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The best of games, the worst of
games
Sharks overcome early-game doldrums
| 3/10/14 - By Paul Krill -
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The Sharks and Penguins game this past week offered
a multitude of situations for Sharks fans. Let's go through them. First, the
Sharks were getting stomped upon, quickly falling behind 2.-0. It looked like
the type of game we haven't seen much of in San Jose in recent years: The home
team was getting beaten so badly that leaving the game early definitely looked
like something for Sharks fans in the stands to consider. At least in the first
period.
Then, the Sharks held on, staying behind by only the two goals
until the puck fell into the Penguins' net for the Sharks' first goal late in
the second period. Afterward, the Sharks tied the game on Patrick Marleau's
shorthanded goal, fell behind again, tied the game again and then took over.
And it was the Penguins, who had started out the game so well, who ended up
having to pull their goalie late in the game. But to no avail. The Sharks not
only won, they won in regulation time. Not bad, considering how the game had
started out so poorly for the Sharks.
As if the 5-3 victory against
the high-powered Penguins wasn't enough to make this game worth at least the
price of admission, Sharks fans were treated to a special moment: Possibly the
worst night of Sidney Crosby's career. When I looked at the schedule last
summer, I penciled this in as a "must attend," to see Crosby and find out what
the fuss was all about (since we hardly get to see him play in San Jose). But
Crosby was a -5 on the night. In reviewing a replay of the game afterward, he
just looked kind of lethargic out there at times. Maybe he was playing with the
flu or something.
So the Sharks ended up with two regulation points
when it had looked like the Sharks would get none. Two nights later, the Sharks
played one of their best games in a long time, dominating the Montreal
Canadiens from start to finish and winning easily, 4-0. No comeback was needed
in that game.
There's only a handful of games left until the playoffs
start. If the team can play the way it did in the third period of the Penguins
game and throughout the Canadiens game, the Sharks should be in pretty good
shape.
…Penalty shots…
Although it
can be annoying to see so many people wearing the other team's jersey at Sharks
games, all the Penguins and Canadiens fans visible at the Tank showed how dumb
it was for the league to have had the schedule format it had for the past bunch
of years. I'm talking about being subjected to eight, 10 or however many games
a year against divisional teams while the Eastern Conference teams were almost
never seen in San Jose.
We can be sure that some of these transplanted
Canadiens and Penguins fans now living in California just come to San Jose to
see their hometown teams. Some of them probably drive great distances. Having
all the teams in at least once a year gives the Sharks the chance to sell
tickets to a broader variety of fans (and send them home disappointed when the
Sharks beat their favorite teams). At long last, the NHL has gotten the
schedule right again.
Contact Paul at at
paulkrill@letsgosharks.com
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