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Unreal way to lose Some things just aren't meant to be. The Sharks should be preparing for a Game 6, but some shoddy officiating with seconds left in regulation and a deflection that can only be described as horrific handed the Vancouver Canucks a victory in Game 5 and the Western Conference Championship on Tuesday night in British Columbia. The Sharks held a 2-1 lead with 13.2 second left in regulation but Vancouver tied the game, then stole the win at 10:18 of the 2nd overtime with a goal off what will forever be remembered as "the deflection." Vancouver was the benefactor of a missed call on what turned into a Sharks icing with 28.2 seconds left in regulation. A clearing attempt hit Daniel Sedin in the shoulder as it exited the Sharks zone, forcing it to change direction. The icing should have been waved off, but instead it gave Vancouver a draw in the Sharks zone with an extra attacker. >> More WCF Game 3 Notes Joe Thornton, Jamie McGinn and whiney coaches Guess who's leading the NHL in playoff scoring this spring? Joe Thornton vaulted to the top of the league stat sheet with his three assist night. Thornton has 8 points (1 G, 7 A) in his last six games. >> More McGinn's major penalty almost jeopardizes win The San Jose Sharks turned the tables on the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night at HP Pavilion, taking a 4-3 decision in a wild Game 3. The Sharks cruised for most of the evening, but a boarding major by Jamie McGinn gave the Canucks a 5 minute power play with 8:38 to play, allowing Vancouver to rally. The Canucks scored two goals on the lengthy power play to make things interesting late, but San Jose held on to cut Vancouver's series lead to 2-1. >> More WCF Game 2 Notes Ben Eager, Kevin Bieksa and Vancouver flashers It was deja vu all over again. A year removed from their Conference Final debacle against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Sharks find themselves down 2-0 once again. Last year, they looked like they were standing still against the speedy Blackhawks. The biggest issue San Jose has faced through two games in the Vancouver series is the same speed issue. Sharks Head Coach Todd McLellan said the Sharks looked like "dogs chasing cars". It didn't get much better in Game 2. >> More Vancouver takes Game 2 with 7-3 rout The 3rd period continues to be a house of horrors for the San Jose Sharks. Trailing by a single goal entering the final 20 minutes in Game 2 on Wednesday night, San Jose imploded by surrendering 4 goals to the Vancouver Canucks in a 7-3 route at Rogers Arena in British Columbia. Six different Canuck skaters scored goals, including Daniel Sedin who had a pair of goals in the shellacking. >> More WCF Game 1 Notes Jason Demers, Christian Ehrhoff and fatigue The Sharks kept their streak of Game 1 losses in a Conference Finals in tact. San Jose is 0-3 in the opening game, having lost to Calgary and Chicago, prior to their 3-2 loss on Sunday night. >> More Sharks blow another 3rd period lead Holding 3rd period leads has never been an issue for the San Jose Sharks. The playoffs have proven to be a very different situation for San Jose, who surrendered 2 goals in the 3rd period on Sunday night to drop Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks. San Jose looked poised to steal the series opener before a raucous Vancouver crowd, but clutch goal by Kevin Bieksa and a questionable penalty setup the game winner by Henrik Sedin. >> More Marleau answers critics with game winning goal All the drama and suspense of the Sharks Game 7 date with the Detroit Red Wings came to a head on Thursday night, and it couldn't have been more intense. When the smoke cleared, San Jose finds itself preparing for the Western Conference Finals series with the Vancouver Canucks, after taking a wild 3-2 decision over the Red Wings. The Sharks silenced some of their critics by knocking off a persistent Red Wings hockey club, scoring clutch goals and getting another monster performance from goaltender Antti Niemi. >> More Sharks blow another 3rd period lead, allow 3 unanswered goals San Jose was hoping for the improbable this spring, and they partially fulfilled that wish on Tuesday night by handing Detroit a third straight game, blowing their three games to none advantage in the series to force a Game 7 on Thursday night. San Jose blew a 3rd period lead for the second consecutive game, as Detroit scored three unanswered goals in the final frame to take a 3-1 win at Joe Louis Arena. >> More Game 6 Gameday No Clowe or Franzen tonight Let the rumor mill start buzzing. The Sharks confirmed that forward Ryane Clowe did not make the trip to Detroit for Game 6. The team is citing "flu like symptoms" as the reason Clowe will miss tonight's game. The Sharks forward was on the receiving end of a big hit by Niklas Kronwall late in Game 5. >> More SJ blows 2-goal lead in the 3rd, back to Detroit for Game 6 The San Jose Sharks skated like a team destined to take a deciding fourth win in their Western Conference Semi Final series against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night for 41 minutes. Problem is, hockey games are 60 minutes. After taking a commanding 3-1 lead a minute into the 3rd period, the Sharks reopened their casket of playoff demons with a painful 19 minutes that allowed the Red Wings to score three unanswered goals and take Game 5 with a 4-3 win on HP Pavilion ice. >> More Red Wings desperation extends series, Sharks drop Game 4 San Jose knew it was coming, but yet they were still unprepared for it. With their backs against the wall, the Detroit Red Wings came out swinging in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semi Final on Friday night and caught the Sharks with a flurry of jabs that would extend the series to a fifth game on Sunday. Detroit scored 3 goals in the 1st period, then bagged the game winner late in the 3rd period after the Sharks battled back to tie the game. >> More Sharks push Wings to the brink with Game 3 win A year ago to the day, Patrick Marleau beat the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 of the Sharks Western Conference Semi Finals with an overtime goal. Devin Setoguchi repeated Marleau's feat with a monster goal in overtime to propel the Sharks to a 3-0 lead in this year's Conference Semi-Finals. Setoguchi was a one-man wrecking crew on Wednesday night, completing his 1st career playoff hat-trick with the game winning goal in the extra session. >> More SJ grabs a 2-0 lead in series heading to Motown The Sharks took care of business on Sunday afternoon, taking Game 2 from the Detroit Red Wings in their Western Conference Semi-Final matchup with a 2-1 victory. Powered by goals from defensemen Ian White and Niclas Wallin, San Jose took a 2-0 lead in the series. Sharks netminder Antti Neimi stopped 33 shots to earn his 3rd consecutive win in the playoffs. >> More WCSF Game 2 Notes Niclas Wallin, Ian White and snow showers The only statistic that matters in a series is who wins and who loses. The Sharks are up 2-0 in their Western Conference Semi Final series with Detroit. Should they close out the series, might we say just flat out dominant when it comes to dealing with the Red Wings? San Jose is 9-2 in their last 11 games against the Wings (4-1 in the 2010 Playoffs, 3-1 in the regular season and 2-0 in the current playoff series). >> More Sharks take 1-0 lead in WCSF series with Red Wings Todd McLellan may just be a genius. Kicking off the Western Conference Semi-Final series with the Detroit Red Wings, the Sharks coach decided to insert rookie right winger Benn Ferriero into the lineup in place of Jamal Mayers. The move turned out to be huge, as the 4th line player scored in overtime to help propel the Sharks to a 2-1 win at HP Pavilion. >> More Ahead, behind, and into the Second Round Bring on the Red Wings So it's the Red Wings, again. The Sharks all time are 2-2 against the Wings in playoff series, though Wings fans are pained to accept it, and they (both fans and Red Wings team) haven't changed all that much since last year. Did sweeping Phoenix in four let them get stale or give them a needed rest? Don't guess stale, it's going to be a battle for the Sharks. >> More Thornton closes out series with OT thriller Sharks kill 5 minute major late then finish off the Kings Joe Thornton has taken a lot of heat during his career for not delivering in the playoffs. Jumbo was extra large on Monday night, as he scored an overtime goal to help the San Jose Sharks close out their first round series with the Los Angeles Kings in improbably fashion. The Sharks were tagged with a 5 minute penalty late in regulation, but they survived the infraction and then ended the Kings season on Thornton's game winner. >> More Niemi the right choice to start Game 6 Goaltender didn't receive a lot of help in previous loss If you've been watching the playoffs outside of the San Jose - Los Angeles series, you'll know there have been some great games and compelling story lines in the other seven series being played. One of those has been the struggles Roberto Luongo has had of late in the Vancouver Canucks series with the Chicago Blackhawks. Luongo's issues in net have been a point of focus as the Canucks lost a third straight game on Sunday, to force a Game 7 in that series. Antti Niemi has had his share of critics in Game 2, 3 and 5 of the Sharks Western Conference Quarter Final series, but he's not in the same boat as Luongo. >> More Series heads back to LA after 3-1 Kings win Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarter Final match-up between the Sharks and Kings came down to good goaltending and bad goaltending. San Jose netminder Antti Niemi couldn't buy a stop and his adversary Jonathan Quick, turned aside 51 shots to help the Kings win 3-1 and survive to play a Game 6 on Monday night. Niemi surrendered 3 goals on 4 shots in the opening 9 minutes of play, to seal the Sharks fate. There would be no comeback for San Jose, who failed to close out the series. >> More Sharks take Game 4 with big 6-3 win San Jose steam rolls Los Angeles with another half dozen goals The Sharks grabbed a stranglehold on their Western Conference Quarter Final series with the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, by taking a big 6-3 win on the road in Game 4. Five different Sharks scored goals, including Ryane Clowe, who bagged a pair in the win. Antti Niemi made 35 stops to earn his 3rd win of the series. His counterpart, Jonathan Quick, surrendered 6 goals for the second consecutive game. >> More WCQF Game 4 Notes Stats, notes and other happenings from SoCal Scott Nichol's performance shouldn't be undersold. His ability to get Drew Doughty off the ice was the turning point in the game. Open ice allowed the Sharks to go to work on offense. >> More Unbelievable Sharks overcome 4-0 deficit to stun Kings in Game 3 Should the Sharks go on to bigger and better things this spring, they'll have to look back to Tuesday night in Los Angeles and know this may have been the turning point for the franchise. Down 4-0 in the 2nd period, the Sharks stunned a sold out Staples Center to comeback and win 6-5 in overtime. Devin Setoguchi scored the biggest goal of his career 3:09 into overtime to bring the Sharks back from the dead. San Jose regained home ice advantage by taking Game 3 in improbable fashion. >> More WCQF Game 3 Notes Stats, notes and other happenings from SoCal Still trying to figure out how Patrick Marleau got that pass past Dustin Penner and and Handzus. Watch the replay to see just how close it was. >> More Kings exploit Sharks biggest weakness Series tied 1-1 after Kings shutout toothless Sharks So much for home ice advantage. So much for avenging Ian White. So much for Jarret Stoll's suspension. The Sharks flat out missed the bus to their Game 2 match up with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night. The Kings took advantage of a flurry of dumb Shark penalties and exploited San Jose's penalty kill en route to a 4-0 white washing at HP Pavilion. Drew Doughty tied a Kings playoff record by recording 4 points in the game. >> More I-5 Series kicks off with an OT thriller Pavelski gives Sharks 1-0 series lead with 16th career playoff goal The Sharks and Kings kicked off their Western Conference Quarter Final series on Thursday night in San Jose, and from every indication, this is going to be a barn-burner. The Kings overcame two deficits to extend the game to overtime, but Joe Pavelski's dramatic game-winner in the first extra session vaulted the Sharks to an early 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven affair. Pavelski snapped a 24-foot laser that beat Jonathan Quick top shelf for his third career playoff overtime winner, and 16th playoff goal. >> More Post Game Notes: WCQF Game 1 San Jose 3 - Los Angeles 2 (OT) » Sharks head coach Todd McLellan had plenty to say after the Sharks win regarding the Jarret Toll hit on Ian White. McLellan pointed out that his team lost a defenseman for a better part of two plus periods and his prognosis is unknown. McLellan was quick to stress that league action against Stoll is out of his hands, so there's nothing the Sharks can do about it now. >> More First Round Odds & Ends Secrecy the norm come playoff time Some odds and ends as we head to Thursday's series kickoff with the Kings. With the regular season just ending on Sunday, news and info the upcoming Sharks opening round series with the Los Angeles Kings is just starting to trickle in. >> More Sharks finally get playoff series with LA Inter-state rivals set to square off Its taken twenty seasons, but the Sharks finally get a chance to compete against their in-state rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, in a playoff series. San Jose has played every other team in the Pacific division in at least one playoff series over the past two decades, but until this year, the Sharks have never locked horns in a do-or-die series against the teams arguably their biggest rival. >> More
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