Tag: Minnesota Wild

Goalies and Go-Getters: NHL Playoffs

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

Watching the French team beat the Canadians in the World Championships was one of the most entertaining viewing experiences I have had in a while. Even though I had to keep clicking through ad popups, exposing my computer to who knows what kind of hazards, the game was riveting. Sure, it went to a shootout, after a couple of power play goals from the French kept them in the game. Goalie Cristobal Huet also kept them in the game, neutralizing the not yet ready for prime time Canadian team. But who doesn’t love to see an underdog steal one?

The French are not the only underdogs playing right now. The Montreal Canadiens, though their record hardly looks like an underdog’s, had the Boston Bruins on the ropes for a bit. I wonder how many people became Habs fans then? It isn’t that the Bruins are so easy to root against, but they won the Cup so recently, and they are reputed to be big tough guys. The Habs are supposed to be quick and light in the way they play. (Hence the utter confusion about the Douglas Murray signing.) Yet even if the Bruins are the hounds and the Canadiens the foxes, it usually takes several hounds to take down one fox. That makes us root for the fox. We know one hound could never catch a fox on his own, but it still seems unfair to gang up on the little fox like that.

The thing is, it isn’t true. Apart from Zdeno Chara, the Bruins are not bigger than average for an NHL team, and the Canadiens are not small. Even their playing styles are exaggerated– the Bruins play fast whenever possible, and the Canadiens don’t scamper around the rink without standing their ground defensively.

Neither team shows the defensive recklessness of some teams (hello Pittsburgh), though both teams get reliable goaltending. Tuuka Rask and Carey Price are both exceptional, in their prime, and playoff hardened. Neither has been surprising in a good way or a bad way. They have performed as expected: very well.

The teams were more evenly matched than advertised, but hyperbole makes it a better story.

What is not exaggerated are their respective playoff records. The Bruins won the Cup in 2011 and made it to the Finals last season. The Habs haven’t been to the Conference Finals since 2010, and they haven’t won a Cup since 1993. One of these teams is due, the other has won recently enough to remember the way clearly. The latter will not go quietly, if at all. The Bruins demonstrated as much by taking the lead in the series on Saturday.

Here in the West, Sharks fans may or may not be watching the Freeway Series between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. If they are watching, they may have noticed how strange it is that two teams that did so well at home have now turned into road warriors, if across town really counts as a road game. In any case, it is strange to see the Ducks cast in the underdog role, since they were so dominant in the regular season.

One of the more talked about issues is the way Bruce Boudreau has been handling the Anaheim goaltenders. He pulled Frederik Andersen twice before he had to be replaced for injury, always putting Jonas Hiller in. Hiller has played well, has experience, and probably deserved to start Saturday. But the Ducks started the season overloaded with young goaltending talent. They even traded one away to the Oilers, they had so many goalies. Now they can’t seem to find one the coach can rely on.

It doesn’t really breed confidence, to keep switching goaltenders. It also doesn’t breed confidence to have a goalie the team doesn’t trust to make all the stops he needs to make. Here is the problem with that– some teams play better defense with a backup in the net, precisely because they don’t trust him. Doesn’t it make more sense to give defense extra attention, no matter who is in goal? What if your awesome unbeatable goalie has an off night? It wouldn’t matter if you were helping him out enough.

See the Minnesota Wild and Ilya Bryzgalov for how to make it work. Bryzgalov has one of the most mercurial records in the NHL. This season alone, he had to claw his way back into the league after starting off signed to a PTO with an ECHL team. He is not stealing games for Minnesota, but they are doing pretty well for a team working on its fourth goalie in the season. In response, he is playing better behind them.

See the LA Kings and Jonathan Quick in Games 1 & 2 against Sharks for how to let it take you down. No matter how the Sharks lit him up, it took the Kings two games to figure out that their super-duper goalie was not going to win the game for them and he needed some help. Once they gave it to him all was well, but how it could take them so long to get their act together is mind-boggling.

They say that a goalie has to steal a couple of games along the road to a Stanley Cup. That may be true but it seems awfully risky to assume that your team is going to simply fall apart for a game or two along the way. Yes, if a Sharks goalie had stolen a game, or two, maybe they would still be in it. But after the way the Sharks played in Game 5, did they deserve to be?

Sometimes a team has no choice but to flip flop goalies through the playoffs. The 2010 Flyers made it as far as the Finals, changing starting goalies mid-playoffs due to injury. Michael Leighton had only been cleared to play the day before he replaced Brian Boucher, and each goaltender gave exceptional performances in turn. In the end, they were still being swapped mid-game, I suspect because neither was truly 100% healthy. Through it all, the rest of the team held it together, killed themselves on defense (Ian LaPerriere almost literally) and went further than the Sharks have ever gone.

Maybe confidence is over-rated. Maybe will is all.

Antti Niemi was a raw rookie in his first season of North American hockey when he won. He didn’t even play in the minors. The Blackhawks made due. There really is no sure-thing formula for the role goaltending plays in a Cup run. Everyone needs to pull their weight and a little more if possible. Should it matter to the Ducks whether Anderson or Hiller or Gibson is behind them? No. If the puck is behind them, they need to get it back in front of them ASAP, no matter who is perched in the paint. That’s a good rule for any team to follow.

What Might Have Been: Why the Sharks Wanted to Avoid the Kings

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

After the 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators Saturday night, the odds are pretty slim that the San Jose Sharks will face anyone but the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. Facing the Kings carries an expectation of excessive wear and tear. But there are more reasons than that for the Sharks to have preferred a different opponent for the first round. It is worth looking at how they match up against the Kings, as opposed to the Wild and the Stars, the most likely Wild Card candidates.

The Sharks have beaten each of the three teams twice this season, but they lost to the Kings three times, and only once to each of the other two. All three games against the Stars went to overtime, and except for one 4-1 loss, all the games against the Kings were one goal games. Only the games against the Wild were mostly two-goal games.

The Sharks hold a slight lead over the Stars in goal per game, made more slight on Saturday. The Sharks now average 2.90 to the Stars’ 2.88. The Kings and the Wild trail both teams significantly.

On the defensive side, the Kings gave up the fewest goals per game this season, with a miniscule 2.05. The Sharks are not far behind in the rankings at fourth. Numerically, the gap is bigger with the Sharks averaging 2.34 goals against. The Wild are just a hair behind that with 2.38. Dallas is the conspicuous standout here, having given up an average of 2.77 goals per game.

The Wild is the only one of the three with better power play results for the season, at 18% to the Sharks’ 17.6%. The Kings come close in penalty killing at 82.9%, but the Sharks still did better there than any of the possible opponents with 84.4%.

The Sharks and the Kings are first and second in faceoffs, while the Wild are 13th and the Stars 15th. The Sharks would have had a clear advantage against either of the latter there.

In goaltending, the Sharks’ starter Antti Niemi only has the advantage over the Dallas goaltenders. The Kings’ Jonathan Quick has turned in another statistically excellent season. Even the Minnesota goalie carousel has produced better results on average. The Wild have had some bad luck with the health of their goaltenders, and they will probably rely on recently-acquired Ilya Bryzgalov to start the playoffs. Josh Harding has returned to practice but there is no timeline on his return to play. Minnesota’s backup, Darcy Kuemper, has played well in his rookie season but he is not ready to carry the full load of a playoff team. Bryzgalov has not played many games in the NHL this season but he has played pretty well, including a shutout of the Penguins Saturday.

The Sharks’ Alex Stalock has excellent numbers but has started fewer than 20 games and is unlikely to be the playoff starter. He has played extremely well, but in limited appearances against select opponents. It would be unreasonable to expect the Sharks to give him the edge over Niemi.

Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty left Thursday’s game against the Sharks after an odd collision, but it isn’t clear how long that will keep the Kings’ lynchpin blueliner out of the game. His absence would of course benefit the Sharks.

It certainly would have been a better matchup for the Sharks to play the Wild, unless the uncertain status of the Wild goaltending tripped the Sharks up as it seems invariably to do. Additionally, the Sharks have had trouble beating teams well below them in the standings lately. Would that carry over to the playoffs? Probably not, but it is something to consider as a faint consolation.

In any case, it all appears moot since the Sharks still trail the Ducks and only have three games left to overtake them. The Kings will most likely be their dance partner in the first round, with only home ice to bolster San Jose’s chances. If Tomas Hertl returns for the second round, and if Raffi Torres returns for the first, the Sharks still have a shot to go deep, but they will have to get by Los Angeles with a minimum of casualties.

Sharks rally to beat Wild at home

Published on by philliptorres2013Leave a comment

By: Phillip Torres

SAN JOSE-The San Jose Sharks (34-12-6) hosted the Minnesota Wild (28-20-6) at the SAP Center in San Jose on Saturday night. The Sharks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Wild 3-2 in Overtime. Joe Thornton scored two goals, including the game winner in Overtime at 3:30. The sellout crowd of 17,562 witnessed a great game in the Overtime thriller.

Matt Cooke gave Minnesota the early 1-0 lead when he scored his eighth goal of the season.  Brad Stuart missed a pass and the puck deflected off the boards and Cooke scooped up the loose puck and put it past Annti Niemi at 9:33 for the unassisted score.

Keith Ballard scored his first goal of the season and his first score in 115 games to extend the Wild’s lead to 2-0 at 4:16 in the second period. The assists were earned by Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville.

The Sharks got on the board midway through the second period with a goal from Joe Thornton. Thornton scored his seventh goal of the season on a check shot that flew in the upper right corner of the net.  Joe Pavelski and Matt Irwin assisted at 11:12 to cut the lead in half at 2-1.

Less than one minute later San Jose tied the game after Patrick Marleau knocked a wrist shot into the net at 12:01 Tommy Wingels and Irwin earned the assists on the game tying goal.

The third period was a defensive struggle as both teams were held scoreless and the score remained tied 2-2 at the end of regulation.

Thornton hit the game winning shot at 3:30 to carry the Sharks to a victory, their 34th victory of the season. Pavelski passed the puck to Thornton in the left circle where slapped a bullet into the net for the game clinching goal.

The Sharks will be back on the ice on Monday when they host the Los Angeles Kings. The puck will drop at 7:00 PM. 

Sharks power play sinks the Wild

Published on by Ivan MakarovLeave a comment

By Ivan Makarov

Sharks were looking for answers to the questions about their recent struggles after they lost four in the row. They found these answers on Thursday back at SAP Center against Minnesota Wild. The key to overcoming those struggles, as it turned out, was a great game from special teams.

Sharks power play shined against the Wild, and was credited with all the three goals of the night after going 3 for 6 on their attempts. On the other side of the ice, Sharks penalty kill was perfect, killing all three attempts they faced while stopping eighth power play unit in the league.

“I think we obviously found the work ethic on the power play,” said Joe Pavelski after the game where he scored two. “It certainly didn’t look pretty, but we’ve taken more shots, and got a lot more pucks back, and feel a lot better now.”

The game started well for the Sharks, like it often did this season ay home. With Wild taking penalties, Joe Pavelski scored a power play goal at 5:54 mark in the first period. After passing the puck along the boards, Dan Boyle found Pavelski with the pass at the top of the face off circle. Pavelski shot it Iow and it went into the goal after hitting one of the players in the crease and going between Niklas Backstrom’s pads.

Wild did not stop taking penalties in that period, and with their fourth penalty in that stretch of the game, they gave the Sharks 5-on-3 power play for 1:30. Sharks could not score with the two men advantage, but still had 30 second to play on one man advantage. It was at that time that Tomas Hertl put one into the net. The goal came as a result of a great individual play from Tommy Wingels who kept the puck from clearing, powered his way towards the net and passed it to Hertl who was wide open in the front.

Wild got into more penalty trouble in the second period. One of the key moments in game happened when Zenon Konopka was sent into the penalty box with a double minor for high sticking. Sharks scored again, with Joe Pavelski earning his second goal of the night, as he picked up the rebound neat the crease and put it past Nicklas Backstrom’s who was stretched out on the ice after making a save.

With the three goal lead, the Sharks put themselves into defensive mode, and their penalty kill had to work hard to protect the lead after Wild were awarded several power plays. None of them were as important as when Tomas Hertl was sent into the box, earning his first NHL penalty for a holding against Jonas Brodin. Wild were all over the Sharks in their zone, and with Brad Stuart breaking his stick, it looked a lot like 5-on-3 for a while. Sharks fought hard, and were able to stop the Wild from scoring, keeping their advantage to three goals. Hertl made a great play as well coming out of the box, as he chased after the puck, preventing an icing call on the play, and allowing his tired teammates to change.

“[That play by Hertl] was huge,” said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. “He comes out of the penalty box, we got the clear, both teams are exhausted, so to have them get the line change with us already having used our time out and having have to continue. That was a pretty big and important point.”

Minnesota Wild finally broke their scoring drought in the third period when Brodin scored in front of the net on a deflected shot that was taken by Justin Fontaine at 12:36 mark in the third period. But their effort came a little too late and the Sharks were able to defend their lead and win the game.

With the victory, the Sharks ended their 4-game losing streak, and no doubt added confidence in their special teams ability, which was not consistent in the last few weeks. They are next back in action on the three game road trip that starts on Saturday in Nashville, followed by games in St Louis and Los Angeles.

Sharks Drop 3rd in a Row, Lose 3-1 to Wild

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

ST PAUL-  Sunday afternoon, the Sharks’ losing streak grew to three with a 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Two second-period goals were scored by Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu. Wild goaltender Josh Harding made 37 saves. The Sharks finally scored at the end of the game with their net empty. That goal was scored by Patrick Marleau with just over a minute left in regulation. Instead of going on to tie the game, the Sharks gave up an empty-net goal, Zach Parise’s second of the game.

During pre-game, Drew Remenda asked Sharks defenseman Justin Braun what the defense needed to do to get the team back on track. Braun’s answer was straightforward:

We’ve got to get the puck up to the forwards’ hands as fast as possible, we can’t be slow tonight.

The Sharks did get credit for a lot of shots in the game, the forwards did have the puck a lot. They were rarely trapped in their own zone, but their play in the offensive zone was hampered by a determined Minnesota defense.

Matt Nieto, back from the AHL, led the Sharks in shots with six, while Patrick Marleau and Brent Burns led the team in hits with three each. The Sharks’ game went from uninspired in the first period to discombobulated in the third.

As expected, Todd McLellan made several changes to the Sharks’ lineup for the Sunday afternoon game in Minnesota. Joe Pavelski was moved to the right wing on a line with Couture and Marleau. Martin Havlat sat, possibly due to injury from a blocked shot in the previous game. John McCarthy also sat, while Matt Nieto took a spot on a line with Andrew Desjardins and Tommy Wingels. Freddie Hamilton was slotted in at center on a line with James Sheppard and Tyler Kennedy. Both Jason Demers and Matt Irwin played, with Scott Hannan sitting out. Irwin was paired with Dan Boyle while Demers was with Brad Stuart, putting Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun back together. The only line that was untouched was the Thornton line with Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl.

The first period could be called tentative. The Sharks outshot the Wild, and the Sharks had one power play after Charlie Coyle was called for holding the stick. It was as tepid a period as could be without a lot of stoppages. There was little indication that the lineup changes had energized the team. Luckily for San Jose, Minnesota wasn’t much more lively. The period ended scoreless, with the shots 11-5.

The Sharks came out with more energy in the second period, but those second period problems are starting to look like a curse more than a habit. With only 2 shots on goal, the Wild had a 2-0 lead. The Sharks were unlucky with a non-call when Minnesota’s Zach Parise knocked the stick from Justin Braun’s hands. Seconds later, Parise scored off the rebound of a shot made easier by Braun being stickless.

A bad line change from the Sharks followed, leaving two Sharks to defend a three man rush that became a four on two before reinforcements could arrive. As mistakes go, that was a bad one and it put the Sharks down 2-0.

The Sharks were not able to make any of their 21 shots pay off. Joe Pavelski and Justin Braun each had chances one on one with Wild goaltender Josh Harding, but they couldn’t beat him.

Probably the best Sharks chance of the period came on a short-handed attack from Matt Nieto, who was almost more that two Wild defenders and Harding could handle. He had a couple of shots in close before they fended him off.

The second period ended 2-0 Minnesota, with the shots at 32-11. The Sharks also finished the period a man down, as Brad Stuart was in the box for holding the stick, though it was hard to say whose stick he held or when.

The Sharks started the third still on the penlty kill. Joe Pavelski and Andrew Desjardins had a good 2 on 1 shorthanded chance to end the kill, but Desjardins couldn’t make the shot. A good backcheck from Minnesota and a quick slide by Harding cut down his options.

The Sharks only managed 5 shots in the first half of the third, though the Wild still had none. Nino Niederreiter took a high-sticking penalty about six minutes in, but the Sharks power play still couldn’t score.

In all, the Sharks’ power play went 0-4, their penalty kill 2-0. Antii Niemi made 10 saves on 12 shots.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Josh Harding, 2nd: Mikko Koivu with one goal on one shot, and 3rd: Torrey Mitchell with two shots.

San Francisco Bulls add 6’8″ Riley Emerson to lineup

Published on by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment
Guess which one Riley is..
Guess which one Riley is..

By Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Bulls announced today the signing of forward Riley Emmerson. At 6-foot, 8-inches, he becomes the tallest player in Bulls history. The Vancouver, British Columbia native spent last season with the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League. There, he ranked second on the team with 95 penalty minutes in 55 games, adding five goals and an assist.

“Riley adds a whole new dimension to this team” said SF Bulls President and Head Coach Pat Curcio. “At 6-8, he can use his size in front of the net effectively and will be a physical force on the ice.”

Emmerson was drafted in 2005 by the Minnesota Wild and since then he has been a bit of journeyman playing in the ECHL three times, the AHL twice and the WHL and CHL each for one season.

Check out some highlights from his 2012 season with Toledo Walleyes.

(Bonus points for the fan in the stands with the Dino Cicarelli Minnesota North Stars jersey!)