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Offense AWOL in Game
5
Sharks failt to finish off Kings again
The Sharks playoff series with the Los Angeles
Kings got real on Saturday night. With their second chance to end the series,
San Jose misfired, crawling into a hole and covering up. Rather than taking
control of things on home ice, the Sharks laid down and forced a Game 6 in Los
Angeles on Monday night after dropping a 3-0 decision to the Kings. Saturday
night's game amounted to what everyone thought this series would be like, with
the Kings playing a more physical style and the Sharks leaning on their money
players. Only problem is, those money players failed to show any signs of life.
After scoring 20 goals in the first 4 games of the series, the Sharks
were lucky to be credited with 5 quality scoring chances during the entire 60
minutes on Saturday. The Kings jumped out to a quick lead then coasted by
clamping down on a lackluster Sharks offense that seemed content with their
mediocre play.
The Kings employed a sound battle plan. Score a pair of
goals, then start taking out the opposition with shots to the head. Such was
the case for Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who left the game in the
1st period after Jarret Stoll caught him in the back of the head with an elbow.
Solid plan indeed. A plan that San Jose should employ one day. Play with an
attitude that the welfare of your opposition should be secondary to winning.
Win at all costs.
But San Jose will never employ such a strategy. They
are bound to play with the honorable code that their General Manager Doug
Wilson played by. The same General Manager who won nothing in an extended
career for a team that had plenty of opportunities. Sound familiar?
Sharks head coach Todd McLellan did nothing to react to the Stoll hit. Rather
than sending a message, McLellan waited along with the 17,000 plus in
attendance for his marquee players to show up. They never did. McLellan could
have sacrificed a role player by having him jump on the ice with the intent to
retaliate for the Vlasic hit, but he did what he always does. He tugged on his
lapels and sat stoically behind the bench, hoping something would miraculously
change. It didn't of course.
The Kings grabbed the 1st period lead
that they need to 8:09 in to the game. Tyler Toffoli took a Tanner Pearson feed
on the right side then side stepped James Sheppard before snapping a shot past
Antti Niemi. Sheppard's lackluster attempt to defend against Toffoli and
Niemi's continued absence between the pipes turned a mundane shot into the
game's first goal.
Anze Kopitar made it 2-0 five minutes later,
depositing a rebound after Dustin Brown bounced a shot off Niemi form the right
side. San Jose allowed the Kings to gain the upper hand with a 3-on-2 break
after a shot attempt in the Kings zone kicked out to the neutral zone. Two
Sharks forwards failed to get back on defense.
Los Angeles outshot San
Jose 18-6 in the opening 20 minutes, which immediately led to milk cartons
being printed for the Sharks offense.
With the two goal lead, Stoll
took out Vlasic and just like that the Sharks were left to play the remaining
45 minutes with 5 defensemen.
One of those defensemen was Justin Braun
who tripped Marion Gaborik with 32 seconds left in the opening period. San Jose
made it to the break unscathed, but Los Angeles would capitalize when play
resumed.
Jeff Carter sent a backhand chance from outside the left post
past Niemi, bouncing it off Brad Stuart's skate. The goal spelled the end of
the night for Niemi, who was pulled in place of Alex Stalock.
Stalock did his job, stopping all 22 shots he faced,
but the Sharks offense was essentially non-existent. San Jose failed to expose
Quick, who played like a leaky colander in the first 4 games of the series. How
an offense like the Sharks can't score a single goal against a wounded
goaltender like Quick will go down as one of the world's great mysteries.
Now McLellan has a decision to make. Does he start Stalock in Game 6,
or does he keep Niemi's questionable game in net? Does he change his offensive
strategy for the first time in years, or does he lean on his star players to
play their underachieving brand of cycle the puck hockey once again? Does he
ask his players to win at all costs, or does he have them continue to play
gentleman's hockey, more suited for a golf course, than a hockey rink?
We'll see.
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| LA |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| 1st period - 1, LA,
Toffoli 2 (Pearson, Martinez), 8:09. 2, LA, Kopitar 1 (Brown), 12:52. |
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| 2nd period - 3, LA,
Carter 2 (Gaborik, Doughty), 0:22, (pp). |
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| 1st period - Stoll, LA
(roughing), 14:09; Braun, SJ (tripping), 19:28. |
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| 2nd period - King, LA
(roughing), 4:03; Demers, SJ (roughing), 4:03; Boyle, SJ (tripping), 7:12;
Clifford, LA (tripping), 13:24; Carter, LA (roughing), 19:23. |
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| 3rd period - Burns, SJ
(tripping), 0:16; Kopitar, LS (goaltender interference), 1:08; Marleau, SJ
(slashing), 7:05; Demers, SJ (tripping), 10:19; Williams, LA (interference),
14:22. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| LA - Quick |
30 |
30 |
| SJ - Niemi |
19 |
16 |
| SJ - Stalock |
22 |
22 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| LA |
18 |
13 |
10 |
41 |
| SJ |
6 |
10 |
14 |
30 |
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| Referees:
Joannette, Pollack. Linesmen: Heyer, MacPherson. |
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