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Epic Fail
Presidents Trophy winners go
down in flames
With the ghosts of playoff failures past circling
the rafters of the Honda Center, the Sharks nightmare series against the
Anaheim Ducks came to an uninspired end on Monday night as the home team
dispatched the underachieving visitors in a 4-1 laugher. Anaheim employed a
familiar game plan that sat back and let the Sharks try and scratch out goals
with long range shots that consistently proved ineffective, then pounced by
sending people to the net and converting big goals when it mattered most. The
great disappearing act of 2009, marks what can arguably be called the biggest
disappointment in franchise history for the Sharks.
A game removed
from what appeared to be a possible turning point for San Jose's biggest stars,
Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov were non-factors in the
do-or-die game for the Sharks. Thornton and Marleau combined for 2 shots on
goal in a contest that needed them to be on top of their game if the Sharks
were going to live another day.
That didn't happen, and the Sharks are
done.
Opposite the Sharks, Anaheim's big guns came to play and they
wouldn't disappoint the 17,174 paid. Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Teemu
Selanne combined for 3 goals and an assist to lead the Ducks, who head to
Detroit for a second round date with the Red Wings.
For San Jose, only
more questions about what it will take to actually contend for a championship.
You couldn't ask for a more entertaining way to start a playoff hockey
game. Thornton and Getzlaf both tried making a statement early by dropping the
gloves at the opening faceoff, in a spirited exchange that was a carry over
from their jawing in Game 5.
Rob Neidermayer would follow that up a
minute later by extending a knee that knocked over Jeremy Roenick, earning the
Anaheim forward a trip to the box for tripping. Roenick took exception to the
play, giving Neidermayer an earful as the Duck sat in what has become Anaheim
's auxiliary bench.
Anaheim was intent on playing a physical game to
get the Sharks off theirs, and it worked.
Perry would land a vicious
elbow to the head of Jonathan Cheechoo after the Sharks forward fell to his
knees on a play behind the Ducks net, but as has become the Sharks Achilles
heel, the power play failed to take advantage.
Power play failures
were the theme of the series for San Jose, even knowing that the Ducks would
offer up more than their share of penalties.
James Wisniewski gave the
Sharks a third straight man-advantage at 9:35 after taking a slashing penalty.
Third time was a charm for San Jose as Milan Michalek scored his first goal of
the playoffs off a deflection in front of the net. Rob Blake sent a shot in on
goal from the right point that deflected off Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller's
pad, kicking out into the slot, where Michalek was roaming.
The Ducks
would resort to the rough stuff on the next shift, with George Parros cross
checking Murray in front of the net. Dan Boyle took responded by pouncing on
Parros. San Jose would somehow get the short end of the stick when the on-ice
officials sent Boyle, Travis Moen and Douglas Murray to the box for roughing,
while Anaheim would only have Parros and Ryan Whitney sent off.
Teemu
Selanne would hook Rob Blake 22 seconds into the Anaheim power play to even
things up, but Patrick Marleau would follow that with his own hooking penalty.
The Ducks would knot things up on the ensuing 4-on-3, when Corey Perry batted a
Ryan Getzlaf deflection out of the air in front of Evgeni Nabokov.
When all the smoke cleared, the Sharks were still a
man down, having to kill the remainder of Marleau's penalty. San Jose weathered
the storm and the period would end tied 1-1.
The Ducks came out flying
in the 2nd period, out-shooting San Jose 9-3 through the first 10 minutes.
Nabokov was forced to make several big saves while the Ducks peppered the
Sharks netminder with a flurry of chances. San Jose's defense couldn't contain
the onslaught of pressure being thrown in Nabokov's vicinity.
The San
Jose power play was given another chance midway through the period, when
Francois Beauchemin was whistled for interference. The Sharks reverted to their
perimeter game, wasting another golden opportunity to grab control of the game.
Anaheim would seize control of the game at that point.
Torrey Mitchell
would take a hooking penalty at 12:54 and the wheels would fall off the Sharks
playoff bus. Teemu Selanne would score his first goal of the series on the
ensuing power play, by driving the net and bouncing a shot off Christian
Ehrhoff's skate. The puck slipped past Nabokov, whose dismal 2.82 goals against
average in the series was one of the glaring holes in San Jose's game.
The Ducks would turn up the heat and bag another goal 43 seconds later.
Beauchemin would fire a shot from the point that deflected off Boyle's stick,
roofing off the top right off the San Jose net. The shot cracked Boyle's stick,
and the defenseman would finish it off in frustration, splintering it while
cringing at the gift he had given the Ducks.
The period would end with
a Boyle boarding penalty that turned into a series of scrums, including a fight
between Whitney and Joe Pavelski. The Sharks center got the best of Whitney,
but it was little consolation for poor period his teammates turned in.
San Jose had no answers in the final period of their season. The Sharks did
little to pressure Hiller, and the Ducks roamed the ice pushing back what
little the Sharks offense could muster.
Getzlaf would deliver a
parting shot with his 2nd goal of the series with just under 3 minutes to play.
Taking a feed from Rob Neidermayer in the slot, the centerman cranked a shot
past Nabokov, twisting the dagger a little deeper in the Sharks playoff
reputation.
Game Notes:
Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic
escaped much of the criticism for the Sharks playoff failure, but he finished
the series with a team low -6 plus-minus. Marleau finished the series with a
total of 12 shots in the 6 games played.
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Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| ANA |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Michalek 1 (Blake, Boyle), 10:19, (pp). 2, ANA, Perry 3 (Getzlaf, Pronger),
12:33, (pp). |
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| 2nd period - 3, ANA,
Selanne 1 (Pronger, S. Neidermayer), 13:03, (pp). 4, ANA, Beauchmin 1 (Carter,
Brown), 13:46. |
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| 3rd period - 5, ANA,
Getzlaf 2 (R Neidermayer, Miller), 17:04 |
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| 1st period - Thornton,
SJ (fighting major), 0:02; Getzlaf, ANA (fighting major), 0:02; R. Neidermayer,
ANA (tripping), 1:11; Perry, ANA (elbowing), 6:25; Wisniewski, ANA (slashing),
9:35; Boyle, SJ (roughing), 10:34; Moen, SJ (roughing), 10:34; Murray, SJ
(roughing), 10:34; Parros, ANA (roughing), 10:34; Whitney, ANA (roughing),
10:34; Selanne, ANA (hooking), 10:56; Marleau, SJ (hooking), 12:19. |
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| 2nd period - Beauchemin,
ANA (interference), 10:16; Mitchell, SJ (hooking), 12:54; Boyle, SJ (boarding),
20:00; Boyle, SJ (roughing), 20:00; Pavelski, SJ (fighting major), 20:00;
Getzlaf, ANA (roughing), 20:00; Whitney, ANA (fighting major), 20:00. |
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| 3rd period -
Michalek, SJ (roughing), 3:47; Goc, SJ (roughing), 3:47; R. Neidermayer, ANA
(roughing), 3:47; Wisniewski, ANA (roughing), 3:47; Ehrhoff, SJ (tripping),
19:58. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
32 |
28 |
| ANA - Hiller |
37 |
36 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
18 |
8 |
11 |
37 |
| ANA |
9 |
15 |
8 |
32 |
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| Referees: Furlatt,
McCauley. Linesmen: Devorski, Cameron. |
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