SB Nation - Evgeni Nabokov

Nabokov Repels 36 of 38 Shots as Stars Suffer 2nd Regulation Home Loss in December

Brandon Bibb — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:24:57 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

The position of goaltender in hockey is one that I can simultaneously respect and yet, loathe.

I respect Evgeni Nabokov as one of the game's top goaltenders. I respected him for the stops he was able to make when his defense allowed prime scoring chances to the Stars throughout the first and second periods.

And when he made those stops, I loathed him. To the point of wondering on Twitter whether or not he had sold his soul just to drive the Dallas Stars nuts.

38 shots came his way tonight and 36 were repelled. The only two that beat him were off a rebound he couldn't quite control 18 seconds into the third that Jamie Benn potted home to cut a 2-0 second intermission deficit to 2-1, and a deflected point shot off Loui Eriksson's skate.

So as a result, the San Jose Sharks skated off the American Airlines Center ice in much the same fashion they've grown a little too accustomed to in the last three years.

Winners.

4 in a row in Dallas and at least their 6th win in their last 8 trips.

But unlike most of those wins, the Stars can take some positives out of this one. I'll look at a few after the jump. As well as some other negatives.

For starters, Dallas did jump on San Jose to the tune of 38 shots. They did, admittedly, get some help in the form of 5 power plays to none.

But from where I sit, this marks two games against the Sharks where the Stars have had the territorial edge and been able to apply the hallmark of a Marc Crawford coached team.

Puck possession in the offensive zone with a lot of shots and quality scoring chances. That, I certainly liked. Every forward but one had at least one shot tonight.

But just as the ball don't lie in basketball, the puck don't lie in hockey. When you generate that many shots and scoring chances, you've got to bury them. And in the first, the Stars had plenty with nothing to show for it.

Perhaps if they had been able to jump on the Sharks early and forced them to chase the game instead of the other way around, we're talking about an honest to goodness winning streak. The kind the Stars really have yet to enjoy this year.

Instead, Nabokov was able to repel all the shots he had seen through 40 minutes and the Sharks converted on goals from Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski to take a 2-0 lead into the dressing room after two. Unlike in their first meeting, the Stars just weren't able to find enough in the tank to come back tonight.

And while I'm on this Negative Nancy kick, that lone forward who didn't record a shot?

Fabian Brunnstrom.

We've made mention of Matt Niskanen's struggles and even contemplated the idea of either sending him down to the minors or trading him for fear he's hit a wall here. We do that, I think, because we've seen what Nisky's capable of in his previous two years in the NHL and believe that he can still progress as a solid NHL blue liner (I'll still have more thoughts on him later).

Sadly, I can't really say the same thing about Brunnstrom right now. When he puts out a performance like he did tonight and only sees 6:31 of ice time (only Krys Barch saw less ice time tonight), I can't say I'm surprised anymore.

Getting back to the fountain of positivity, I was very impressed with the play of Maxime Fortunus tonight. A lot of time, you'll see a young defenseman in the NHL allow panic to set into his game when the pressure gets turned up a notch.

I saw none of that tonight. Just strong steady play at both ends of the ice. The Stars were able to sustain pressure because he was positionally sound and made smart plays with the puck. If the shot wasn't there, he made sure it got back down deep so the forwards could outwork the San Jose D to continue to create scoring chances.

And when he got caught out on the ice for almost two minutes? Again, he didn't panic. Typically you worry about mental mistakes in those situations. But he stayed mentally sound throughout this shift, didn't get caught running around and expending more unnecessary injury.

And towards the end of his shift when he gained control of the puck on his own side of the red line, he was cognizant of the fact he couldn't ice the puck. Otherwise, of course, his two minute shift would have gotten a little longer. Instead, he found a forward to get the puck to who could fire it deep. And off to the bench Fortunus went.

On my drive home tonight, I heard one caller on the Dallas Stars Postgame Show on The Ticket suggest that Fortunus and Vish were brought up to put pressure on Robidas, Skrastins, and Grossman. I have no doubts that Niewuy and Crawford want these two young guys to put pressure on some current members of the Stars D corps.

But it's not the three the caller mentioned. Robidas is safe because he's generating more points offensively than even Jay Bouwmeester. Grossman's been solid for much of this first half of the season, and Skrastins has been doing exactly what he was brought here to do. Play solid stay at home defense and block shots.

No, these callups were meant to put Matt Niskanen on the hot seat. Again, this kid's got some talent and great potential. But he's got to show it now because there's a number of defensemen down in Cedar Park that are just itching to take that spot away from him on a full time basis.

Oh, and about that Ivan Vishnevskiy mishap with losing the puck right into his own net?

Nothing you can do but laugh about it. And seek to atone for that mistake on Wednesday night.

And on an unrelated note, do consider the cause(s) that The Chief is promoting over at A2Y. if you have a little extra cash laying around that wasn't spent on holiday shopping and you don't mind helping out a hockey fan from as far away as Brazil get to see our great game live in person.

Even if it'll be at a Red Wings game at JLA.

Whatever doesn't get spent will be donated to the Red Wings Wish Club with proceeds going to the Children's Hospital of Michigan.

Coyotes vs. Sharks - Game Preview #32 - No Boats, No Swimming

OdinMercer — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:35:50 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

2 months ago: Phoenix Coyotes left wing Lauri Korpikoski (29), from Finland, scores past San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov (20), from Russia, during the shootout of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. The Coyotes won, 1-0 in a shootout. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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It's a lazy Saturday here in the Mercer household, so here's your slapdash preview of the Coyotes vs. Sharks game for tonight...

Battle of the Russian Olympic Team Goalies
As with the previous meeting between these two teams, I'm expecting a solid goalie battle between the two. Last time out neither goalie surrendered a goal and it ended up going to the shootout. Phoenix won on a Lauri Korpikoski shot to make it 1-0 after the contest. When these two teams match up the result is usually pretty epic.

Shut Down the Top Guys
Sounds basic, but Thornton, Heatley and Marleau can't be the ones to beat us. Make the SHarks find another hero for the night.

The First Line Needs to Find the Net
Shane Doan and Robert Lang have done everything but score over the last stretch. Both have been robbed by some amazing saves on great chances or hit posts. THey both just need to find some luck soon.

NO OVERTIME POINTS!
Getting really tired of the Pacific Division getting the loser point. San Jose has 7 OTLs this year as do the Kings. the Stars have 9! Don't get me wrong, if we're trailing late and and end up with one then great, but we can't keep letting opponents get them.

PK Still Perfect Over Last 6
We may have lost in Los Angeles, but we still kept them from scoring on the Power Play. Over the last 6 games the Coyotes have kept the opposition from scoring on 21 chances. Can't ask much more from the Penalty Killers.

Key Players

Ilya Bryzgalov

#30 / Goalie / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-3

Weight: 199

Born: Jun 22, 1980

Evgeni Nabokov

#20 / Goalie / San Jose Sharks

Height: 6-0

Weight: 200

Born: Jul 25, 1975

These are the guys the game is going to come down to. It's as simple as that. The teams in front of them have been good, but they win or lose on the backs of these guys.

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	head	10/07/2009

San Jose Sharks Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Douglas Murray	other-excused	12/12/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jody Shelley	other-excused	11/10/2009
Brad Staubitz	other-excused	11/16/2009

Stargazing: Stars Win again in San Jose, 3-2 in Shootout

Brad G — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:11:38 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

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Stargazing is a daily assortment of Dallas Stars and Texas Stars news, and whatever other random ramblings are bouncing around inside our heads.

The Dallas Stars may have finally found a cure for their shootout woes. All they need to do is trail San Jose, in San Jose in the third period, get the game tied, and then send a defenseman out there to score the game winner in the skills competition. So they've done twice now, with Robidas and Niskanen earning the extra point in both trips to the Shark Tank.

That formula may need some work if they're to continue improving their shootout record on a regular basis, but another piece of the Stars game last night might translate a little better from day-to-day: Take 44 shots on goal. Dallas failed in Anaheim to sustain offensive pressure through three periods, or even for two. In San Jose, they took 14, 16, and 13 shots on goal respectively in each period, making Nabokov work all night long. 44 might be a lofty goal, but the mid thirties night in and night out will net positive results over time.

The power play connected once last night, but I thought it could have been better, particularly on the 5 on 3. Other opportunities presented themselves in big moments and they couldn't take advantage, but answered with a perfect penalty kill against a very dangerous Shark power play that features Thornton and Heatley.

If the Stars can't find a way to score more than two goals in regulation, that is how good Marty Turco needs to be for this team to make the playoffs, and he was very good last night. That Blake goal was a little disheartening, but like Razor said, it was on end and squeezed through him "like a wet bar of soap." Marty stood tall in the third, overtime and the shootout.

With the two points, the Stars held on to their eight place seeding in the West.

Follow the jump for plenty of quotes and analysis from another big win at HP Pavilion...

Mike Heika recaps the action after a very late night in San Jose...

The Stars are still learning about themselves 31 games into the season, and Friday was a great lesson for a lot of players.

Dallas was coming off two games in which it had blown leads, and players were doing some soul-searching for two days before Friday's game with the San Jose Sharks.

On one side, players like Steve Ott, Brenden Morrow and Stephane Robidas answered with aggressive physical games. On another side, players like Mike Ribeiro, Trevor Daley and Brad Richards answered with aggressive offensive games. And goalie Marty Turco answered with calm and poise.

The result was a 3-2 shootout win against the best team in the Pacific Division, and a bit of a statement for a team that was pondering its identity.

As I said last night, I think the fan base really enjoys wins over the Sharks, and for good reason, but a regulation win over the Kings tonight would mean so much more in the long run of this season.

You might be amused to see the Shark fan saying the same kinds of things that we've been saying recently...

In the Sharks last seven games, they've been to the shootout three times. Now, we can bitch and moan about the shootout as much as we want, but fact of the matter is that it's a part of the game. No if's and's or but's about it. It's unavoidable.

What should be avoidable, though, is going to the shootout. The fact that the Sharks have led late in the third period in both of the shootout losses is troubling. Aside from the miraculous comeback in Edmonton, the Sharks have shat the bed twice and had to settle the score in the crapshoot. Blech. (I can also bitch because I was at the Tank live earlier this year to watch the Sharks do practically the same thing against the Stars. Deja vu... terrible feeling, terrible TV show, terrible movie.)

Two poor games does not a season make, but I haven't been happy with what I've seen the last week or so. The Sharks need to realize that it's up to them to force the opposition to play their game for 60 minutes. They played well in the first 20 last night, and then let the Stars dictate the game. From here on out, it should be an end to end battle.

But let's be realistic here. The Shark fan has nothing to worry about. Honestly, the grumblings coming from a minor hiccup in their season make me roll my eyes just a tiny bit, because quite obviously, the Sharks are a very good team, and they'll be fine.

The Mercury news brings you some amusing quotes from the Sharks coach on the shootout...

For 10 rounds, the Sharks and Dallas Stars sent skaters out in a one-on-one skill test, and for 10 rounds, only one shooter on each team could put the puck past San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov or Dallas goalie Marty Turco.

"You start looking around," Sharks captain Rob Blake said. "Who's next? 11? It's getting down there."

"It's a little bit typical of the night," said McLellan, who is on record as a foe of the shootout when it comes to deciding games. "I think Marty Turco poke-checked guys four or five times in a row, and yet we get the puck in close. If you're on the bench watching, you should figure it out eventually."

Similarly, and I'm no hockey player, I was wondering when the Sharks would stop trying to beat Nabokov low over and over again. Matt Niskanen answered the call.

NHL.com brings you Matt Niskanen:

Niskanen, a defenseman who had never taken a shootout attempt, scored in the 11th round to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks.

Niskanen ripped a wrist shot past Evgeni Nabokov after he and Dallas' Marty Turco had stopped nine of the first 10 shots in the shootout. Turco then gave Dallas the extra point by stopping Marc-Edouard Vlasic's wrist shot.

''We were starting to run out of guys,'' Niskanen said. ''We were starting to look down at the end of the bench. (Nabokov) was coming out pretty far and so I put a move on him and got very lucky. It the first time I've ever done it. I came at him with a lot of speed and snapped it. As defensemen, we always joke around that we'll be the last used in a shootout.''

Interesting that you have to have 10 shooters just to get to Jamie Benn on Marc Crawfords' bench...

Quotes:

Marc Crawford:

''That shootout was pretty special, it was the longest one I've ever been involved in,'' Dallas coach Marc Crawford said. ''It's not very often that the shootout ends up being the story of the game. ... Marty did such a good job in the shootout and you have to praise Nabokov because he was equally as good. But we found a way to solve him with a great shot from Niskanen.''

``This is a great building with a lot of energy, and I think that helps you,'' said Stars coach Marc Crawford. ``It brings energy to your game.''

``I liked the way we played today,'' Crawford said. ``We played a strong game and we stuck with it. We talked about that before the game. We played 60 minutes, and that's a huge step in the right direction. But I think we're capable of being even better than that. There's another level that we can get to, and we need to keep striving to make those improvements.''

Marty Turco:

``It was a good win for us, and an answer game, I guess you could say,'' said Turco, who had 33 saves in regulation and stopped 10 of 11 shooters in the shootout. ``I just think we all did whatever we could to be better. That was the thinking.''

``You have to be able to forget and move forward,'' Turco said. ``If you have a bad goal, you just have to let it go behind you. I think was I able to do that, and it's important for me to continue to do that.''

``They're all huge,'' said Turco, who might get the game off while Alex Auld plays. ``This was big, but now we have to keep playing winning hockey and go to Los Angeles and try to win there. We need to do this for more than just one game. That would be a big step in the right direction.''

Niskanen:

``As defensemen, we always joke, `Hey, we're next,' when it goes five or six ,'' Niskanen said. ``I just saw he was coming out and being aggressive, so I wanted to shoot quickly and pick a spot.''

There was much debate the last few days about Marty Turco. Did the soft goal he let in Tuesday that allowed Anaheim to tie the score with 1:02 remaining in regulation deserve extreme criticism, or had Turco done so much before that shot that he deserved a break?

Bottom line, when a goalie lets in a goal that he shouldn't have, the entire team slumps its shoulders. One great save doesn't lift a team that way. Three don't. Five don't. It might take 10 or 20 great saves to really get a team fired up and going.

But all you have to do is let one puck slip between your pads late in a period, as Turco did Friday against the San Jose Sharks, and it can change an entire game.

Timing is everything with goalies. They control a lot of the arena's energy and the game's pace.

It's a lesson Turco has learned throughout his career and one he will be studying even more intensely now.

Dallas was also happy to get Karlis Skrastins back in the lineup last night:

"He's an important part of our team, and we're happy to get him back," Stars coach Marc Crawford said, alluding to his defenseman's expected return tonight against the San Jose Sharks. "Karlis has this great ability to get in the middle of the other team and mess up what they are trying to do, and that's a great talent to have on defense."

Skrastins, who signed with the Stars in the summer as a free agent, said his ability to get in the way is part experience and part luck. He said during the course of 707 career games, he's learned how to anticipate the play.

"I think some of it is being able to read the play and just being in position, and some of it is that I just get in the way," he said. "I don't try to block shots all of the time. I just try to read the play. But a lot of times, I end up there and have a chance to block the puck very easily. It's just reacting to the puck being there."

The Stars continue their road trip in Los Angeles tonight at 9:30pm CST, on FSN+ (Verizon customers like me, you're out of luck there)

Marty Turco and Dallas Stars Drop Sharks in Shootout, 3-2

Brandon Worley — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:32:54 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

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Of all the players on the Dallas Stars that have taken the ice this season, none have received the amount of criticism as Matt Niskanen. The young defenseman that had shown so much promise two years ago, and lately he's struggled perhaps more that any other player on the team. Yet tonight, he emerged as the unlikely hero for the Stars in the 11th round of the shootout when he lifted a hard wrist shot over Evgeni Nabokov's glove.

The game started off shaky for the Stars as they attempted to match the Sharks physically and energy wise, and opened up the scoring with a nifty tip-in by Mike Ribeiro late in a power play. Yet the Stars found themselves down 2-1 after the first period as they allowed the Sharks to establish their forecheck, and allowed yet another seemingly soft goal. It was an emotional and penalty-filled first period and for a time it seemed as if the Stars were more focused on agitation and physicality than actual execution.

Yet led by a masterful performance by Brenden Morrow and Steve Ott, the Stars mounted an inspired comeback starting in the second period. Dallas outshot the Sharks 29-18 in the second and third periods and dictated play for a large chuck of time in the second half of the game. With Marc Crawford leaning heavily on his top three lines, the Stars were able to sustain pressure keep the Sharks away from their strength: their offensive firepower. Nabokov was masterful throughout the game, challenging the shooters and rarely allowing a rebound opportunity.

Eventually it was the Stars' aggression around the net that was the difference in this game. This was a theme through the game as the Stars had attempted to create as much havoc in front of Nabokov as possible, and had led to several scrums and a number of penalties for both sides. Midway through the third, as Brad Richards skated the puck out from behind the net, James Neal established position in front of the crease. Scott Nichol and Nabokov was more worried about Neal than the puck, and all three crashed to the ice as Richards' shot found the back of the net. Fittingly, the only way the Stars could score was to basically knock the goaltender out of the way.

Yet it was Marty Turco who stole the show in the final ten minutes of regulation, in overtime and then finally in the shootout. With the Sharks mounting a counterattack with the game tied Marty came up huge for the Stars, making 16 saves with the game on the line, including several tremendous stops on the penalty kill late in the game. He also made the save of the season when he stopped a rebound opportunity by reaching behind his back with his glove to snag a shot out of the air.

The shootout was a combination of incredible goaltending and questionable scoring skills; both teams combined for just three goals in 22 opportunities. Turco used the poke check to perfection while Nabokov was confident and forcing shooters to make moves with the puck. It was frustrating to see the Stars come up empty time and time again, but Turco was tremendous as he gave his team a chance at the win. Eventually, Niskanen was able to score when he snapped a big shot over the goalie's glove.

It was a big win for a Stars team that was reeling from two painful losses in the past week, and they'll get a chance to carry over the strong play tonight against Los Angeles.

Sharks Gameday: Something In The Air

Mr. Plank — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:37:38 -0000

	@ 7:00 PST
13-8-9, 35 points		19-7-6, 44 points
8th in Western Conference		1st in Western Conference

Television	CSN-CA (HD)
Radio	98.5 KFOX, Sjsharks.com
Antagonists	Defending Big DRazor With An Edge

You can feel it brewing can't you? The coming storm of superlatives and dire proclamations, questions about the team's character and ability to win in May.

Back to back losses to potential postseason teams tend to do that to a fanbase, especially one as mercurial as San Jose's. For as much as we hear forms of, "It doesn't matter until the playoffs" from various sources, both within the Sharks organization and outside of it, there's still an open wound here. It breeds insecurity. And that insecurity breeds hand-wringing.

This isn't to say the effort on Wednesday deserves commendment-- catching it on Tivo late Thursday night probably wasn't the most effective use of my time during finals week, and I'm sure many of you can identify with that. Folding laundry or playing gin rummy at grandma's house may have higher exchange values in the grand scheme of things.

And yet, in examining the broader picture of the Sharks current slide, I can't find myself to crank out one of these bad boys yet. In fact, even their current record against potential playoff teams doesn't come off as especially pertinent on a macro level. There's still plenty of time until then to iron out wrinkles and formulate game plans. A single loss in December to the Kings, Flames, or Blackhawks, while hurting spectacularly on the emotional level, comes off as more Joseph McCarthy than Nostradamus when we attempt to extrapolate outside of the current run. At the end the of the day, what you have is an opportunity for standings points, not a prophecy of how things will eventually shake out. Yes, those points haven't been coming, and yes, these types of games are a good litmus test of how the team is currently playing, but let's not lose our view of the broader picture when going through an inevitable rough patch. The post-Olympic break is really the moment where you dig in your heels and ask yourself the hard questions.

Eighty two games require that. It doesn't mean we bow our heads and let Pavelski off the hook for letting Kopitar walk in unmolested to the slot on the third goal, or question the long term validity of the defense as we have since the start of this season-- it's just that we have to be careful not to cry wolf until the wolves are actually at the door.

That being said, they're definitely creeping up the hill. We're one porous weekend away from bringing in the heavy artillery, as this upcoming back to back against Pacific Division opponents should be an early indicator of how San Jose will be able to handle adversity. Do they fold the cards, or come out and make a statement at home? They're one of four teams (TOR, PHI, NYR) who have yet to win a game when heading into the third period down at least a goal, and while the league-wide winning percentage in that area is admittedly very low, it's not a positive sign for one of the top teams in the league.

*****

I really don't have as much time for this as I would like, but here's something that put a bur in my britches yesterday:

"Absolutely," he said. "You want to have the third goal, you want to have the first goal, you want to have the fourth goal. But do you consider this a bad goal? I don’t know. I would argue that. But absolutely I would love to have it back [emphasis added]."

-Evgeni Nabokov via Working The Corners

Full disclosure-- I'm of the school of thought that talk is cheap. Quotes from players are beneficial to a point, but ultimately, what occurs on the ice is the only thing I pay attention to. Whether or not the Captain rips his team in the media or expresses displeasure with a poor performance following a loss holds little weight. Accountability only goes as far as the dressing room walls. The only thing they're accountable for to the public is winning hockey games.

At any rate, last week Nabokov pointed the finger at Vlasic for a late goal that eventually resulted in a Sharks loss to the St. Louis Blues. The above quote, saddled alongside further comments in the linked article, come off as poor form. Shades of last postseason where Nabokov passed the buck.

The issue here isn't whether or not Nabokov should speak to the media about these matters, nor is it the fact that he is attempting to relieve some cognitive dissonance for a shot that should have been stopped. That's a necessity in the delicate emotional balance between an effective goaltender and one who is playing without confidence.

The issue here is that he opened Pandora's Box by calling out Vlasic a week ago, and failed to take responsibility for Brown's goal. These things go both ways.

*****

Jay Leach in tonight, and the bottom lines get a little shaken up. Frankly I don't think Mitchell has earned his third line minutes up to this point and would prefer to see McLaren or Ortmeyer in that role.

Should be interesting to see how Leach fares. I think you probably slide Vlasic up with Boyle and have the young Derek Joslin skate with veteran Rob Blake, leaving Huskins to play on the bottom pair alongside Leach.

Prediction: Sharks win 3-2. Goals by Pavelski, Vlasic, and McGinn.

Go Sharks.

Off the Post - December 10th

Conico do Mayo Miracle — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:00:24 -0000

[UPDATE] - Happy 40th birthday, Rob Blake! Love, Rudy Kelly (j/k).
[UPDATE] - St. Louis Game Time (the newspaper which spawned the blog) reproduced a segment of "Ice Chips" - questions answered by none other than T.J. Oshie's dad - on the SLGT blog. Highly recommended.
In case you weren't aware, TCY's boy-toy Logan Couture is a great prospect.
Manny Malhotra will be at the Sharks Store signing autographs on December 15th; if you're going, mention it in the comments, and be sure to contribute to Manny's tip jar.
The Ottawa Senators are failing to get production from their high-priced acquisitions... and Jonathan Cheechoo's name doesn't even come up once.
Rudy Kelly really, really, really hates Evgeni Nabokov... who may or may not be a lock for Team Russia.
Ed Jovanovski gets suspended for 2 games, causing him to miss this Saturday's contest against the Sharks; meanwhile, Silver Seven gets irate at those defending JovoCop.
J.R. chimes in on the recent suspensions.
The Nashville Predators slowly climb towards the 14,000-person attendance benchmark required for full NHL revenue sharing...
...which leads us to yet another article on why Canada deserves a 7th team.

Look, I hate Brenden Morrow as much as the next tealblood... but that's Corey Perry he just upended, so you have to smile just a little.

A car gets hit by Brendan Witt.
Enter Boucher....
Mark Messier gets named as the Canadian GM for the 2010 world championship, and decidedly ignores Gretzky's record behind the bench to recommend his old buddy for the coaching position.
Going into last night's game, the Sharks were 1-for-17 on the power play... medical experts are not ruling out MGS as a possibility.
If you ever doubted it, yes, yes indeed - NHL'ers read SBN blogs.
Behind the Net adds analysis to the Brodeur vs. Sawchuk debate.
Sean Gallagher has a sit-down with Andy Murray... kinda.
If you'll excuse me, my buddy OdinMercer and I are going to go celebrate Cinco de Coyo...
...in the meantime, who's the better rapper = Crosby, or Ovechkin?

Friday Links: That. Just. Happened. Edition.

averagejoe — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:00:25 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

Hugs for everyone! (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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After last night (this morning?), I'm contemplating naming my first-born child Carlo. Boy or girl.

Blues news

The Blues really did win. Seriously. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
You stay classy Evgeni Nabokov. The Sharks goalie blames Marc-Edouard Vlasic for not blocking Carlo Colaiacovo's shot. [San Jose Mercury News]
The Blues stopper line is playing a lot, but not more than it should. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Hockey news

Lots of games on Thursday. Here are the results. [Yahoo! Sports]
Friday night will be kinda quiet around the league. [Yahoo! Sports]
Brendan Shanahan will be joining the NHL front office. [National Post]
It's official: the Blackhawks have signed Toews, Kane and Keith. [ESPN]
The Second City guys reflect on the Big 3 signings. [Second City Hockey]
Jonas Gustavsson has heart surgery. [ESPN]
Matt Moulson gets his first career hat trick. [TSN]
Preparation for the Winter Classic is underway. [TSN]
Jiri Tlusty, famous for showing his dong on the internet, has been dealt to the Hurricanes. [TSN]

Other links

Can you believe that people tried to use comic books to sell shit to kids? OH YEAH! they did. [Cracked.com]
Here is a Web site devoted to single-purpose Web sites. Need the Price is Right sound? Go here. [Urlesque]
Christmas light we can all appreciate. [Tosh.0]
The guy who writes Comcast descriptions enjoys his job. [WTF Comcast]
What did Craig do before his massive list-site? [Users]
Chruch signs are sometimes funny. Mostly because of vandals. [Manofest]

Video

This video may not be for everyone and it's very NSFW (language) but it made me laugh.

This video, is for everyone. Enjoy.

Poor College Student has the weekend shift. gametimelinks(at)gmail.com

Game Preview: Montreal Canadiens @ Buffalo Sabres

Rafal Ladysz — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:44:08 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

24 days ago: Buffalo Sabres left winger Thomas Vanek, of Austria, celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. Buffalo scored five goals in the third period to defeat Carolina 5-1. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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Revenge is on the agenda tonight as the Buffalo Sabres look to win their fourth straight match and avenge a season opening overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Despite registering more than double the amount of shots as the Habs, 35-17, Montreal ~~earned~~ stole two points in the first meeting. Since then, it's been role reversals with the Sabres sitting one point out of the Division lead with three games in hand on the Boston Bruins and the Canadiens only five points ahead of the bottomed Toronto Maple Leafs.

Montreal has alternated wins and losses for the most part this season failing to reach any consistency. Defeat today spells four in a row in that category. In Buffalo's case, it's a fourth straight successful outing they seek in a stretch where they have connected superb offense (12 goals) with stellar goaltending/defense (three goals allowed). It'll be Ryan Miller and Jaroslav Halak backstopping their respective squads.

Five thoughts on each team below.

You name it, Ryan Miller's on top or close by. In reference to save percentage, goals against average and shutouts, the 29-year-old is setting the bar leading all netminders. His 15 wins are bested by Evgeni Nabokov and and Marc-Andre Fleury. Matt Stajan and Ron Wilson applauded his efforts in Monday's 3-0 result in Toronto.
As I said, Halak is in and he's actually won both career starts when facing Buffalo but was beaten six times in the process. Montreal's hopes rely heavily on him for the sake of a decent result because of injuries and the fact that the Sabres have their A-game going.
Henrik Tallinder notched his first goal in over a year three days ago creating a 2-0 lead and taking the life out of Toronto. Ready for another frightening fact? The last time the Swede scored twice in as many contests was May of 2006 during the playoffs. Go get em Henrik.
Mike Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec have been the noticeable offensive producers. Besides them, nobody has 14 points although Brian Gionta likely would were he not hurt. They'll have to make their chances count because Buffalo usually out-shoots Montreal and Miller is seeing everything.
Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht are riding two-game point streaks. While they aren't large streaks by any means, it seems like a new person is stepping up daily to shoulder the load. Who will it be tonight?
Former Sabre blue-liner Jaroslav Spacek has struggled with nine points on the year. I guess someone forgot to tell Bob Gainey that last season's 45 points came in a contract year.
Energetic forward Tim Kennedy is still looking for that first goal at HSBC Arena. The local 23-year-old beat Martin Brodeur for goal No.1 and the other came in Toronto. With each coming against a historic goaltender or franchise, it would be worthy of breaking that funk through Montreal.
Good news for Andrei Markov who is expected to now return at some point in January rather than February. While it won't affect the outcome of this match, the sooner the Canadiens can activate their most valuable performer, the better.
Craig Rivet may return to the line-up tonight after missing two games confirming that he's healed up. The final decision will be on Lindy Ruff whether to allow him right in or wait given how well the defense has played recently.
I still can't believe Montreal pursued Scott Gomez and his ridiculous contract. This guy has 11 points to reward Gainey for $8 million dollars worth of salary. Chalk another stupid choice up to the general manager.

Four of the last seven battles have gone to overtime so expect a tight match-up if history is any indication. By the way, Toronto shutout Montreal 3-0 the day after Buffalo did the same to the Maple Leafs. Is it our turn to be closed down completely or am I just superstitious?

San Jose Sharks 2010 Olympic Hockey Preview: Part One

Mr. Plank — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:00:30 -0000

Canada's rumored top line-- Sumi the playmaker, Quatchi the power forward, Miga the sniper. Should be a force to be reckoned with.

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The 2010 Games in Vancouver are fast approaching, with final rosters set to be announced in late December. SB Nation has been running a network wide preview series chronicling the likelihood of individual players making their respective country's roster, and pocket aces dropped today-- it's Fear The Fin's turn to make our grand entrance onto the big stage.

As I see it, the San Jose Sharks have a couple locks and a smorgasbord of remaining hopefuls that boast a myriad of different skills; these hopefuls will either need to elevate or hold their current level of play in order to make their inclusion later this month the right choice for their country.

Make the jump for evaluations of Nabokov, Marleau, Thornton, and Heatley.

PACK YOUR BAGS, JACK

Evgeni Nabokov, Team Russia

#20 / Goalie / San Jose Sharks

Height: 6-0

Weight: 200

Born: Jul 25, 1975

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Evgeni Nabokov	25	1479	16	4			58	2.35	734	676	.921	2

Evgeni Nabokov is a no-brainer for the Russian team this winter, and will likely be starting between the pipes as he did during their fourth place outing in Turin where he went 5-2 with a 1.34 GAA. His recent success at the 2008 World Championships where Russia won gold, along with his stellar play during the first two months of the 2009-2010 NHL season, also add to his credentials. Competing for his job will be Illya Bryzgalov and Semyon Varlamov, with Nikolai Khabilbulin looking to be on the fringe as of this moment considering he is dealing with back trouble and has not played as well as the aforementioned three. Two veteran netminders should be able to shoulder the immense load on a Russian team expected to play for the gold medal in what stands to be a boisterous Canadian arena. The potential seasoning of Varlamov (along with his excellent play) will be an enticing opportunity for the Russian brass to consider, as it will concurrently set the team up for another bid at the 2014 games in Sochi*.

*Admittedly the NHL hasn't green-lighted sending players over as of yet, but with the KHL an alluring alternative and one of their biggest stars (Alexander Ovechkin) stating that he wants to play in the games, it might be in their best interest to do so. Words such as "fatigue" and "potential injury" will be tossed around, but keep in mind that it is just as likely, if not more, about the loss of revenue stemming from shutting the league down for three weeks to play overseas. Alas, that is a topic to be covered at a later date.

No matter what happens in the next month, Team Russia boasts four able netminders to choose from in the crease. And if current trends hold, Nabokov will be front and center.

Patrick Marleau, Team Canada

#12 / Center / San Jose Sharks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 220

Born: Sep 15, 1979

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Patrick Marleau	29	19	14	33	8	4	4	2	3	0	89	21.3

Coming off a 38 goal year, Patrick Marleau has once again shot the lights out, posting 19 goals and 33 points in 29 games during the 2009-2010 season. Going into Team Canada's development camp last summer it was uncertain whether or not he would be able to crack the squad-- an offseason filled with off-ice extracurriculars concerning his leadership abilities and "heart" in high pressure situations (views that were never shared by this author, nor the majority of readers at Fear The Fin) contributed to that, along with the astonishing depth of the Canadian national team. However, with what's shaping up to be another strong year for Marleau, his inclusion onto the roster is but a phone call away.

Although short on Olympic credentials (invited to camp but eventually discluded from the 2006 roster), Marleau will nonetheless be able to provide the high powered Canadian offense with some of the best defensive abilities in the game, and will contribute heavily on the penalty kill. All while being a threat in the offensive zone every time he takes a shift.

Dany Heatley, Team Canada

#15 / Left Wing / San Jose Sharks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 220

Born: Jan 21, 1981

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Dany Heatley	29	18	14	32	4	20	9	1	4	0	86	20.9

Team Canada's all-time leading points and goals scorer. A man on a mission to earn back his country's trust following a heavily publicized trade request. Top five in the goal scoring race with fellow teammate Patrick Marleau. Penalty kill partner in limited minutes with fellow teammate Joe Thornton. There's just about every reason in the world to include Dany Heatley on Team Canada later this month.

The only issue is whether or not to put him on Getzlaf's wing. Two balding superstars on the same line might be too much fun to pass up.

Joe Thornton, Team Canada

#19 / Center / San Jose Sharks

Height: 6-4

Weight: 235

Born: Jul 02, 1979

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Joe Thornton	29	7	32	39	4	6	2	0	1	0	60	11.7

Jumbo Joe has run into the same stigmas that plagued Patrick Marleau the last few seasons-- good when it counts, not so good when it counts the most. Whether or not that is fair assessment of his play with San Jose or a vestige of his days in Boston is a debate that will echo in the halls of eternity for the next millenia.

Of course, the suits behind the team would be loathe to leave Thornton off the roster, and that's where he'll be in February; expect to see him centering Heatley and Marleau during Team Canada's push to avenge their woeful seventh place performance during the 2006 games.

*****

Go ~~Sharks~~ Team USA.

Edmonton - San Jose post-game: Movember can't end soon enough

Bruce McCurdy — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:09:44 -0000

More photos » by John Ulan - AP

25 days ago: Edmonton Oilers' Sheldon Souray, left, battles with San Jose Sharks' Dany Heatley, of Germany, during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Alberta, on Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)

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Well, shit. What a crushing day. We lost Hemsky for the season, and we lost a game we should have won. Not just a game, but The "Dany Heatley Game". Played well enough to titillate, but in the end, handed the Sharks the freaking game on a silver platter in a particularly discouraging manner.

It was a good game and I have few (but specific) complaints. A good friend I don't see often enough got a pair of freebies and was kind enough to phone me, we hit the Thanh Thanh for some excellent Vietnamese cuisine en route, and by anthem-time found our seats on Row 31 overlooking the faceoff circle in the Sharks end, players' bench side. Funny thing, the last year I had season tickets I moved up to Row 31 from Row 14 to reduce the per game damage from $31 to $17. Now it's 17 years later and those $17 seats now bear a sticker price of $107! Which is why I rely on generous friends and occasional good luck to get to my handful of games a year ... ducats are simply out of range.

31 rows is a long way from the ice, but not too far to see some of the wide open spaces in several of the Movember 'staches on display even after a month of "growth". That little visual brought home the fact that this was a battle of boys against men

The anti-Heatley sentiment peaked early, with one leather lung letting rip a harsh "You suck Heatley!" while Paul Lorieau paused for a breath in the Star Spangled Banner, which certainly brought home the fact that this was another Canadian** hockey star who had bolted stateside, turning his nose up at two Canadian teams in the process. So the loudmouth's timing was appropriate or classless or both depending on one's viewpoint.

(** Canadian unless you believe the photo caption, which I have left in its raw, AP form. For whatever reason they always identify non-North American players by what country they're from.)

After that the booing was more perfuctory than anything, more noise than anything heartfelt. The cheers rang when Sheldon Souray knocked Heatley on his overpaid butt 5 minutes in, but quickly died out when Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau instantly took advantage of the large hole Souray had left behind in the process to put the Sharks up 1-0. The lead held past the midway mark of the game and I began to wonder if the Oilers would ever score again. Out of the blue though, Ryan Potulny made a nice steal from Dan Boyle, outraced a half-hearted Thornton backcheck and went in alone to deke Evgeni Nabokov. The Oilers carried the 1-1 score to the intermission, another tight defensive struggle not dissimilar from Wednesday's affair vs. the Kings. Unexpectedly, the third period was the bipolar opposite...

What a period it was. Dustin Penner scored early on a Gilbert Brulé rebound, then Penner returned the favour with a goal mouth feed that Brulé swatted home. Two-goal lead in the third, our first chance to be home and cooled out. Instead it lasted exactly two shifts of the Marleau-Thornton-Heatley line, both of which ended with the puck in the back of Jeff Deslauriers' net. 3-3. Back and forth the game went for several pulsating minutes, with my pick to score the game winner, Ladi Smid, actually having a great chance only to be beaten by Nabokov's glove. Undeterred, Smid later served as the middleman between Ethan Moreau's determined rush and Potulny's finishing shot which put the Oil up once again, 4-3 with 5 minutes to go. Turnaround for what happened in the Kings' game Thursday. We just had to see it out.

The best/worst thing about it was that for the next 3½ minutes the Oilers played perfect hockey. They forechecked like demons, hemming the Sharks in their own end, consistently winning races to and battles for loose pucks, cycling, making crisp changes while still maintaining puck pursuit. It was a joy to watch. Until, of all things, Oilers forced a Shark mistake, a penalty with 1:40 to go.

Well that should have been it. Instead, the Oil fell completely asleep. The powerplay which had done nothing all night, did much less than nothing when it mattered most, allowing three great San Jose scoring chances and the tying goal on a completely broken play. Hard to believe that you can win a draw in your own end 5-against-4 and within 4 seconds have the play end with the opposing centre completing his hat trick from the edge of the crease without anybody around him including the goalie. Gagner broke or dropped his stick winning the draw and let Marleau go, Staios and Souray got crossed up, Thornton won a race to the loose puck and JDD went fishing for the pokecheck only to look silly when Thornton fished the puck to Marleau for the tap in. A complete fustercluck, with the game completely on the line. Stupid, stupid, stupid hockey.

Oilers conspired to give up another odd man rush on the same powerplay, very nearly losing the game in regulation. There was no further scoring in overtime either, despite a very entertaining 101 seconds of the ultra-rare 3v3. From there it was a shootout, and the only surprise was that it wasn't Dany Bloody Heatley who dropped the guillotine on another loss, perhaps the most disappointing, frustrating, and discouraging one to date.

The thing of it is, if you hang around long enough, there's not much new under the sun and no matter what happens, chances are you've seen something like it before. I remember three years ago almost to the day, attending The Chris Pronger Game in which the Oil blew a two-goal lead, the Ducks tied it with the goalie out and won it in overtime, prompting very similar emotions. I also recall the Oil blowing a game in the Boston Garden round about 1986 or so when they had the lead and the powerplay in the last two minutes, conspired to retreat all the way to their own end with the puck, and then Paul Coffey tried a long slow diagonal pass right through the middle of his own zone which the Bruins picked off and promptly put in the net. Then they won it in overtime. That time I was so mad I could spit ... tonight it was shocking in one sense but in another it was just another disaster in a disastrous season. Bad news always carries the day, so what's new?

***

Jacques - Horcoff - O'Sullivan
This threesome along with Staios and Souray was hard-matched against San Jose's big unit (Marleau-Thornton-Heatley-Murray-Boyle). They weren't up to the task judging by the -3 each of the three posted. Funny, cuz they did lots of things right. JFJ led the Oilers in hits (6) and POS in shots (also 6). Horcoff worked his tail off and made lots of excellent small plays, such as the second period sequence where he fended off heavy Sharks forechecking by two guys and finally worked his way out of the zone, only to have Souray inexplicably miss his soft breakout pass with the Sharks instantly turning it into a 2-on-1 the other way. Lots to like in JFJ's game, but defensive presence is not one of those things

Penner - Gagner - Brulé
Solid night's work from the trio, consisting of two former hot shot draft picks and the big man who took a very circuitous route to the bigs. They connected for two third period goals and showing some chemistry especially between Penner and Brulé who had it going earlier in the year. Brulé is no Hemsky obviously but I'm starting to think we might have an Actual NHL Player™ on our hands. He's showing some real intensity to go with a nose for the net and a quick release. As he has done most of the season, Penner gave the Sharks defenders fits with his bull-in-a-china-shop routine

Moreau - Potulny - Cogliano
Lots to like here. The trio generated 10 shots among them in a strong effort from all three men. Potulny too is doing a convincing impersonation of an Actual NHL Player™ and is getting stronger as his ice time and confidence grows. He notched a pair of goals with some real strong finish, threw his body around with some abandon, and contributed solid time to both special teams. Cogliano appears tp be finally emerging from the coccon that had enveloped his early-season play, skating hard and really getting his competitive juices flowing. The goals aren't coming yet, but he's been an effective player of late. Moreau too put in an excellent efffort, contributing a number of strong rushed including the one that led directly to what should have been the winning goal. He remains way too inclined to shoot from absolutely anywhere that he actually gets control of the disc, and the element of surprise is long gone.

McDonald - O'Marra - Stortini
A creditable performance from the young trio, who held their own in brief appearances (~5 minutes TOI). Stortini (4 hits) did a solid job chaperoning his inexperienced mates (combined 1 NHL GP before this one). O'Marra with a couple of nice hits, although for some reason he skirted a guy he seemingly had in the trolley tracks in the third. Guys like him need to hit at every opportunity to be successful. The raw rook McDonald had a couple of giveaways mixed in as he had a little trouble with NHL speed. I loved one sequence where all three of them consecutively hammered various Sharks who were trying to break out.

Souray - Staios
An awful night for the two vets, who were not so much hardmatched as overmatched against the "Olympic Line". Both ended the night with a sorry -4, burnt for three even strength goals with 22-10-19 and then the less forgivable SH goal that tied things at the end in which the two experienced defenders completely got undressed in front of their own goal. Souray had 3 giveaways and 2 bad penalties mixed in on a night where he seemed completely out of sorts, out of synch with himself and almost out of phase with the game. Everything he did was a split second ahead or behind the play. Staios got some time on the PP which spent more time allowing odd-man rushes against than creating anything in the good end.

Smid - Visnovsky
Solid night's work saw both post a +2. Smid delivered a tenacious effort which included contributions in the O-zone, as he forced a fine save from Nabokov minutes before he set up Potulny for the 4-3 goal. Visnovsky looked small and overmatched on a couple of occasions, and like a master in complete control much of the rest of the time.

Strudwick - Gilbert
Another pair with a sparkling +2 rating against lesser comp. One of Strudwick's stronger games in a while. Gilbert had a couple of horrendous giveways which led directly to glorious chances for the Sharks, but otherwise was looking more like his old self than I've seen for a while, using his smarts to win possession and his legs to rush the puck with authority.

Deslauriers
A number of decent stops to bail out various Oiler breakdowns, but I was less than impressed with his overall body of work. Seems to have a hell of a time tracking the puck, and allows rebounds in unexpected directions. He had his usual puckhandling misadventures (3 GV for at least the third time recently), freezing the puck much more often than necessary, especially given Oilers' issues on the dot. (See: tying goal against.) His attempted pokecheck on that faceoff situation was the exact wrong play, and led to Marleau having a wide open net to dunk the puck. Does not inspire confidence in this observer.

SB Nation - Evgeni Nabokov

Nabokov Repels 36 of 38 Shots as Stars Suffer 2nd Regulation Home Loss in December

Coyotes vs. Sharks - Game Preview #32 - No Boats, No Swimming

Key Players

Ilya Bryzgalov

#30 / Goalie / Phoenix Coyotes

Evgeni Nabokov

#20 / Goalie / San Jose Sharks

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

San Jose Sharks Injuries

Probable

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Stargazing: Stars Win again in San Jose, 3-2 in Shootout

Marty Turco and Dallas Stars Drop Sharks in Shootout, 3-2

Sharks Gameday: Something In The Air

@

Television

CSN-CA (HD)

Radio

98.5 KFOX, Sjsharks.com

Antagonists

Defending Big DRazor With An Edge

Off the Post - December 10th

Friday Links: That. Just. Happened. Edition.

Game Preview: Montreal Canadiens @ Buffalo Sabres

San Jose Sharks 2010 Olympic Hockey Preview: Part One

Evgeni Nabokov, Team Russia

#20 / Goalie / San Jose Sharks

Patrick Marleau, Team Canada

#12 / Center / San Jose Sharks

Dany Heatley, Team Canada

#15 / Left Wing / San Jose Sharks

Joe Thornton, Team Canada

#19 / Center / San Jose Sharks

Edmonton - San Jose post-game: Movember can't end soon enough