice,” Douglas Murray told reporters in a media scrum on Wednesday. “But you never aim for somebody’s head. At least I always have aimed for the chest.”

Then came Heatley’s much discussed elbow to Steve Ott with 4:06 remaining in the third. Far from the play, Heatley reached out his elbow and caught Ott up high. After a hearing by phone on Wednesday, he would be suspended for 2 games by the NHL. “It was definitely a bad penalty at a bad time in the game. But I did not hit him in the head. But that’s the decision they made, and I have to live with it,” Heatley told reporters the next day according to Mark Emmons. The elbow was described as ‘selfish’ by San Jose television broadcaster Drew Remenda, but Heatley said it was not one targeted at Ott’s head. “I felt that I got him in the chest and the shoulder. Obviously I think the camera angles weren’t the best quality for deciding that. But that’s the ruling.”

Ott’s reaction to the play on the ice, and in the locker room after the game, was more performance theater than a legitimate call for reform. “You hate to dwell on games as long as you can. You have that 5-10 minutes. You have to find a way to park the game and move on, start focusing for your next one. It is not going to get any easier.” Ott told reporters Tuesday after the loss.

Asked about whether Dany Heatley should be suspended or not, Ott replied, “I think Colin Campbell’s got his hands full, that’s for sure. I think the Loui Eriksson hit is prototypical. He’s reaching for the hit. The big guy knows what he’s doing. He’s bearing down and finishing the check. He did it again on an offensive play against Vincour, elbowed him right in the face. My head’s killin’ me from this light right now from Dany Heatley’s little cheap shot.”

Others have mentioned Ott’s past transgressions, of which there are many. The headhunting 2008 hit on Jordan Leopold, the alleged eye gouging incident with Travis Moen in 2009, and the knee-on-knee hit against Carlo Colaiacovo, but you don’t need to go back that far. Last week Ott took a 20+ foot charge on Sharks defenseman Jason Demers, then hid behind a pair of linesman when he was confronted about it. The next game against against Los Angeles Ott earned a spearing major and a game misconduct. Once again, two suspendable offenses that occured LAST WEEK.

Ott was prone on the ice awaiting medical attention, but he gathered himself pretty quickly on the bench and was out on the ice 1:07 later to take a power play faceoff. A key save by Lehtonen and a hit post kept the Stars within one, but two empty net goals put the game out of reach in the final minutes. “If this doesn’t get looked at, I don’t know. I guess when you’re used to being on the other end and being suspended in the past, I think it’s pretty evident where this stuff should go in a hurry,” Ott said. “I don’t care if Heatley makes $10 million or Murray makes less, it’s time to get this out of the game as fast as we can. Protect the guys. We’re going to have guys that are going to be icing heads now. You only have one brain, so let’s honestly start figuring something out.”

It was a dumb penalty by Heatley, one that was exaggerated heavily by Ott. Two games is a little much for the incident, but the hit occured at the worst possible time for the league. Every element of physical play was being examined at the GM meeting in Florida, and a new concussion protocol was in the process of being enacted. The on-ice officials let both games get out of hand. In San Jose, the Sharks were called out for their lack of response to the Stars’ borderline play. In Dallas, they were not going to give an inch. One scary thought, given the current standings both of these teams would meet in a first round playoff series.

[Update] The NHL’s Wednesday release on Dany Heatley’s suspension:

San Jose Sharks forward Dany Heatley has been suspended for two games and will forfeit $80,645.16 in salary for delivering an elbow to the head of Dallas Stars player Steve Ott in NHL game #1049 last night, the National Hockey League announced today. Heatley’s fine is based on his average annual salary and is calculated under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. The incident occurred at 15:54 of the third period and Heatley was assessed a minor penalty for interference. Heatley will miss the Sharks’ next two games — March 17 against Minnesota and March 19 against St. Louis. He will be eligible to return March 23 against Calgary.

[Update2] Hits to the head dominate post-game talk after 6-3 loss – Mike Heika for the Dallas Morning News Starsblog.

ACHA D2 National Tournament in San Jose Day 1: SJ goaltender Alessandro Mullane stops 48 shots in losing effort, Florida Gulf Coast downs SJSU 3-2 in OT

SJSU G #31 ALESSANDRO MULLANE MAKES 1 OF 48 SAVES IN 2ND

FLORIDA GULF COAST PLAYERS CELEBRATE AFTER 3-2 OT WIN

6-FOOT-3 FGCU GOALTENDER #1 RYAN LYNCH GLOVES A SHOT IN 1ST

The ‘Group of Death’ of the 2011 ACHA D2 National Championship in San Jose has to be pool A with Grand Valley State (19-10-1), William Paterson (25-6-0), perennial West powerhouse Colorado State (22-15-2) and Temple (20-12-0). That being said, the host San Jose State quad faced off against the ACHA bracket’s most difficult squad in Florida Gulf Coast University in the Tuesday night featured game. The southwest Florida school was the top team in the ACHA this year, registering a 36-2 record this season. Talented offensively from top to bottom, they have 10 players who scored 15 or more goals this season.

That record was immediately backed up by FGCU’s play on the ice. Although San Jose State had drawn a few hundred supporters and several members of the student band, Florida’s play on the ice was probably the most structured of any of the participating ACHA teams. Noticeable on the breakout, FGCU would spread 5 players wide in the defensive zone. A quick series of short passes would move the puck up the halfwall on one side of the ice, while the weak side forward would skate in with speed to break through the neutral zone. It happened over, and over, and over again. It was effective early. San Jose State was scrambling somewhat when Florida scored a power play goal 7:16 in.

The Spartans started to lose the jitters and get into the game more as the period progressed. The turning point of the game may have come with San Jose native Kyle Dutra’s power play goal later in the first. Instead of letting Florida pull away, SJSU had clawed back into the game and started playing with more confidence. Florida kept grinding, and they added their second goal of the period at 17:49 by Kelly Johnson.

Penalties were a concern for San Jose. After taking 3 in the first period, they were called for 3 more in the second. Shorthanded, Spartan winger James Lopez broke up a play in front of his own net on one side of the ice, then nearly capitalized on a rush on the other side. His shot missed the net high. Defenseman Neil Schumaker also made a spectacular poke check to break up a scoring chance on a subsequent penalty kill. Despite the parade to the penalty box, San Jose State capitalized on their man advantage at 12:29. Los Gatos native Mickey Rhodes tied the game at 2-2, assisted by Sam Cimino and Andy Dickerson. It was the second power play goal of the game for SJSU. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Rhodes had a monster of a second period, registering an assist, breaking up an odd man rush, and plowing a Florida forward into the boards with a huge check. A much smaller Salvatore Barranco made an impact as well, targeting Gianfranco Richter at the blueline and then upending him with a hit.

Florida had settled down in the second, but was still dangerous. After a shot rang off the post, SJSU goaltender Alessandro Mullane was forced to make a series of saves at the end of the period to keep the game tied. Mullane made two quick reaction saves down low, and then later on the next shift he made a glove save up high. Three of the best Florida Gulf Coast scoring chance opportunities of the game came in those final two minutes.

The game was tense in the third period, but San Jose State kept up the physical play. Czech native Nicholas Matejovsky laid out Kelly Johnson with a pancake hit that drew a loud reaction from the crowd. Goaltender Alessandro Mullane was forced to make a few sweeping saves of the puck low, but he was getting better as the game progressed. He plays bigger than his 5-foot-11, 180-pound frame, has a good glove hand, and he gets down quickly and covers a lot of the net down low. It was needed as FGCU outshot SJSU 14-7 in the third.

After impassioned speeches by both team’s coaches during the brief intermission, San Jose State assistant coach Ian Fazzi told his side that someone needed to step up and win the game, the action picked up in overtime right where it left off in the third period. It was a tight checking affair. With only 1:47 off the clock, Justin Acquino shot a seeing eye puck that found its way into the back of the net. The Florida Gulf Coast team mobbed him along the glass. “It was just a bad bounce off of my skate, and I couldn’t recover to get back to the guy before he went to the net,” center Andy Dickerson told Daniel Herberholz of the Spartan Daily after the game. Mullane also described the play to the student paper. “(Aquino) was just wide open and made a nice move and put it crossbar and down.”

With the loss the Spartans are tied with Montclair State for third place in pool C. The host squad was able to keep the goal differential down. Tonight’s 8PM contest against Michigan State will be a big one for SJSU. Spartan on Spartan. San Jose can not allow another 51 shots on goal. They need to get the puck deep, force Michigan State to play the full 200 feet of the ice surface, and then capitalize on mistakes later in the game. Getting the puck deep is more important than contact, more important than the big hit. Goaltender Alessandro Mullane should give them an opportunity to win if they can keep it tight.

A small black and white photo gallery from the game is available here. Free streams of live action, and paid archives of past games are available via fasthockey.com.

[Update] Spartans lose tournament opener in overtime – Spartan Daily.

[Update2] Club hockey: FGCU beats San Jose State in ACHA Division II tournament – Naples Daily News.

ACHA D2 National Tournament in San Jose Day 1: Game of the night — Michigan 4, Siena 4

SIENA COLLEGE G #34 ADAM BROWN SNAPS A HEAD HIGH SLAPSHOT

MICHIGAN F #13 COURTNEY MURTLAND, SIENA D #10 TIM BUBNACK PREP FOR FACEOFF

#18 CHRIS HARJUNG (R) CELEBRATES 1 OF 3 GOALS HE SCORED IN 3RD

Heading into the Friday night mathcup between Siena and Michigan, ‘the Saints’ were the clear favorites according to a player from another team. Siena finished 2nd in the ACHA Central region with a 19-6-2 record in the regular season, and an impressive +63 goals for/goals against ratio. Michigan finished 2010-11 behind three other Great Lake State teams: Central Michigan, Michigan State and Northern Michigan. From a strictly eyeball perspective, Michigan looked like more of a handful early in the first period on Monday night. Michigan has the 5th biggest team in the ACHA D2 tournament if you consider the number of 185+ pounders. Only Eastern Washington University (16), University of Grand Valley State (15), New Hampshire (14) and William Patterson (13) have more large bodies the the Wolverines. That fact gets a little blurry when you look at 6-foot-5, 215-pound defenseman Eric Elmblad. Elmblad played in parts of two seasons with the NCAA D1 Michigan team, but after a year off he joined the ACHA D2 team to play with his younger brother Kyle Emblad for the first time in the ACHA.

Michigan-Siena drew one of the larger crowds on the night, and it grew steadily throughout a wild back and forth game. Scoreless after 20 minutes, both teams combined for 8 goals and 3 lead changes over the final two periods. After a goal was waived off 6:10 in, Michigan looked like they were taking control of the game in the second. Flashy wolverwine forward Jeff Weintraub deked twice through several Siena players in the neutral zone, but lost the puck before he could carry it in on net. On the benches, Michigan players were standing and vocal, Siena’s were seated and watching the action. Defenseman Matt DeSpirit opened the scoring for Michigan with less than 2:20 left in the second. Siena goaltender Adam Brown was forced to make a quick chest save on Courtney Murtland on the next shift to keep the game within one.

Michigan kept pressing, and a rush up the RW resulted in goal for Weintraub and a 2-0 lead with 26 seconds left. Shortly after the Michigan players finished their celebration and returned to the faceoff circle, Siena answered on the other side of the ice. The Michigan fans in the stands were still murmuring when Randy Ciciola scored for the Saints with 6 seconds left. The goal dented the strong momentum push, and gave Siena a boost of confidence heading into the intermission. That confidence paid off early in the third. Clinton, NY native Chris Hartung scored the first of his three third period goals 28 seconds in. The game was tied at 2-2, and all bets were off for the remainder.

Jeff Weintraub was clearly a goto player for Michigan. After he scored for the second time 4:10 in, many on and off the ice celebrated as if the goal would hold up. Unfortunately, Siena kept pushing the pace and Michigan started to wear down. On one play in the neutral zone, a winded Weintraub waived at a passing forward, resulting in a hard shot that rung off the post. Siena kept pushing late into the final minutes, and Chris Harjung lifted a shot over the shoulder of Michigan goaltender Sean Puranen. Harjung lept into the air, and was mobbed in the corner by his teammates just a few feet from the Sharks zamboni parked rinkside for display purposes. One lucky parent was atop the zamboni seat taking a photo of the goal.

This time the Siena faithful were still murmuring when Michigan won a faceoff, drove down the RW and scored 16 seconds later. Ann Arbor native Mark Silverman gave the wolverines a 4-3 lead late in the third period. The intensity on the ice was awesome, it didn’t matter what brand of hockey you regularly follow. A clean faceoff win by Michigan was controlled by a defenseman, who tried a hard shot off the glass to clear the zone. A Siena defenseman lept up to keep the puck in with his glove, then hammered a low heavy shot on goal. A pair of Saints forwards provided traffic, but Sean Puranen held tight to make the save. On his next shift Harjung completed the natural hat trick, scoring his third goal in the final period with 39.9 seconds remaining. Both teams pressed in overtime, but would be unable to score after 10 minutes. Michigan and Siena each took a point, and remained tied for second place in Pool D after the first night of play.

A small black and white photo gallery from the game is available here. Free streams of live action, and paid archives of past games are available via fasthockey.com.

ACHA D2 National Tournament in San Jose Day 1: Michigan State 6, Montclair State 2

MICHIGAN STATE GOALTENDER #31 DRAKE TODD FLASHES GLOVE IN 1ST

MICHIGAN STATE TIED FOR POOL B LEAD WITH 6-2 WIN MONDAY NIGHT

MONTCLAIR STATE G #30 KEVIN FOX MADES A PAD SAVE

Sharkspage was on night duty for the opening round of the 2011 ACHA D2 National Championship tournament in San Jose. The very busy Sharks Ice facility is several blocks down the street from San Jose State University, and legions of student volunteers filled in all manner of positions for the ACHA D2 national tournament. Buying an entrance ticket, students. Scorekeepers, announcers, hospitality staff and in-house djs’s (each rink had their own dj)? Students. About the only position not filled by SJSU students was bartender at Stanley’s bar/resturaunt upstairs. Pouring beers with panoramic views of 3 of the 4 rinks was not an option because many were still not 21.

In the first of 4 night matches, Michigan State faced off against New Jersey based Montclair State in Pool B action. About a dozen NJ family members made the trek to San Jose for the tournament, and for their efforts they had to endure humid and chilling rain outside. The one time of year SJ is more New Jersey than California. According to one family member, that doesn’t make a difference. They are going to be indoors watching hockey all week. Michigan State forward Evan Hess got the Spartans on the board in the first period. After a Montclair goal by Nick Lieback 37 seconds into the second, Hess scored again to regain a 1-goal lead. Michigan State had a clear 3-on-1 rush into the offensive zone, but on entry two forwards collided springing the puck for a 4-on-2 rush in the other direction.

Montclair’s Nick Lieback added his second goal of the game at 11:35, but from there on out it was all Michigan State. They scored 4 unanswered goals en route to a 6-2 win and earned a share of the top spot in Pool B after the first day of action. A small black and white photo gallery from the game is available here. Free streams of live action, and paid archives of past games are available via fasthockey.com.

Chicago Blackhawks hand Sharks worst loss in 2 months, five goals allowed in second results in 6-3 blowout

If you were going to pick a game to have an off night, a high profile matchup on national television against the team that swept you in the Conference Finals would not be that choice. Instead the Versus/NBC/Comcast analysts, 22,094 fans at the United Center, and hundreds of thousands of television viewers witnessed a 2-1 Sharks lead after 20 minutes evaporate into a 6-3 loss after 40. A pair of power play goals by Marian Hossa and an even strength goal by Jonathan Toews chased goaltender Antti Niemi from his 25th straight start. Backup goaltender Antero Niittymaki, returning from a 24 game absence due to groin problems, blunted the subsequent Chicago blitz but still allowed goals to Niklas Hjalmarsson and Patrick Kane. A tight checking Sharks team that had won three previous meetings with Chicago this season faded down the stretch, and collectively took a mulligan against the team directly behind them in the Western Conference standings. It was their third straight loss.

“If I was going to sum up the game: They skated, we glided,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan told ESPN Chicago. “They were hard on the boards, we were soft. They were determined at the net, we played ‘I hope’ around the net.” It was a flashback to sloppy and tentative play that plagued the Sharks earlier in the season. Center Joe Pavelski said this is a decidedly different team. “We’re in a different spot right now and we’re not looking back there. That’s done with. We’re a much better team. We’re a much different team and we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to,” Pavelski told David Pollak of the Mercury News.

Versus analyst Mike Milbury noted that good teams can stem the bleeding after 1 goal against, the implication being the Sharks were not. On this night, he was right. After Patrick Marleau was sent off early in the second period for hooking, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski each failed to clear the puck high in their defensive zone. Patrick Kane was able to regather the puck, send it Patrick Sharp on the opposite point, and Hossa buried a cross-ice pass into the open net before Niemi could get over. Hossa’s 21st goal of the season came less than three minutes later in the period, this time with Devin Setoguchi off for hooking. Patrick Sharp came quick on the rush up the right wing, and he found Hossa with his stick on the ice in the middle of the slot. Hossa snapped the puck 5-hole past Niemi before he could close down his pads.

Head coach Todd McLellan has adjusted lines on the fly this season, moving up forwards who were clicking onto the top line with a Logan Couture and Ryane Clowe, or Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. McLellan put Ben Eager up on the top line with Thornton and Marleau in an attempt to add a veteran energy shift, and it backfired. Eager was caught in no man’s land as the puck trickled up ice in the defensive zone. Brent Seabrook beat him for possession and pushed the play up ice for a 3-on-1 breakaway. A backchecker picked up the trailing forward, but Jonathan Toews outwaited Niemi and deposited the puck 5-hole. Niemi seemed to be caught in a no man’s land of his own, the danger area between going down too early and going down too late.

McLellan made the coaching decision to pull Niemi for Niittymaki, instead of saving the backup netminder for the second night of back-to-back’s in Dallas. “It was a complete team meltdown and every position on the team was included in that,” McLellan responded when asked about pulling Niemi. Hjalmarsson scored on a point shot through traffic, and Patrick Kane scored his 100th career goal on a 1-timer in front to continue the onslaught. After the game Niittymaki noted that the final half of the second period was a struggle, but once he got his feet under him he started to adapt to the speed and pace of live game action.

The Sharks have battled back from a number of deficits, and have earned a number of close wins with 16 one goal games over their last 20. An early holding call on Jason Demers delayed the attempted third period comeback, but the Sharks would outshoot Chicago 16-6 over the final 20 minutes. They could not put another puck past rookie goaltender Corey Crawford. Crawford stopped 33 of 36 shots against, and earned his 27th win on the season. Niemi stopped 14 of 18 shots against in 27:25 of ice time, and Niittyamki stopped 14 of 16 shots over the remaining 32:35. The Sharks have allowed 6 power play goals against over the last 4 games, and have seen their PK percentage drop down to 23rd in the league (80.3%). Chicago also won the faceoff battle 31-26 (54%), and blocked 20 shots to San Jose’s 8.

Asked by Versus analyst Pierre McGuire how he adjusts from Ovechkin on Sunday night, to Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was circumspect. “It is tough. The players we played against the last two nights are so dynamic, they can score in so many different ways. It was a good 2 points tonight, and it was a good point last night (against Washington). We would have liked to two points last night, but 3 points back-to-back against very good teams, we’ll take it and we are happy with it.”

[Update] Blackhawks’ second-period explosion puts away Sharks – Chicago Sun Times.

[Update2] Blackhawks top Sharks, chase Niemi – Hossa has 2 power-play tallies, Sharp contributes 4 assists – Chicago Tribune.

The top line of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp again did much of the damage as the trio combined for eight points. Toews and Kane each had a goal and an assist while Sharp had a career-high four assists. Marian Hossa had two goals and Viktor Stalberg and Niklas Hjalmarsson also scored as the Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak.

[Update3] Cutting Bait: Post Game Notes – Mike Lee for LetsgoSharks.com.

– Not all is lost. The Sharks finished the regular season with a 3-1-0 record against Chicago. They were 1-1-2 last year in the regular season, outscoring the Sharks 17-11. What’s worse is they were 0-4 in the Western Conference Finals, getting outscored 13-7. San Jose outscored the Blackhawks 15-12 this season.

– With his goal, Joe Thornton moved into the top 30 in NHL scoring. His 57 points trails scoring leader Daniel Sedin (38 goals, 52 assists) by a mere 37 points.

Asia League Ice Hockey Finals between Tohoku Free Blades and Anyang Halla cancelled due to Japanese earthquake and tsunami

2011 ALIH FINALS CANCELLED - PHOTO FREEBLADES.JP

Prohockeynews.com’s Robert Keith has the tragic story behind the cancellation of the 2011 Asia League Ice Hockey Finals. As the defending champion Anyang Halla squad out of Korea was traveling to face the hometown Tohoku Free Blades in a best-of-5 championship series, northern Japan was hit with the 5th largest earthquake in recorded history. Tohoku import player and former Stockton Thunder forward Brad Farynuk emailed the Vernon Morning Star about what happened to his team during the earthquake.

“My team was on the road in Koriyama about one hour south of Sendai,” Farynuk told the Morning Star on Friday. The epicenter of the earthquake, recently upgraded to a 9.0, was located off the coast 80 miles east of Sendai. “It was terrifying when pieces of concrete started falling and lights were breaking inside the arena.” In a message to a family member, Farynuk noted that there was significant damage to the Bandai Atami Ice Arena and surrounding neighborhoods. The situation was compounded with multiple reactor problems 30 miles north at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Both teams are reportedly safe. “Everyone on the team is okay,” Tohoku Free Blades head coach Chris Wakabayashi told IIHF.com. “We were very fortunate. There were players with their skates crawling out of the rink out into open space. There were some concrete blocks falling from the ceiling, but no one was hurt.” IIHF’s Martin Merek also reported that the Anyang Halla team landed at Sendai airport an hour before a violent tsunami wrecked the airport facility. Former player and current Anyang Halla coach Patrik Martinec described the horrifying tale to Novinky.cz. “We landed, boarded the bus and then we learned that the airport had disappeared. At first it seemed like a joke, but then we realized what had happened. Horror,” Martinec told Novinky (via google translation). Anyang Halla also features a former Stockton Thunder forward, veteran left wing Brock Radunske.

There may be tentative plans by the ALIH to continue the series in Korea, but the first three games in Japan have been cancelled. “When things like this happen, it’s time to think about people’s safety, not hockey,” Anyang Halla GM Seung-Jun Yang told the IIHF. The two remaining games in Korea have also been suspended. It could be an opportunity for the National Hockey League to host both Asian teams and use the series as a vehicle to raise money for the tragic disaster. The San Jose Sharks are the only NHL team to be affiliated with an ALIH squad, working with the China Sharks in 2007. The New York Islanders and owner Charles Wang have been heavily involved in developing hockey in China, and the Los Angeles Kings were the first team to start a Japanese-born goaltender in Yutaka Fukufuji. Other Bay Area teams are also planning to be involved in relief efforts. Japanese Heritage Day, taking place at during the Mariners-Athletics home opening series in Oakland, will feature popular Japanese baseball players Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki and Kurt Suzuki and will include a relief component to help raise money.

[Update] Japan sports at standstill – Nagoya marathon, women’s golf join pro baseball, soccer on list of cancelations – Daily Yomiuri.

The Hockey News/XM Home Ice 204 Podcast: Zdeno Chara hit, Max Pacioretty, head shots, Calgary Flames, Terry Pegula

[audio:http://www.thehockeynews.com/upload/audio/THNRadioShowMarch112011.mp3]

Last Friday on The Hockey News Radio Show with Adam Proteau and Jim ‘Boomer’ Gordon on XM Satellite Radio Home Ice Channel 204: Boomer and Adam welcome in THN editor-in-chief Jason Kay for the show’s opening segment; the guys debate Zdeno Chara’s controversial hit on Max Pacioretty, the NHL’s head shot issue, and teams to watch closely during the playoff race. In the second segment, the Ask Adam mailbag answers questions on the futures of Brendan Morrison and Alex Tanguay in Calgary, how Adam came to work at THN, and more. In the last block, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers calls in to discuss the ramifications of the Chara/Pacioretty hit, his former teammate and rookie Leafs defenseman Keith Aulie, and the changes in the Sabres organization since new owner Terry Pegula arrived on the scene.

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.

2010-11 Calder Trophy race a two-man affair between San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture and Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner

SHARKS CENTER #39 LOGAN COUTURE LEADS ROOKIES WITH 212 SOG

CAROLINA C #53 JEFF SKINNER LEADS ROOKIE SCORING RACE WITH 50PTS

2010-11 NHL ROOKIE SCORING RACE

CALDER TROPHY RACE - ROOKIE GOALTENDING STATISTICS

The internal debate that rises to the top of the 2010-11 Calder Trophy race has to begin with how deep the field of qualified candidates is. The impact rookies are making this season is nearly unprecedented. Defenseman Cam Fowler and John Carlson are logging a gargantuan 22+ minutes a night on the blueline for the Anaheim Ducks and the Washington Capitals. Four rookie goaltenders are making significant impacts for their clubs, and the fifth, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider, may be playing his way out of Vancouver and into a starting position for another team given the near lifetime contract for Roberto Luongo. Despite the logjam of talented rookies, two clear favorites have seperated themselves this season, 18-year old Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner and 21-year old San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture.

Created to recognize the top rookie in the league starting with the 1932–33 season, the honor was re-named as the ‘Calder Memorial Trophy’ following the death of former NHL President Frank Calder in 1943. Members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) vote for the Calder Trophy after the regular season, appropriate given Frank Calder’s lengthy tour of duty as a sports editor in Montreal and London. Trying to gauge the whims of the traditional hockey media prior to voting is a precarious affair, but Sergei Makarov’s Calder Trophy award in 1990 changed the landscape for the rookie trophy in the NHL. A 3-time Olympic medalist (including golds in 1994 at Sarajevo and 1988 in Calgary), 10-time World Championship medalist (8 golds), 11-time Russian Super League champion (3 MVP’s, 9 scoring titles) before he traveled to the NHL, Sergei Makarov was one of the most talented and respected players to play the game when he took home the Calder at age 31. The NHL ammended Calder eligibiliy to players who were 26 years old or younger by September 15th, those who have not played in more than 25 NHL games in any previous season, or those that have played professionally in 6 or more games in the previous 2 seasons.

Those amendments impacted a pair of current San Jose Sharks. Last season, before his spectacular playoff run then-Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi registered a 26-7-4 record with a 2.25GAA and .912SV% in the regular season. Those numbers would have put Niemi in the Calder conversation along with Detroit’s Jimmy Howard, but the Finland native missed the rookie age window by 17 days. Howard (37-15-10, 2.26GAA, .924SV%) finished second in the Calder voting to eventual winner Tyler Myers’ 94 first place votes. The Buffalo Sabres defenseman became only the third blueliner to win the rookie honor since 1990. San Jose Sharks rookie center Logan Couture bumped up against the 25 game rookie limit last season, and he hit the ground running in three playoff series rankling his inclusion for rookie consideration among some in the media.

ROTY criteria for this blog comes down to a few core elements: production, consistency, complete game and team impact. On the offensive side of the ledger, a case can be made for Skinner or Couture. The youngest player in the league, Jeff Skinner leads the scoring race with 50 points. He is a fixture on the power play (3:06 PPTOI/GM), logging a higher average time on ice with than man advantage than all but 1 other non-defenseman. Skinner also trails only Taylor Hall in number of penalties drawn (35). San Jose’s Couture is second in rookie scoring with 46 points, second in the rookie goal scoring race with 25, and first in shots with 212. He is tied with Taylor Hall for 8 power play goals, and league-wide he trails only Ovechkin, Kovalchuk and Daniel Sedin with 8 game winning goals.

“You can’t really get away from it,” Jeff Skinner told the Charolette Observer’s Chip Alexander last week of the relentless Calder speculation. “I’m not going to go looking for it, though. It’s not hard to put out of your mind when every day you come to the rink and it’s a big game. To be in the hunt, to be in the playoff mix, that’s what you’re really want.” Carolina is 4 points behind the final playoff position in the East with 13 games remaining. They need a heavy goal scoring push from their young rookie.

In a 3-zone comparison, Couture has to take the edge by a considerable margin. He trails only rookie Pittsburgh center Mark Letestu with a 373-342 (52.2%) mark from the faceoff circle, he is a +14 to Skinner’s -3 (similar to CORSI trends), and Skinner is not effectively used on the penalty kill (:02 to Couture’s 1:02 SHTOI/GM). Skinner and Couture have been consistently putting up solid offensive numbers for most of the season, trailing off only slightly in March. Team impact also favors Couture. While Skinner’s 24 goals represent 12.2% of Carolina’s total offense, the Hurricanes are completely out of the Southeast division race and trail the Rangers for the 8th and final playoff spot.

The Sharks were mired in an up and down start to the season, but offensive production by Logan Couture and Ryane Clowe helped buoy the team until the big guns could start firing. The Sharks have been on a torrid pace since mid-January, and Logan Couture consistently came up with enough big goals to give San Jose a shot at its 4th straight Pacific Division title and 7th straight playoff run. Couture’s 25 goals represent 12.8% of the Sharks total offense. An offense that sent an entire forward line to the gold medal winning Canadian Olympic team last year.

“I try not to think about individual awards,” Logan Couture told Mark Purdy of the Mercury News early last week. Purdy noticed Couture’s focus on defensive play, and speculated that he might garner consideration for the Selke Trophy as well as the Calder. “… We’re playing the way we’re supposed to play. Team defense. Five people back in the zone. Collapsing into the right areas when we have to do that. We’ve stuck to the way the coaching staff wants us to play,” Couture said.

There are a few ancillary elements that could also come into play for Calder voting: durability, visibility, style of play and head-to-head play. On the durability front, the 5-foot-11, 193-pound Skinner has played in all 69 of the Carolina Hurricane’s games. It is impressive given his style, a bowling ball, collision-heavy type of power forward game around the net. At San Jose in only his 5th NHL contest, Skinner tried to pull the trigger on 3 wrap-around goals and crashed the net several times. He registered an assist, 3 shots on goal, and was a matchup problem for the Sharks the entire night (poor quality photo shot through refs arms).

Logan Couture has played in 66 of San Jose’s 69 total games this season, impressive considering he only missed one game after suffering a brutal knee-on-knee hit by Colton Orr in January. The Sharks blazing pace in the second half of the season doesn’t happen with an injured Couture. While appearing somewhat soft spoken, Couture’s game is also shades of a bull in a china shop. He has shown zero concern for his own saftey setting up in front of the net, and at times he makes too much of an effort on an icing or a forecheck. That is quite a departure from a few insider scouting reports that listed his speed and skating as an issue after he was drafted. Instead, the scouts should have focused on his stick and body position in the defensive and neutral zones. Both have resulted in a steady stream of created turnovers and subsequent scoring chances. He plays a similar intelligent, determined 2-way game to current Sharks forward Joe Pavelski.

The great mitigating factor in the 2010-11 Calder race could be visibility, and it is the one element of the discussion that could hurt Logan Couture and Jeff Skinner the most. After first overall draft pick Taylor Hall was injured in a fight with veteran goon Derek Dorsett, the consensus favorite by the Canadian media was gone. That left a jockeying for position among rookie candidates in the media. Nevermind the fact that Hall was more of a perimeter player than either Jeff Skinner or Logan Couture, now the field was wide open. Rookie defenseman Cam Fowler and John Carlson had their supporters, there were also vocal factions for recently traded Kevin Shattenkirk and Montreal’s P.K. Subban.

Goaltending is a little bit of an open mystery. The sag in recent play for 2008–09 Calder winner Steve Mason has impacted the discussion. Mason’s numbers in 2008-09 (61GP, 33-20-7, 10SO, 2.29GAA, .916SV%) matched up somewhat with the 4 other Calder winning goaltenders post-Makarov: 1990–91 Ed Belfour (74GP, 43-19-7, 4SO, 2.47GAA, .910SV%), 1993–94 Martin Brodeur (47GP, 27-11-8, 3SO, 2.40GAA, .915SV%), 2000–01 Evgeni Nabokov (66GP, 32-21-7, 6SO, 2.19GAA, .915SV%) and 2003–04 Andrew Raycroft (57GP, 29-18-9, 3SO, 2.15GAA, .924SV%). Mason slumped the next season in Columbus, and he has treaded water as the Blue Jackets dropped out of the playoff race this year. Some of the blowback could have resulted in the Calder loss last season for Jimmy Howard. Howard had numbers comparable to or better than any of the 5 goaltenders who have won the award over the last 19 years. This year rookie goaltenders Corey Crawford and Sergei Bobrovsky deserve to be mentioned in the Calder conversation, but both have an uphill climb to put up comparable numbers to previous winners. There is also the belief among some in the media that goaltenders have their award in the Vezina, won twice by Calder winner Ed Belfour and four times by Calder winner Martin Brodeur (Nabokov was a runner up). Regardless of the merits of that belief, it could siphon off votes and make it more difficult for a goalie to win this year.

The bottom line is that the smaller number of eyeballs regularly watching the San Jose Sharks and Carolina Hurricanes might make for surprise voting results. It was an ominous sign when Don Cherry of Hockey Night in Canada’s Coaches Corner prefaced Logan Couture highlights with the fact that many fans might not have seen him play in San Jose. At times, Couture surpassed Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley as the goto player on the ice. Carolina would usually have more of a visibility argument than all the Californian teams combined, but a masterfully produced and reinvigorated All Star Game in Carolina was a boon for the team and for Skinner. He was named as a late injury replacement to join Team Staal along with teammates Eric Staal and goaltender Cam Ward. Skinner received rock star coverage locally, and as an 18-year old allstar novelty coverage nationally. His name will be familiar to hockey scribes forced to cover the game, and a quick look at the rookie scoreboard could garner him a majority of votes.

Prediction for the 2010-11 Calder Race: Too close to call.

WorSharks Split Home And Home With Sunday Afternoon 5-4 Win Over Connecticut

The Worcester Sharks got two goals from John McCarthy, another solid goaltending performance from carter Hutton, and points from ten other players to defeat the Connecticut Whale 5-4 Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 4,247 fans.

Connecticut would control the early going, but it would be the WorSharks that would get on the board first when Michael Swift grabbed a failed clearing attempt and threw a pass to Dan DaSilva across the zone to the right wing side. DaSilva skated in deeper and fired a wrist shot from just inside the face-off dot that beat Whale goaltender Cameron Talbot at 5:29 of the opening period.

The Whale would get a puck past Hutton at 12:19 of the period, but a high sticking call against Francis Lemieux that knocked of Hutton’s mask would nullify that score. It would take Worcester only seven seconds of power play time to put the puck in Connecticut’s net. Benn Ferriero, playing the point with the man advantage, picked off a clearing attempt right at the blue line and was just able to get the puck over to Jamie McGinn on the right wing side. McGinn’s pass to Tommy Wingels in the slot had a lot of mustard on it, but the rookie was able to get control and beat Talbot to make it 2-0.

DaSilva would have a golden chance to give the WorSharks a three goal lead when Swift threw a pass between both Whale defenders and sent him in alone on Talbot late in the period, but DaSilva was unable to jam the puck home past the left pad.

Worcester would indeed get that three goal lead, and it happened while killing Mike Moore’s well deserved minor for boarding when McCarthy picked up a loose puck at center ice and head up the right wing side with Jamie McGinn joining the rush through center ice. Once McCarthy got to the top of the circle he fired a hard wrister that beat Talbot cleanly to the low stick side at 1:19 of the second for the unassisted shorthanded tally.

But nothing has come easy for Worcester this season, and the Whale were doing their best to make sure that would hold true on Sunday. Connecticut would get their first of the game at 11:29 when Kelsey Tessier threw a nice, easy pass along the ice to Kris Newbury, who blasted a one timer through a well designed screen that Hutton had no chance on.

Using Ferriero on the point would come back to haunt Worcester when Newbury and Brodie Dupont broke in on an odd man rush against the forward playing defense. Ferriero played it decently enough but Newbury was still able to get a pass over to Dupont, who misfired his shot but was still able to get enough of it to handcuff Hutton and light the lamp at 17:04.

Some hard work by the WorSharks along the boards would give them a two goal lead entering the second intermission. After some protracted time along the right wing boards the puck would end up on the stick of Sean Sullivan. The defenseman would fire the puck back along the boards to Patrick Davis, who could continue the puck along the boards to behind the net. McCarthy gather the puck and wheel sharply to the far post, beating Talbot just inside the post with a backhander at 18:59.

The WorSharks would get their second three goal lead of the game at 1:49 of the third period when a pinball shot from the point beat Talbot. T.J. Trevelyan would start the play with a clean face-off win in the right wing circle back to defenseman Matt Irwin at the blue line. Irwin wasted no time blasting the puck on net, and as the puck homed in on net it hit a Whale player and then Kevin Henderson as it pinballed past Talbot.

With all the troubles Worcester has had in the third period a three goal lead never seems safe, and WorSharks fans had the “here we go again” feeling when Hutton forced Blake Parlett, who had already notched assists on Connecticut’s previous two goals, into a very wide shot by cutting down the angle the defenseman had to shoot at. But the puck rolled across the wide open goal mouth, and despite being literally tackled by WorSharks defenseman Nick Schaus outside the crease Tessier was able to sweep the rolling puck into the yawning net to make the score 5-3 at 14:37.

And a audible groan could be heard throughout the building at 17:48 when Jeremy Williams skated through and around the Worcester defense and beat Hutton off the far post to get the Whale within one. But that’s as close as Connecticut could get despite pulling Talbot for an extra attacker as the WorSharks didn’t allow a legitimate scoring chance the rest of the way. Worcester ended the season series against Hartford/Connecticut with a 3-3-1-1 record, while they have a 5-2-0-1 against the WorSharks.

GAME NOTES
Prior to the start of the game San Jose reassigned Harri Säteri from Tappara Tampere of the SM-liiga to Worcester. When asked if Säteri will be playing for Worcester this season a member of hockey operations said “he probably will play, he’s not here to be a wall flower”. Säteri, along with Jody Pederson and Joe Loprieno, were healthy scratches. Cam MacIntyre has been added to the injury list, although with the AHL’s Clear day roster rules many times hangnails and the sniffles are considered injuries and reasons to be called an injury scratch. Tyson Sexsmith was the back-up netminder.

Linesman Bob Paquette, injured a week ago when he fell backwards into the boards, returned to action Friday in Providence and worked the lines in Sunday’s contest at the DCU center. Sharkspage spoke briefly with Paquette before the game and he said he had suffered a mild concussion in the fall, but was feeling great. He later joked that he was wondering how much damage his head did to the boards when he fell. He was noticeably more careful when skating backwards, but showed no ill effects of his injury during the game.

In another update, this time about Mathieu Perreault’s stick swinging incident last Wednesday against Hershey. While there has been no official announcement from the AHL, Perreault has apparently been fined by the league but will not be suspended.

The win was Carter Hutton’s fourth straight. Tommy Wingels has a three game goal streak (4g), and John McCarthy has a four game point streak (2g,2a). Patrick Davis has been even or better in his last seven games. Brandon Mashinter’s four game point streak came to and.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 7 John McCarthy (2g)
2. WOR – 23 Dan DaSilva (g)
3. CT – 11 Kris Newbury (g,a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Kevin Henderson.

Even Strength Lines
McGinn/Trevelyan/Henderson
Mashinter/McCarthy/Wingels
Swift/Ferriero/DaSilva
McLaren/Quirk/Davis

Moore/Sullivan
Petrecki/Schaus
Irwin/Landry

Power play lines
Wingels/Trevelyan/McGinn
Mashinter/Swift/DaSilva

Irwin/Ferriero
Sullivan/Landry

Penalty kill lines
McCarthy/Davis
Ferriero/McGinn
Moore(Landry)/Sullivan
Petrecki(Schaus)/Irwin(Schaus)

BOXSCORE
Connecticut 0 2 2 – 4
Worcester 2 2 1 – 5

1st Period-1, Worcester, DaSilva 14 (Swift), 5:29. 2, Worcester, Wingels 15 (McGinn, Ferriero), 12:26 (PP). Penalties-Kundratek Ct (holding), 5:56; Schaus Wor (holding), 8:32; Irwin Wor (hooking), 10:15; Lemieux Ct (high-sticking), 12:19.

2nd Period-3, Worcester, McCarthy 1   1:19 (SH). 4, Connecticut, Newbury 14 (Tessier, Parlett), 11:29. 5, Connecticut, Dupont 14 (Newbury, Parlett), 17:04 (SH). 6, Worcester, McCarthy 2 (Davis, Sullivan), 18:59. Penalties-Moore Wor (boarding), 0:19; Kundratek Ct (interference), 3:01; Mitchell Ct (high-sticking), 12:53; Bickel Ct (cross-checking), 16:01.

3rd Period-7, Worcester, Henderson 7 (Irwin, Trevelyan), 1:49. 8, Connecticut, Tessier 8 (Parlett, Dupont), 14:37. 9, Connecticut, Williams 28 (Kundratek, Grachev), 17:48. Penalties-Petrecki Wor (cross-checking), 4:07; Grachev Ct (hooking), 9:16.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 12-9-12-33. Worcester 10-13-6-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0/4; Worcester 1/6.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 10-4-2 (29 shots-24 saves). Worcester, Hutton 6-3-2 (33 shots-29 saves).
A-4,247
Referees-Tim Mayer (19). Linesmen-Todd Whittemore (70), Bob Paquette (18).

Brandon Dubinsky sinks Sharks in 6th round of overtime shootout, New York Rangers earn 3-2 win in San Jose

#61 JUSTIN BRAUN PULLS PUCK OFF GOAL LINE IN 2ND - MSG

The Sharks were concerned about an emotional letdown after a ‘game of the year’ candidate earlier in the week against the high profile Vancouver Canucks. Those concerns were not realized Saturday night in a 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. As throngs of Ranger fans and East Coast transplants filtered their way to the Tank, the Sharks dominated large stretches of the first and third periods, but could not capitalize on enough scoring chances en route to their second straight shootout loss at home. Ryane Clowe scored a power play goal in the first period. Ben Eager added his 5th goal of the season in the second. In his 24th consecutive start, goaltender Antti Niemi stopped 20 of 22 shots against, and 4 of 6 shootout attempts. In that 24 game span, the Sharks compiled an 18-3-3 record and positioned themselves for a grueling stretch run to the end of the regular season.

After outshooting the Rangers 12-3 in the third period, and coming up short on three quality scoring chances in overtime, it was somewhat of a letdown for a tight team contest to be determined by individual play in the shootout according to Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. “It is a hard thing at this time of the year to play a hard fought team game, and then have it settled with individuals,” McLellan said. “I understand it is an exciting part of the game, and it is a way to break a tie, and the fans love it. When you have blocked 4 or 5 shots and you have no chance to make an impact on the game once it is over in overtime, it makes it tough.”

What makes it tougher, facing one of the NHL’s best goaltenders in the shootout. New York’s Henrik Lundqvist trails only Jonathan Quick and Miikka Kiprusoff with 6 shootout wins, and an impressive .846SV% in the post-OT skills competition. The more shootout attempts a goalie faces, the more comfortable and confident he can be in that situation. Lundqvist has faced a league high 39 shootout attempts against. Against the Sharks, the shootout may have been decided on the first San Jose attempt by Patrick Marleau. As Marleau came in with speed, Lundqvist outwaited the alternate captain and matter of factly made the save. Clowe, Pavelski and Couture tried similar quick wrist shots, and they may have been baited by Lundqvist according to Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. “I guess when they are going in there is not much room to shoot at, (Lundqvist) may be baiting them a little with 5-hole,” McLellan said. After Dan Boyle came in at an extraordinarily slow pace, stickhandling nearly a dozen times and lifting a backhand high, only Dany Heatley tried some semblance of a deke later in the shootout. “I think he may have taken a timeout,” the Rangers announcer said of Boyle’s glacially slow shootout pace.

For his part, Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi performed well in his second straight overtime shootout. But for the second straight game, he failed to pick up a win. Niemi has registered a 3-4 record, and a .739SV% on 23 shootout attempts against (11th) this season. Niemi stuffed a slick deke by shootout specialist Erik Christensen with a well timed poke check, and covered the lower portion of the net against Zuccarello, Anisimov and Callahan. Both Zuccarello and Anisimov missed the net, which is a sign there is not a lot of room to shoot at. Former Av Wojtek Wolski scored a goal far side, and Brandon Dubinsky capped solid third period and overtime play with the deciding goal in the 6th round.

Defenseman Dan Boyle returned to the lineup after missing 6 games with a lower body injury. He registered 2 assists, 1 shootout goal, 2 shots on goal, and 2 blocked shots in 22:42 of ice time (Boyle’s season average 26:40). The Sharks dressed 7 defenseman while trying to work Boyle back into the lineup, but none of them had a larger physical impact than Douglas Murray. On his 31st birthday, Murray registered 5 hits, several of them were of the pancake variety. Murray was challenged by Brandon Prust at the point as he unloaded a shot. On his followthrough, Murray lowered his shoulder and left Prust crumpled on the ice. The Swedish iceberg also crushed Artem Anisimov in the first, and left defenseman Marc Staal in a heap in the third.

The Swedish Olympic representative also got his stick up against Wolski in the first, and it was one of many non-calls the officials made against San Jose on the night. Marc Staal was flagrantly high sticked by Dany Heatley, and after being crushed by Murray Brand Prust was also high sticked by Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the first. During a tv stoppage in play, Rangers head coach John Tortorella lit into 29 year veteran referee Bill McCreary, and then into less experienced Eric Furlatt. Dany Heatley also got a stick up to the face of Ruslan Fedotenko in the third. The Sharks were called for only one minor penalty, Logan Couture for goaltender interference in the first, but they could have been called for several more. Ben Eager took a fighting major in the first, and a matching unsportsmanlike call with Prust in the second.

The National Hockey League was a difficult way to earn a living in the first period for Rangers left wing Brandon Prust. After being hammered by Murray and high sticked by Vlasic, he dropped the gloves for a first period fight against veteran Ben Eager. It was a somewhat disjoined fight, one ruled a draw on hockeyfights.com, but both players had the manners to fight directly in front of the rinkside camera. Eager landed a heavy right hand to start the fight, which tipped the scales. Eager completed two thirds of the Gordie Howe hat trick, being the third man in on a point shot from Dan Boyle. The shot deflected off the stick of Rangers forward Erik Christensen, off the stick of Joe Pavelski, and then off the stick of Eager. It was the fifth goal of the season for #55, who was mixed and matched on several lines due to his agressive play.

“I think we salvaged the trip. It’s a good answer. We still have things to work on. We played against a very good hockey club tonight and found a way to win,” New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella said after the game. “I thought we played the right way, the way we need to play. In the third period, we just couldn’t stop their surge. We got caught on our heels a little bit. But the biggest key was that we wanted to play the right way, and I thought for most of the minutes, we did.”

The Vancouver broadcast on Thursday night noted that the Sharks came at the Canucks in waves during the third period. On Saturday night, the New York Rangers broadcasters made similar observations. There will be a threshold after the regular season ends on April 9th. Whether or not the Sharks can maintain their confidence, maintain their ability to overcome obstacles, and maintain their ability to wear down opponents with depth and speed remains to be seen. If it can happen once early in a first round series, or if it can happen in the first game, then it should be a switch the Sharks can flip regularly for the duration of the postseason. Any ‘playoff choker’ comments or notations about the dropoff in offensive production from key stars by national or Canadian analysts will completely miss the point. The Sharks are built for tight, postseason play. 16 of the last 20 games San Jose has played have been 1-goal affairs, and they have won the bulk of them. They are close to having 4 lines playing better together than they have all season, and with Justin Braun and Kent Huskins (injured), they have 8 defenseman they can add to the mix. A successful return by goaltender Antero Niittymaki from an extended injury would give the Sharks depth across the board heading into the playoffs. There are two teams with that type of depth in the Western Conference: Vancouver and San Jose.

Vancouver may learn a harsh lesson this postseason. Having the best record in the NHL by a wide margin, and having the most prolific offense in the league means absolutely zero on April 10th. Rink-wide backhand saucer passes, and end-to-end rushes by aggressive defenseman are going to be a lot harder to come by as playoff teams tighten the vice grip in the defensive zone. One other stark contrast between Thursday and Saturday night at HP Pavilion. While the Rangers had a legitimate complaint, scratch that, several legitimate complaints for high sticks that weren’t called, Vancouver dove like they were in the paint for the Miami Heat. One Canuck even grabbed his opponent’s stick, lifted it into his own face, and then flailed his arms backwards like it was a mortal wound.

The Sharks had several whacks at earning a win in the third period and in OT. A diving Setoguchi got a stick on a behind the net pass from Thornton, only to send it high and wide of Lundqvist. Patrick Marleau fed a saucer pass to a streaking Jason Demers, who chipped a puck high into the glove of the Rangers netminder. New York defenseman Ryan McDonagh blew a tire twice in the game, and both resulted in quality scoring chances for San Jose. Later in the third, he fell creating a 2-on-1 for Torrey Mitchell and Ben Eager. Mitchell waited on the shot, but fired it off the shoulder. With more confidence, Mitchell could have picked a corner, under the arm or 5-hole. At times, he is looking pass first or unloading a shot just to get it on goal. He is playing solid 2-way hockey, and on many nights Wellwood-Pavelski-Mitchell is one of the most creative lines, but Mitchell needs to pick a spot and be aggressive with the puck on his stick. He was coming off a spectacular goal where he slashed through 4 Canucks on Thursday night, a goal that rivaled his end-to-end short hander in December 2007 against Anaheim.

In OT, Brandon Dubinsky executed one of the best shifts of the game playing against Joe Thornton in the offensive zone. In a 1-on-1 battle along the boards, Dubinsky positioned his body on the check to allow room for the puck on the left side. After Thornton was up against the glass, Dubinsky took several hard strides towards the net with the puck. Thornton was able to get back in time, forcing Dubinsky behind the net with a stick check. Dubinsky and Thornton then battled twice more for possession, before the play was cleared out of the zone. Scoring the game winner in the overtime shootout was the culmination of a very strong game by Dubinsky. The Sharks had 3 quality opportunities to close the deal in OT, but they could not punch through. Lundqvist swallowed up an attempt by Thornton and Pavelski, then held firm down low as Couture set up Pavelski for a point blank opportunity just outside the crease. Another blown tire by Ryan McDonagh gave Ryane Clowe room entering the zone. He cut to the middle of the ice, and fired a shot with Logan Couture falling down in front of the net. Lundqvist remained calm and in position to make the save.

[Update] Lundqvist saves Rangers in shootout win over Sharks – Larry Brooks for the NY Post.

Lundqvist actually had attempted to coach in the shootout, coming out of his crease to give Callahan advice when the winger came up in the bottom of the fourth with the game on his stick.

“Our guys were trying to make moves, and [Niemi] is so quick, that I told Call to shoot,” Lundqvist said. “He didn’t listen to me, but that’s OK, Dubi did.”

[Update2] New York Rangers top San Jose Sharks in shootout on Brandon Dubinsky’s game-winner in shootout – NY Daily News.

[Update3] San Jose Sharks fall to New York Rangers in shootout – San Jose Mercury News.

WorSharks Have A Whale Of A Problem With Connecticut

The Worcester Sharks got two goals from Tommy Wingels but that wasn’t nearly enough as the WorSharks lost a 4-2 divisional contest the Connecticut Whale Saturday night at the XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Hartford, Connecticut in front of a crowd of 8,011. The loss was Worcester’s 5th in a row against The Whale and drops them two points behind Connecticut for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic division. The two teams play again Sunday afternoon in Worcester.

This writer was given the choice between taking in the WorSharks/Whale tilt in Hartford or catching the Elton John concert at the DCU Center, and Sir Reginald won out. Folks that are interested in the happenings in Hartford can check out Bill Ballou from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette as he has his usual game story and notes column. Bruce Berlet has the Connecticut bases covered with a game article that appears on both the Hartford Courant and Whale websites. The WorSharks also have their side of the story on their official website.

In a very brief concert review, if you have a chance to catch Elton John on this tour, do so. At just shy of 64 years old the man can still bring it.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 1 0 1 – 2
Connecticut 0 2 2 – 4

1st Period-1, Worcester, Wingels 13 (Mashinter, Schaus), 8:07. Penalties-Petrecki Wor (slashing), 9:49; Moore Wor (holding), 17:47.

2nd Period-2, Connecticut, Williams 26 (Redden), 13:20 (PP). 3, Connecticut, Kolarik 21 (Grachev, Mitchell), 14:02 (PP). Penalties-Irwin Wor (delay of game), 1:16; Nightingale Ct (cross-checking), 4:07; McLaren Wor (hooking), 6:21; Petrecki Wor (slashing, fighting), 11:29; Nightingale Ct (fighting), 11:29; Schaus Wor (slashing), 12:42; Valentenko Ct (tripping), 15:19; Bickel Ct (cross-checking), 17:23.

3rd Period-4, Connecticut, Williams 27 (Parlett, Valentenko), 1:34. 5, Worcester, Wingels 14 (Petrecki, McCarthy), 3:04. 6, Connecticut, Weise 14 (Dupont, Newbury), 19:18 (EN). Penalties-Soryal Ct (high-sticking), 6:36; Wingels Wor (roughing), 19:55; served by Lemieux Ct (bench minor – unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:55.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 8-5-10-23. Connecticut 10-13-10-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0/4; Connecticut 2/6.
Goalies-Worcester, Sexsmith 2-3-1 (32 shots-29 saves). Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 7-3-1 (23 shots-21 saves).
A-8,011
Referees-Keith Kaval (40). Linesmen-Paul Simeon (66), Kevin Redding (16).

Wingels, Hutton Mash Monarchs 3-1

The Worcester Sharks got a power play goal from Brandon Mashinter and a shorthanded goal from Tommy Wingels, along with a fantastic effort by goaltender Carter Hutton to defeat the Manchester Monarchs 3-1 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire in front of a crowd of 5,184. Dan DaSilva had an empty net goal to round out the scoring for the WorSharks.

Sharkspage didn’t make the trip to The Granite State, so for folks interested in the particulars they can check out Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette with his game story and notes column. The Manchester Union Leader must have forgotten there was a game Friday night as they apparently didn’t send anyone from their newspaper the four miles it would take for them to get to the Verizon Wireless Arena.

As usual, folks can also check out the WorSharks and Monarchs official sites.

GAME NOTES
Benn Ferriero and Jamie McGinn returned to the line-up after brief stints on the injury list. Carter Hutton got the start after being reassigned to Worcester over the weekend. Joe Loprieno, Frazer McLaren, and Jody Pederson were all healthy scratches for Worcester. Tyson Sexsmith was the back-up goaltender. Hutton’s last start was on February 2, a 2-0 shutout of the Providence Bruins. Oscar Moller’s third period goal against Hutton ended his shutout streak at 123:21.

Other streaking WorSharks: Hutton has won three games in a row. Brandon Mashinter has goals in three straight contests. John Landry (g,a), Dan DaSilva (g,a) and Michael Swift (2a) are on two game points streaks

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 30 Carter Hutton (34 saves)
2. WOR – 17 Tommy Wingels (sh-gwg)
3. MCH – 10 Oscar Moller (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Brandon Mashinter.

BOXSCORE

Worcester 1 0 2 – 3
Manchester 0 0 1 – 1

1st Period-1, Worcester, Mashinter 14 (Landry, Swift), 7:51 (PP). Penalties-Schaus Wor (roughing), 2:58; Zeiler Mch (roughing), 2:58; Zeiler Mch (hooking), 5:59; Trevelyan Wor (tripping), 11:59; Petrecki Wor (boarding), 13:37; Voynov Mch (interference), 14:07; Quirk Wor (tripping), 17:44.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Kaunisto Mch (high-sticking), 2:46; Irwin Wor (interference), 13:55; Nolan Mch (tripping), 19:40; Irwin Wor (hooking), 20:00.

3rd Period-2, Worcester, Wingels 12 (Petrecki, McCarthy), 1:45 (SH). 3, Manchester, Moller 19 (Cliche, Zeiler), 10:37. 4, Worcester, DaSilva 13 19:57 (EN). Penalties-Sullivan Wor (fighting), 5:37; Holloway Mch (fighting), 5:37; Moller Mch (slashing), 5:40; Quirk Wor (high-sticking), 13:34; Azevedo Mch (tripping), 17:11.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 5-10-5-20. Manchester 14-10-11-35.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1/6; Manchester 0/6.
Goalies-Worcester, Hutton 6-3-2 (35 shots-34 saves). Manchester, Jones 22-10-1 (19 shots-17 saves).
A-5,184
Referees-Mark Lemelin (84). Linesmen-Brian MacDonald (72), Ed Boyle (81).

Irwin, Sexsmith Lead WorSharks Over Bears 3-2

The Worcester Sharks, playing without many of their offensive weapons, turned to defense and goaltending to help defeat the two time defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears 3-2 Wednesday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 2,645 fans.

Playing without offensive stars Jonathan Cheechoo, Jamie McGinn, and Benn Ferriero because of injuries and Crazed Rats center Andrew Desjardins due to recall to San Jose, WorSharks fans had legitimate doubts that their team could compete against one of the top teams in the American Hockey League. But Hershey had player issues of their own, with high scoring forwards Keith Aucoin, Andrew Gordon, and Steve Pinizzotto unavailable and key defenseman Patrick Wellar also missing, evening the scales just a bit.

The beginning of the game was all Bears as they swarmed the Worcester zone, winning nearly every individual battle along the boards to pin the WorSharks inside their own blue line for long stretches of time. Worcester did gain a little momentum in killing the first minor of the game, but was still spending far too much time hemmed in their own zone. Hershey was finally able to take advantage of a failed clearing attempt when defenseman Dmitry Orlov boomed a shot from the left face-off dot past Worcester goaltender Tyson Sexsmith at 7:35 of the period.

The WorSharks turned it up a notch after the Bears tally and controlled the next portion of the game, although Hershey kept the Worcester along the perimeter not allowing a quality scoring chance. After several close call Worcester would finally light the lamp when defenseman Jon Landry crashed the net and collected a rebound of Kevin Henderson’s shot and backhanded the puck around Bears netminder Nolan Schaefer at 11:06. Brandon Mashinter had the second assist for his feed to Henderson.

On the next shift Hershey almost retook the lead when Maxime Lacroix had the puck all alone about 10 feet in front of Sexsmith, but the netminder was able to flash out the glove to make the save. Despite Worcester outshooting Hershey 16-9 the scoring chances–and overall play–favored the Bears by a large margin.

The turning point in the contest took place early in the second period when the Bears had a two mad advantage for 1:37 but were unable to convert despite keeping the puck in the Worcester zone nearly the entire time. The kill added a little spring to the WorSharks’ step, and this time a failed clear by Hershey paid off for Worcester. With the top line on the ice for the WorSharks the Hershey defense tried to clear the puck along the boards to the right of Schaefer. Mashinter recovered the puck and fired it from just above the goal line on net as Michael Swift crashed the net looking for a rebound. Only there was no rebound to be had as the shot deflected off a Bears defenseman’s stick and over Schaefer into the net for the unassisted tally at 7:32.

The tide of play would swing back to Hershey’s favor, but several blocked shots and some timely saves by Sexsmith kept the home town team in the lead. With the third period not being kind to Worcester in the past fans were just waiting for a bad bounce to catch the WorSharks off guard and give Hershey the tying goal. It turned out the bounce that happened worked in Worcester’s favor when David de Kastrozza blast beat Sexsmith cleanly but rang off the far post and away from the Hershey forwards crashing the net about six minutes into the period.

As the third period play continued the WorSharks would get a five on three of their own when former San Jose prospect Aston Rome was called for hooking and then Boyd Kane was added to the sin bin for boarding Matt Irwin deep in the WorSharks zone. Irwin would have the last laugh on Kane when he took a Swift feed from behind the goal line and skated along the blue line to improve his angle. Irwin’s hard wrist shot through traffic hit nothing but the back of the net at 8:13 to give the WorSharks the 3-1 lead.

But nothing is ever easy for Worcester, and after Lacroix threw a nifty backhander over the glove of Sexsmith at 12:28 to get Hershey within one another lucky bounce saved the day for the WorSharks. With the Bears swarming the net Orlov found an open shooting lane low along the ice toward the far post with a screened Sexsmith having no idea a shot was coming. Luckily for Worcester Orlov found the far post, and after a few more tense minutes Worcester found themselves with an improbable victory.

GAME NOTES
Prior to Sunday’s loss to Connecticut San Jose recalled Andrew Desjardins. The recall left mnay Worcester fans with a sour taste in their mouths considering San Jose didn’t play again until Tuesday. After Wednesday’s game the WorSharks released Daren Machesney from his PTO. Tony Lucia, James Marcou, Jonathan Cheechoo, Alex Stalock, Jody Pederson, Jamie McGinn, and Benn Ferriero did not dress for Worcester. Carter Hutton was the back-up netminder.

Hershey center Mathieu Perreault will certainly be hearing from the AHL in the next couple of days after smashing his stick in the visitors penalty box after being called for holding the stick with 35 seconds to go in Wednesday’s night contest. After Perreault slammed his stick it exploded into several pieces, with one hitting penalty box attendant Dave Wilson in the head. Wilson, who suffered a minor injury to his forehead but was otherwise unhurt, showed his displeasure in Perreault’s childish actions. After the game Wilson reported the incident to referees Gino Binda and Tim Mayer, who took the broken stick as evidence. The incident was also captured by WCTR-3 in Worcester as they aired the game live.

WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer isn’t known for getting his ire raised up, but he was visibly angry at a non-call deep in the Worcester zone when Dan DaSilva got boarded along the goal line to the left of Sexsmith. As play continued Kevin Henderson was called for a very marginal hooking minor, which set Sommer off. Referee Tim Mayer, the target of Sommer’s outburst, must have felt the complaint had some merit as it took all of 15 seconds for him to call Hershey with a borderline hooking call of their own. Sommer also had some choice words for linesman Joe Ross later in the contest about an icing that inexplicably waved off.

In an oddity, Hersey’s two man advantage lasted 1:37. Worcester’s two man advantage, ended by Irwin’s goal, had the potential to last the same 1:37.

An update on linesman Bob Paquette; he suffered a concussion in hitting the boards Saturday night is at home recovering. Paquette is one of the good guys in the AHL, and this writer wishes him a speedy recovery.

The three star of the game were
1. WOR – 20 Matt Irwin (gwg)
2. WOR – 5 Jon Landry (g)
3. HER – 27 Dmitry Orlov (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Tyson Sexsmith

Even strength lines
Trevelyan/Swift/Mashinter
McCarthy/Quirk/Wingels
Henderson/Davis/DaSilva
Loprieno/McLaren/MacIntyre

Moore/Sullivan
Irwin/Schaus
Petrecki/Landry

Penalty kill lines
Quirk/McCarthy
Davis/Henderson

Moore/Sullivan
Petrecki/Schaus

Power play lines
Trevelyan/Swift/DaSilva
Mashinter/McCarthy/Wingels

Irwin/Sullivan
Moore/Landry

BOXSCORE
Hershey 1 0 1 – 2
Worcester 1 1 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Hershey, Orlov 1 (Joudrey, Lacroix), 7:35. 2, Worcester, Landry 3 (Henderson, DaSilva), 11:06. Penalties-Swift Wor (tripping), 1:02; Kane Her (hooking), 13:27; Wingels Wor (hooking), 17:16; Willsie Her (holding), 17:54.

2nd Period-3, Worcester, Mashinter 13   7:32. Penalties-DaSilva Wor (holding), 4:24; Quirk Wor (tripping), 4:47; Henderson Wor (hooking), 9:34; Perreault Her (hooking), 9:49.

3rd Period-4, Worcester, Irwin 10 (Swift, Trevelyan), 8:13 (PP). 5, Hershey, Lacroix 4 (Rome, McNeill), 12:28. Penalties-Rome Her (hooking), 6:59; Kane Her (boarding), 7:22; Perreault Her (holding the stick), 19:25.

Shots on Goal-Hershey 9-16-8-33. Worcester 16-8-5-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Hershey 0/5; Worcester 1/6.
Goalies-Hershey, Schaefer 10-18-2 (29 shots-26 saves). Worcester, Sexsmith 2-2-1 (33 shots-31 saves).
A-2,645
Referees-Geno Binda (22), Tim Mayer (19). Linesmen-Jack Millea (23), Joe Ross (92).

DOH Podcast #138: Detroit’s fall, Nashville win, potential playoff opponent, emergence of defenseman Jason Demers

[audio:http://dudesonhockey.com/podcast/doh_2011_0309.mp3]

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss the Sharks win over Nashville, loss to Dallas, how the Detroit Red Wings have fallen from grace with 4 straight losses, is Jimmy Howard a strength or a liability for the Red Wings, potential playoff opponents for the San Jose Sharks and whether or not the Stars would be a more difficult opponent than Anaheim Ducks in 2008, the recent struggles of the Philadelphia Flyers, defenseman Jason Demers, Justin Braun and Ian White stepping into larger roles with the injury to Dan Boyle and more on the 138th 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.

Patrick Marleau sinks Predators in OT again, lamps game winner in 3-2 Western Conference tilt against Nashville

NASHVILLE GOALTENDER #35 PEKKA RINNE STOPPED 30 OF 33 SHOTS

D #9 IAN WHITE #7 NICLAS WALLIN SANDWICH RW #24 MATT HALISCHUK

SJ SHARKS GOALTENDER #31 ANTTI NIEMI EXTENDS FOR A GLOVE SAVE

Notes from the San Jose Sharks 3-2 OT win over the Nashville Predators will be posted soon. A photo gallery from the game is available here.

Ich bin ein Earthquake

Inspired online video from the San Jose Earthquakes on the lasting impact of Ronald Reagan and San Jose’s 60’s-era aeronautical and industrial manufacturing building blight. “Keith Wolff, tear down this wall,” San Jose City Councilman Sam Liccardo said to throngs of soccer fans last Thursday while shaking a fake foam construction implement. Reagan’s message was a challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev, and the first link in a chain of events that ended the Cold War. Liccardo’s call to action hopefully is the first step leading to the construction of a modern soccer specific stadium for the south bay.

Now that the demolition of the FMC plant, once used to assemble the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, has started the long process of creating a new stadium can begin. According to Earthquakes President Dave Kaval, after certain bureaucratic hurdles are cleared that long and winding process can begin in as little as 12 months. Given the nature of San Jose politics, there may need to be a few more rallies in the interim to fire up the soccer base. The 2011 Earthquakes regular season begins at home March 19th against Real Salt Lake.

An action video chronicling the start of the demolition is available from the Earthquakes here, a photo gallery is available from Centerlinesoccer.com here.

[Update] San Jose Earthquakes unveil new soccer stadium design – Sharkspage September 2009.

[Update2] San Jose Earthquakes celebrate first phase of proposed soccer stadium – San Jose Mercury News.

The Hockey News/XM Home Ice 204 Podcast: Trevor Gillies suspension, head injuries, Calgary Flames

[audio:http://www.thehockeynews.com/upload/audio/THNRadioShowMarch42011.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 kick off another edition of THN Radio with THN writer Ryan Dixon to discuss the Trevor Gillies suspension, head injuries in hockey, and the Calgary Flames. In the second segment, the guys debate a host of topics, including changing the NHL points system, and the possibility of the league eliminating divisions and doing a better job of balancing the schedule. In the final segment, the Ask Adam mailbag examines, among other questions, the cautious trade deadline strategy employed by Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier.

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.