Month: May 2014

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs:One more win to go for Kings and Rangers before advancing to the Finals

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by Larry Leavitt

Los Angeles vs. Chicago: The Los Angeles Kings seemed to find a way to get into another gear and they showed it again as the Kings won their third straight over the Chicago Blackhawks in game five at the Staples Center on Monday night. The Hawks have the depth to win but they just haven’t shown up yet.

Don’t expect the Hawks to lay down and let the Kings walk all over them but yes it’s pretty amazing how the Kings seem to ramp it up and everybody whose stepping in is stepping up and making a contribution. They’re showing a true team spirit and a sporting way to win.

The Kings are a different team since the first round and it’s unexplainable how the San Jose Sharks won the first three games off this Kings team and put them on the brink of elimination and they came back and won four straight. This Kings team is just like their re-energized like they have a new sense of health and energy to go out there and pound the boards.

The Kings aren’t scoring right away and that’s okay they know that it’s a long game as long as they play the full 60 minutes they can get them in the end and they’ve come back and played a real strong second and third period in the last few games. The Hawks need to weather the storm and stay on their game plan and the thing about Chicago their not capitalizing on some of the chances their getting.

Montreal vs. NY Rangers: The Montreal Canadiens are in much of the same position as the Blackhawks are one game from being eliminated. In the last couple games the Rangers have been absolutely phenomenal. Game four was back and forth at the Bell Centre, it was punishing, hard hitting, fast pace, they were countering off each others mistakes.

If a player’s puck bounces out early, they have to play defense quick, and then back and forth and their are passes out and they have to play defense quick again. In overtime games and sudden death the first goal wins. That’s the first mistake you see at the end of the game.

Game five was an overtime loss for Montreal 3-2, they played a good hard game, and they fought back and they came from behind with two goals. The Habs played at MSG in New York, they played tough, and they were countering all the right moves and the bottom line is at the end the Rangers Martin St.Louis puts one past Habs goaltender Dustin Tokarski.

The Rangers seemed to get a lot of breakouts, there have been passes right to guys who stretch passes going out and they find an opening and see the puck coming to their team and start skating down the ice and before you know it they put it on their stick and the Rangers can do some damage on offense, it’s great hockey play and the Rangers certainly learned how to adapt in this series against Montreal.

Larry Leavitt is covering the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants’ hot stretch interrupted by Samardzjia and the Cubs

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By Morris Phillips

Cubs’ pitcher Jeff Samardzjia played the great equalizer in Chicago’s 8-4 win over the Giants on Memorial Day.

In a meeting of teams with the best and worst records in the National League, Samardzjia single-handedly flipped the script by pitching seven plus innings—walking none and striking out 10—and cooling the hot bats of the Giants after a rocky, first couple of innings. 

For the Giants, the loss marked a blip on a solid stretch of play in which they had won nine of 13.  For the Cubs, the win felt like a new beginning, especially since it marked the first win of Samardzjia’s season thus far, which has been plagued by poor run support and just plain, bad luck. 

How poorly has Samardzjia fared with his personal results in fashioning a league-leading 1.46 ERA in 10 starts and 68 innings pitched?  He’s the first pitcher in the history of the game to have such a microscopic ERA over 10 starts to begin a season and not register even one win. 

Can you spell “poor run support?”  Samardzjia can—as well as spell his own, eye-chart of a last name—but don’t count on him doing it inside or even outside of the Cub’s clubhouse.

“Not once has he been negative about the run support or not having a win,” teammate Nate Schierholtz said.

“He’s been grinding all season,” Cubs manager Rick Renteria said.  “That’s what the good ones do: they don’t get bothered by things they can’t control.”

“This game will tell you a lot about yourself,” Samardzjia said of his plight.  “You just gotta keep doing your work.”

Just this month, Samardzjia’s been through an emotional wringer.  On May 5 at home against the White Sox, the former Notre Dame All-American in football as a wide receiver, threw 126 pitches and went nine innings, but left with the game tied at 1.  The Cubs went on to lose in 12 innings, 3-1.  In his next start at Atlanta, Samardzjia went six innings and allowed two hits in a scoreless game, but a prolonged rain delay ended his afternoon. 

And on May 21 against the Yankees, Samardzjia went seven innings, allowing four hits and no runs, leaving with a 2-0 lead.  But the Yankees rallied and beat the Cubs, 4-2 in 13 innings. 

Early on in this one, Samardzjia seemed to have an issue with red-hot Pablo Sandoval, who has spent the last three weeks on a tear, hitting .348 with 23 hits in his last 18 games.   Sandoval singled home a run in the first—after Samardzjia’s fielding error allowed Angel Pagan to reach—and then hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Giants a 3-1 lead.  Both hits came on two-strike counts and according to the Cubs’ Darwin Barney, Sandoval’s single may have been the best swing off Samardzjia all year.

“He’s got dumb pop,” Samardzjia said respectfully of the Panda. 

But the Giants’ early fortune wouldn’t last.  Samardzjia settled in with his 95-96 mph fastball and nasty slider and also helped himself with the bat.  In the Cubs’ three-run fifth, the pitcher delivered an RBI double that one-hopped the wall behind Hunter Pence. 

With a lead, the Cubs more often than not have collapsed in 2014.  But this time, the NL West leading Giants were the ones to blink.  David Huff relieved Giants’ starter Yusmeiro Petit to start the sixth, trailing 4-3, and allowed seven hits and four runs while recording just four outs.  Huff didn’t help himself in the error-plaugued seventh when he had the Cubs’ Junior Lake picked off, but threw the ball past Buster Posey at first, allowing Lake to get to third base.  

In the same frame, shortstop Brandon Crawford booted a grounder for an error and second baseman Brandon Hicks let Luis Valbuena’s grounder glance off his glove on a play that was initially labeled Hicks’ error but later changed to a hit.

Even with the loss, the Giants maintained their five game lead over the Rockies, who were shut out in Philadelphia, 9-0.  The Dodgers were also five games back with their series opener against the Reds Monday night pending at press time.

The Giants get Tim Hudson on the hill Tuesday night in a matchup with the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta.  Hudson has thrown just three innings since May 11 after getting skipped a turn due to his bout with a sore hip and throwing just three innings in his weather-shortened start last week in Denver.

“Rally Killers” Lift A’s to 10-0 Rout of Tigers

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By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — A note inscribed next to the Oakland Athletics line-up card posted this afternoon stated “Home runs can be rally killers”. After a 10-0 routing of the Detroit Tigers the A’s may have reason to rethink that mantra.

“Homers can be rally killers,” said A’s catcher Derek Norris. “But when you’re hitting four or five of them a game they can probably make a different statement. That’s more for the solo home runs. Anytime you can scratch off two, three grand slam home runs, those are hardly rally killers. That’s how you bury a team.”

The A’s (31-20) did just that, outmuscling the visiting Tigers (28-19) in a Memorial Day matinee at the O.Co coliseum capped by Derek Norris’ first career grand slam. Five different Athletics homered, including four solo shots off Tigers starter Drew Smyly (2-3, 3.86 ERA) to snap a four-game losing skid. A’s starter Tommy Milone (3-3, 3.50) turned in a brilliant performance, going 6 2/3 innings without surrendering a run against a potent Tiger offense that tops the junior circuit with a .278 team batting average.

“Zero runs, that’s always a good day,” said Milone. “I’ve got to give it to my defense and obviously the offense. They backed me up today.”

Milone threw an economical 105 pitches, needing more than 20 pitches in an inning only once to retire the side, yielding a scant four hits to the visitors. The lefty collected six K’s, one shy of a season-high, while only issuing two walks. Andrew Romine and reigning AL MVP Miguel Cabrera represented the lone Tigers hitters to reach second base Monday afternoon, each doubling off Milone. The A’s starter now has three wins in four starts after dropping three-straight decisions over his first five appearances.

“I think he was just trying to do too much,” said battery mate Norris. “He was trying to create stuff that wasn’t there. Finally I said to just sit back and throw the baseball just like you know how. His focus has been higher, his determination has been higher. He’s been attacking hitters and not shying away from contact.”

Brandon Moss opened the long ball barrage, leading off the second inning with a deep blast to right center that Austin Jackson nearly scaled the wall to steal. Moss’ extra-base hit marks his 18th of the month, tying an A’s record with Jason Giambi (2001) for most in May. Two batters later, designated hitter Blanks took Smyly yard on a 2-1 offering to make it 2-0 Oakland.

“There are very few guys on this ball club that are trying to hit home runs,” said Norris. “You look at some of the guys like Moss and (Josh) Donaldson, they’ve literally shaped their swings to try to become fly ball hitters and have home run swings. It’s definitely an art that not everyone can grasp.”

For Blanks, it was the first home run hit as a member of the Athletics after coming over in a May 15th trade with the San Diego Padres. Blanks’ last Major League round-tripper came 49 games ago on June 16, 2013. He also spent some time in the minors with the Padres since then.

“It makes him feel like a part of the team that much quicker when you get into a game like that,” said manager Bob Melvin. “You’re scoring runs with homers. It really gets you feeling like ‘Hey, I’m a part of this team’.”

Josh Donaldson and Yoenis Cespedes added back-to-back solo blasts off Smyly in the bottom of the third for a 4-0 edge. The twin displays of power marked the second time this season consecutive batters have homered, with Cespedes and Moss achieving the feat May 9th. The A’s made it a six-pack in the fourth after Coco Crisp hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly and Josh Donaldson hit a run-scoring two-out single off Smyly. In total, the Tigers starter went five innings while allowing six runs, all earned, to accompany two walks and a trio of strikeouts.

Norris brought the scoring into double digits, launching his first career grand slam to deep center field off reliever Phil Coke in the Oakland half of the 8th. Blanks opened the inning by drawing a walk, moved to second when Craig Gentry was awarded first base on catcher’s interference. Crisp reached base on an error to load the bases for the Oakland backstop.

“I hit the ball hard a couple times earlier and came away with nothing,” said the A’s catcher after going 0-4 heading into his 8th inning at-bat. “I was just trying to get the RBI. I was trying to get something out over the plate. Fortunately it just came back over the middle and I put a good swing on it.”

Dan Otero and Sean Doolittle pitched 2 and 1/3 innings of perfect relief to finish off the drubbing of Detroit, the team that bounced Oakland from the playoffs in 2012 and 2013. The reeling Tigers now have lost seven of their last eight, but send 2013 Cy Young winner Max Scherzer to the mound to play stopper Tuesday night. The A’s will counter with ace Sonny Gray.

“Sonny’s always pumped,” said Norris when asked if there was any extra motivation for the young A’s starter facing a familiar playoff foe. “He’s 100 percent determined every fifth day. He’s on it, he’s focused. He’s ready.”

Earthquakes Explode for Three Goals in Dominant Win Over Houston

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By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–The San Jose Earthquakes earned their second consecutive home win on Sunday Night with an impressive three goal win over the Houston Dynamo.  The win for San Jose also marks the fifth straight time the home team takes away at least one point from Buck Shaw Stadium.

The Earthquakes were able to do it without star, Chris Wondolowski, who is on leave for the United States National Team, in which he was named to the World Cup team earlier this week.  “The guys are trying to fill the void of not having Wondo, and it clearly worked tonight,” said Earthquakes Head Coach, Mark Watson.

Khari Stephenson lead the charge for the Quakes with two goals, his first two of the season.  The first came in the 37th minute after a miscue from the Dynamo lead to an indirect kick for San Jose.  After a tap of the ball from teammate, Shea Salinas,  Stephenson drilled it into the bottom left corner of the net to take the 1-0 lead.  It wouldn’t be until the Second Half until Stephenson scored his second goal.  Steven Lenhart created the opportunity by being a pest in the 18-yard box and drawing a foul.  Stephenson found the bottom left corner again on the penalty kick in the 58th minute.

Atiba Harris capped off the scoring with his first of the season that came off of a hustle play.  On a bouning ball to Houston Goalkeeper Tally Hall, Harris steeped up and applied pressure, beating the keeper to the ball with his head.  The ball took a home bounce of the post and found Harris for the tap in.

Houston forced Quakes Goalkeeper, Jon Busch, to come up huge to earn his clean sheet.  The Dynamo outshoot the Quakes 13-12 and 6-4 with shots on target.  Houston had their best chances come in the 30th and 33rd minutes, as Busch stopped three of the six on target in that span.  In the 30th minute, Warren Creavalle headed a cross inside the six-yard box forcing Busch to make the diving save to his right.  Only three minutes later, Houston found a header once again in the six-yard box off the head of Will Bruin.  Busch made the initial save, but the rebound found the foot of Bruin, where Busch somehow found a way to get in front of that shot as well.  “Those two stops kept us in the game,” added Watson.  Busch earns his fourth clean sheet of the season in the win.

San Jose earns three points in the win, however remains in sixth place in the Western Conference, only trailing the Colorado Rapids by two points.  The Quakes return to the pitch on Saturday, May 31 as they travel to take on FC Dallas.

Ibaka comes back; so does OKC

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By George Devine, Sr.

The Oklahoma City Thunder took game 3 in the west from the San Antonio Spurs, 106-97, to head off a sweep and make it a 2-1 series. The hometown crowd roared with enthusiasm after the team’s return from Texas, and even more so when Serge Ibaka was seen in uniform and ready to play. The popular and effective defender was considered finished for the year with a calf strain but was back in action for just under thirty minutes. He made the difference, and likely prevented more points than he scored.

Ibaka did score 15 points, or an average of a point every two minutes. Just as importantly, he had 4 blocks and 7 rebounds, 5 of them on defense. He was not the high scorer. That honor went ot Russell Westbrook with 26; he also contributed 7 valuable assists and 8 boards. Kevin Durant was close behind in points with 25 and had 10 rebounds. Reggie Jackson matched Ibaka at 15 points and had 5 assists.

Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio in all quarters but the first, and dominated from the floor with a 45.7 percentage as distinct from the visitors’ 39.6; the Spurs led in the other offensive categories, however (93.8-85.9 from the line and 38.5-27.8 on treys).

For the Spurs, Manu Ginobili hit for 23, Tim Duncan had 16 points and 8 rebounds; Kawhi Leonard had 10 points and Tony Parker was held to 9.

The series continues with Game 4 at 9 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 27.

A’s are swept out of Toronto

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics were swept out of Canada on Sunday as the Blue Jays defeated them by the score of 3-1. Not only did the Jays sweep the three-game series but the loss extended the A’s losing streak to four consecutive games. The losing streak does not mean the season is over for Oakland. Teams have winning and losing streaks over the course of a six-month season. The key to success is to not let the losing streaks go on for too long.

The A’s ran into a buzz –saw by the name of J.A. Happ on Sunday. Happ – who started the season on the disabled list and became a starter only after another Toronto pitcher went down with injuries. Happ started his fifth game of the season on Sunday and came away with his fourth victory versus just one defeat.

Happ pitched seven scoreless innings giving up just four hits while striking out seven Athletics and walking just three batters. Happ threw 110 pitches (75 strikes) in facing just 28 hitters. His key to success was inducing the Oakland batters to hit high fly balls for outs.

Dustin McGowan entered the game to set it up for the closer but gave up one-run on one-hit. The hit was a towering 400-plus foot home run by Josh Donaldson (11) over the center field fence. It would be the only run Oakland would score.

Casey Janssen came on in the ninth-inning to pick up his seventh save of the season. Jansen’s ERA after 8 appearances is 0.00.

Oakland starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz entered the game with a 15-inning scoreless streak on Sunday. After extending the streak to 18-innings, Pomeranz gave up a solo home run to Edwin Encarnacion. He then gave up back-to-back hits followed by a walk to load the bases. An inning-ending double play prevented any further damage.

Pomeranz ran into more trouble in the fifth-inning. Kevin Pillar led off with a single that was followed by a base-hit from Jose Reyes. Melky Cabrera drew a base-on-balls. Pomeranz went to the showers while Jim Johnson entered the game for Oakland.

Johnson gave up a single to left field to Jose Bautista that drove in Pillar from third. Jose Reyes tried to score as well but gunned down by an excellent throw from Cespedes to Derek Norris. The A’s escaped any further damage by retiring the side.

Johnson worked a scoreless sixth inning and gave way to Luke Gregerson. Gregerson gave up a run on just one hit. Jose Reyes led off with a single and went on to steal second and third bases. Jose Bautista then drove Reyes home on a sacrifice fly to deep left field for the Jays’ third and final run of the game.

Fernando Abad pitched the eighth inning and gave up no runs on two hits.

The A’s will have no time rest and recover from their road trip. Oakland kicks off a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers on Monday at 1:05 PM at O.co Coliseum. It will be a battle of lefthanders as the Tigers will start Drew Smyly (2-2, 2.97) and the A’s will counter with Tommy Milone (2-3, 3.99).

Morse breaks the code

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-It seems that the San Francisco Giants have found their groove, and they just love feasting on teams from the American League Central.

Michael Morse hit a bases clearing double in the bottom of the fifth inning that broke open what was a close game, as the Giants defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-1 before a crowd of 42,590, the 271st consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

It was a huge day for Morse at the plate, as he doubled three times in four at-bats and added a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning.

The Giants are now a perfect 6-0 versus the American League Central this season, after sweeping the Twins this weekend and having swept the Cleveland Indians from April 25-27.

Not to be out done, but Madison Bumgarner was absolutely solid against the Twins, as he went seven innings, allowing just one run, on only three hits, walking zero and striking out 10 and improves to 6-3 on the season.

By striking out 10 Twins on the afternoon, it was the 15th time in Bumgarner’s career that he topped the double figure plateau in strikeouts and the second time during the 2014 season.

Bumgarner also struck out 10 against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 5, a game that the Giants won by the final score of 7-2 at Dodger Stadium.

Pablo Sandoval got the Giants their first run of the game in first inning the bottom of the first inning, as he singled in Hunter Pence.

Morse then followed Sandoval with a hard hit sacrifice fly to left field that scored Buster Posey, who singled with one out.

Brian Dozier drove in the only Twins run of the afternoon in the top of the second inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Eduardo Escobar.

Hunter Pence gave the Giants a three-run in the bottom of the third inning, as he supplanted a Ricky Nolasco offering into the left field bleachers for his sixth home run of the season.

Tyler Colvin drove in the eighth and final run of the afternoon in the bottom of the eighth inning on a great play by Joe Mauer.

Other than great play at first base by Mauer, this is a day that he will probably by the time the Twins get on the plane and head back to Minneapolis that he would love to forget.

Mauer struck out three times versus Bumgarner, just the fifth time in his major league career that Mauer struck out three times in the same game.

In the series, Mauer went 4-for-13 with a double, a run scored and a RBI, the fourth hit of the series for Mauer came in the top of the ninth inning, as he singled off of George Kontos.

The other pitchers to turn the feat were C.C. Sabathia on two different occasions, John Lackey and Ryan Dempster

It was not a good day for Nolasco, as he went 4.2 innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits, walked one and struck out three and saw his record fall to 2-5.

NBA Playoffs report: OKC needing Ibaka back healthy to try to tie things up;Can George get out of the fog after having bell rung?

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by David Zizmor

San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City: The Spurs who lead the Thunder 2-1 in the series and who had handled the Thunder in the last two games. The Spurs right now are at their most dominate phase in this series. They’re really just destroying OKC so far. One of the big reasons why OKC is struggling their power forward Serge Ibaka is out with a calf injury late in the series against the Clippers and when this Western Conference series started he was moved out for remainder of the playoffs as of Sunday he is listed as day to day.

It was a huge deal because Ibaka is a very unusual power forward, meaning he’s unusual in today’s game because he’s a true power forward, he’s big bodied who can push guys around he can hang with the elite scorers like the Spurs Manu Ginobili around the perimiter. Ibaka is also good at cleaning up on the glass and he’s an excellent shot blocker.

Ibaka is a defender who you have to take care of and be mindful of and he can also score on the offensive end. There aren’t that many two way power forwards in the NBA these days. When you have one guy like him and you lose him it’s a really big deal and Ibaka was kind of a third wheel on that Thunder team.

OKC’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were great on the scoring but they weren’t so fantastic on defense is concerned. Ibaka was the reverse he was a great defender and a good offensive player but he’s great on defense. Ibaka was a great part of OKC’s weaponary and when you lose one part of that trifecta its a huge deal.

Miami vs. Indiana: It’s not going to be too crazy for Indiana trying to get back into this one, Miami hasn’t been able to play lights out basketball. If you look at game three the Pacers were up 15 points and Miami had to stage kind of a serious rally to get back and then right in the middle of the fourth quarter it was getting out of hand and the Heat were able to cruise right at the end of the game.

The Pacers were in the that game until late so if the Pacers can hold on and collect some of those problems in terms of defending LeBron and getting more production out of their team players like Paul George. They’ll make a game of it, keep in mind that George got kneed in the head by the Heat’s Dwayne Wade in game two and a lot of people didn’t think he would be able to play in game three because of a concussion.

It’s entirely possible George who is far and away the Pacers best player was in a little bit of a fog, if George can recover a little bit and get his head about him and play with a little more clarity in game four the Pacers are going to be in better shape. All the other players were doing pretty well, shooting guard Lance Stephenson had a great game for the Pacers in game three.

It just kind of went all for not when LeBron took over later in the game, Indiana has proven that they can hang with this Miami team and game two was very close until the end. In game one the Pacers kind of threw the gaunlet down, Miami has another game at home and if they win it and go up 3-1 they’ll be clearly in the drivers seat.

David Zizmor is covering the NBA Playoffs for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s miscues lead to a third straight loss at Toronto

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By Morris Phillips

 

If they don’t hit—or catch the ball—the American League’s hottest team can cool off pretty fast. Just reference the Oakland A’s, who have dropped a season-high three straight after a 5-2 loss in Toronto on Saturday.

The A’s maintained their 2 ½ game lead in the AL West as the Angels lost at home to the Royals, 7-4 in 13 innings.

Yoenis Cespedes got Oakland off to a fast start with a drive over the centerfield wall in the second inning off of R.A. Dickey. But the Toronto starter would settle in to his best start of the season after that.  Dickey pitched into the ninth inning, allowing just five hits and the one run on Cespedes’ homer.

Meanwhile, Jesse Chavez was pitching similarly, but couldn’t get assistance from the defense behind him. Left fielder Craig Gentry’s inability to pick Melky Cabrera’s single cleanly allowed speedy Anthony Gose to score all the way from first base and tie the game in the third inning.

In the fifth, and after Brett Lawrie had given the Blue Jays a lead with a solo homer, A’s first baseman Brandon Moss couldn’t field Cabrera’s grounder cleanly and that allowed Gose and Jose Reyes to race around the bases, giving Toronto a 4-1 lead.

The roof was open at the Rogers Centre in Toronto for the first time this season and A’s players felt the heat on the turf created a livelier bounces on ground balls. The two errors matched the number of miscues the A’s had suffered in their previous 11 games, but they were costly on a day that the offense couldn’t solve the conundrum of Dickey’s knuckler.

The A’s managed to mount a rally in the ninth that finally forced Dickey from the game. But closer Brett Cecil came on with the bases loaded, and after allowing a run-scoring sacrifice fly to Jed Lowrie, struck out Alberto Callaspo to end the game.

The A’s have dropped three straight after winning the first five games of their road trip through Cleveland, Tampa and Toronto. The offense has disappeared for the AL’s highest scoring team as the A’s have scored just 12 runs in the last five games.

The Blue Jays have won five straight and 15 of 20 by relying heavily on the long ball. Lawrie’s solo shot marked the seventh straight game that the Jays have hit at least one round tripper and they lead the Major Leagues with 37 home runs in May.

The A’s look to avoid a sweep on Sunday as Drew Pomeranz gets the start opposite J.A. Happ for Toronto.

 

Playoff Hockey: Underdogs, Upsets and Staying the Course

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By Mary Walsh

It has been a busy few days in playoff hockey. Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens pushed back to stop the New York Rangers from taking a 3-0 series lead. That show starred Montreal’s rookie goaltender Dustin Tokarski. Friday, the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors won their first Conference Final game at home. Saturday night, the Los Angeles Kings took a 2-1 series lead over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Now that the Kings have taken a lead in a series, and scored dozens of goals against the daunting Blackhawks (actually only 11 so far), is it safe to say that maybe the 2013-14 Sharks were not that far from their goal, if they were able to beat Los Angeles three games in a row? No. The Kings have proceeded at an erratic pace but they built up momentum in each progressive series. A strong start does not make up for a weaker finish, so the Sharks can’t take too much comfort in the Kings’ success thus far. The Kings are making a habit of giving up leads only to take them back, but that doesn’t mean there were not a lot of holes in the Sharks roster and strategy. Can the Sharks seal up those holes?

The good news, the biggest and best news from Shark territory so far, is that Larry Robinson has agreed to stay on. His new title is Associate Coach and Director of Player Development. If his title was “Guy Who Does Whatever He Feels Like Doing Today In The General Vicinity San Jose” it would still be a good deal. He is that helpful. It can also be seen as a positive indicator for the team: if Robinson thinks that staying on will not be a futile waste of his time, perhaps fans should have a little faith too.

Thursday on Yahoo! Sports Talk Live, Doug Wilson said that he does not have specific plans to acquire a big name free agent this summer. He did not rule it out but he did not say it was a goal. He also said that missing the playoffs for several seasons starting next year was not his plan. He does not plan to move his best young players. This makes me think that, despite pressure from the fan base and many sources of common sense, he could be planning very little in the way of major roster moves. I do not think that is a bad thing, but I am sure it would be unpopular.

Popular or not, moving big names to shake the team up is an enormous risk. How do you trade away Joe Thornton and/or Patrick Marleau, and avoid slipping badly in the standings, unless you pick up another very high-end forward to replace them? Do you get that player via trade? Who do you get them for if you want to keep your young roster? Do the Sharks have the picks to land such a player? As Wilson mentioned Thursday, however you bring someone in, you need to consider the impact that player will have on your younger players. He needs to not only be productive in his own right but supportive of your development plan.

Do Thornton and Marleau not fit that mold? There is no indication that either one of them undermines or stifles growth in their teammates. Their presence may be growing stale but change for change’s sake rarely pays off.

James Mirtle and Justin Bourne had a Twitter conversation about the high number of minutes being given to fourth lines in the Eastern Conference Final. It makes perfect sense, especially when teams have played a seven game series already, or more, to spread minutes around. But this means that you do need versatile players on that fourth line. You need guys who are reliable in the faceoff circle, tough along the boards, good shots, and reasonably able playmakers. As I said last week, you don’t need Mike Richards on that line but you do need someone who brings a lot more than energy and toughness.

Not so long ago people recognized that space on the bench could no longer be spared for designated fighters who could not do more than fight. Now the bar has been raised still higher: you need four lines that can play more than ten minutes and be better than “not a liability.” Your top six should not need more than 25 minutes per player to get the job done, and your fourth line should merit more than ten. Energy efficiency is about more than Gatorade.

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Dustin Tokarski. Folks who actually follow the Habs probably were not very surprised to see him chosen over Peter Budaj. Putting a rookie goaltender in a high pressure playoff situation is not unheard of, it just doesn’t often work out so well. A rookie comes in with some intangibles in his favor. Even if he has been scouted as much as possible, he simply has not played enough to be thoroughly scouted so the opponent won’t know how to beat him right away. That advantage fades fast. Another benefit can be that his team will rally around him, tighten up on defense to protect him. Or they might let him get shot to pieces like the Habs did in the first period of Game 3. That is where the real surprise was lurking, when Tokarski held the Habs in the game despite a 14-4 shot advantage for the Rangers. Tokarski may not be ready to steal a series but he certainly silenced the death knells in Montreal for now.

I find the Eastern Conference Final much more compelling than the Western, but I like upsets and underdogs. Both the Canadiens and the Rangers are sort of underdogs who achieved upsets. They are good teams, but the Canadiens were not supposed to beat the bestest team ever, aka the Bruins, because winners are supposed to play a big bruising game like the Bruins do. The Habs won anyway, and they did it their way.

The Rangers were not supposed to beat the Penguins because the Penguins have high performance superstars like Malkin and Crosby, while the Rangers had so many underperforming superstars like Nash, Richards and St. Louis. On top of that, the Rangers had to muscle through a brutal schedule to get where they are, and they did so anyway. Personal tragedy is getting a lot of credit for their turnaround, but they had all of these pieces from the get go. It is satisfying to see them go ahead like a dark horse people forgot about.

Speaking of dark horses, the Condors’ Friday win gave them a 2-1 lead in the series against the Alaska Aces. Saturday, the Aces thumped them 4-1 and tied the series back up. That is not very surprising. The Aces are aces. Nonetheless, the Condors are making a little Central Valley history this weekend. That the Condors ever took a lead in the series is impressive and inspiring. This is their first appearance in a Conference Final, and they have held their own. They have earned the nickname “Cardiac Condors” with numerous comebacks thus far and the Aces would be foolish to back off now. If the Aces come back tomorrow and stomp them like they did tonight, Condors fans have still gotten their money’s worth from a team that made an amazing turnaround in a season. After so many years of being perpetual playoff also-rans, this is a mighty accomplishment for Bakersfield.