As I sat there watching the Sharks go to sleep and allow the Wings to comeback Sunday night I said to myself it is a shame for the Sharks they did exactly that or this series would be over.
Then it dawned on me. The Sharks did not play "their" game in that third period nor did they play it in the first period of game 4 when they came out sleepy. Besides those two periods however the Sharks have been the better team in this series through and through. The Wings have been right there all along but easily one full step behing the entire time.
The Sharks have had the puck in this series the majority of the time, the play has been in the Detroit end the majority of the time and the Sharks have outshot the Wings 208 to 147 in the series. Factor in the age and nagging injuries and all this does not bode well for the Wings as we get deeper into the series.
I realize everyone is caught up in the Sharks ill fated history and them going to sleep in game five but that is more the point here. In the two losses the Sharks they have really beaten themselves IMO. They beat themselves in game 4 by not being prepared to play and spotting Detroit a 3-0 lead, a lead which the Wings miraculously blew on home ice as soon as the Sharks started to play. All this despite the fact the refs did all they could in that second period of game four to hand Detroit the game by making borderline call after borderline call, yet the Wings could not muster one single goal to put the game away despite pp after pp. The Sharks came back to tie it but Helm rescued the game for Detroit with a very late goal thus avoiding facing the Sharks in overtime where they are a perfect 6-0 this post season.
In the last game I watched San Jose dominate the Wings in every facet of the game, then after Couture scored to make it 3-1 early in the third they inexplicably changed their game and their defense which had been aggressive all night started to back off and allow the Wings forwards easy entry into the zone as the Sharks attempted to nurse their lead to the end. Needless to say a very silly mistake against a very proud and crafty group of ex champions who are not about to quit. Marleau capped it off by for all intent and purpose handing the puck to the Wings for the winning goal.
Ofcourse those two periods of hockey could give someone reason to fade the Sharks with the thinking that they don't have what it takes and perhaps they don't. Instead I see it as if the Sharks don't play down in those two periods they were the superior team in every way in every single period.
I would rather put money on a team that has proven to me they are the better team when giving their full effort as opposed to putting money a team in the hopes their opponent does not play up to their full capabilities as that is what I see backing the Wings here as doing. I am simply basing that on what I have seen and puck possession %, offensive zone time %, faceoff % and shots on goal all back it up.
Clowe is out and Franzen is replaced by Marleau. I am a big fan of Clowe but his being out can and I think will have the Sharks even more prepared to play as it creates even more urgency in their dressing room. Mike Modano who is as classy and stand up as it gets and who has dazzled me over the years with his skillset is nothing now but a hockey shell of his former self. Modano also cannot be in this kind of big game shape at all having been sitting and watching.
We have the goalies left and I will take Niemi over Jimmy Howard for my money anyday. Both last year in this series and again this year Jimmy has shown us he can and will let in a soft goal from anywhere on the ice at anytime and often in a crucial moment. He can be great too but he would and does scare the crap out of me when backing him.
I see this simply as getting the better, younger hockey team with the better goaltender at plus money and I much prefer the Sharks on the road than at home actually where they seem to play more complete games. I think if the Sharks lose tonight it will have to be just like the other two losses where I felt they beat themselves by taking a period off and not playing "their" game. Ofcourse they might just do that but as you can see below I feel strongly that they won't.
San Jose ml 600/750
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