Related Articles: Sports & Recreation, All

The Best Sharks Ever

Will the San Jose Sharks bring the Bay Area its first major championship since the 49ers won the Super Bowl in 1995?

by Staff on May 12, 2010
 Email  Print Share

By Tommy Wright

THE LAST TIME the San Jose Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings in a playoff series was 1994. The Sharks had just finished their first season in the new San Jose Arena and qualified for the playoffs for the first time. The eighth-seeded Sharks completed one of the biggest NHL upsets in seven games against the Stanley Cup favorite Red Wings.

This year, the Sharks were the top seed and the Red Wings No. 5. But heading into the series, Sharks fans weren’t feeling too cocky—Detroit had dominated San Jose during the regular season, going 3-0-1. The Sharks had only won eight times in Hockeytown out of 44 games played there. In the playoffs, they were 3-6.

Last year, the Sharks team that won the President’s Trophy for the best regular season in the NHL was put to shame as it lost to the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks in the first round.

But as die-hard fans have been saying, this Sharks team is different. Despite some hiccups early in the first round against the Colorado Avalanche, the Sharks dominated the last three games of the series. The team that then eliminated the Red Wings last week in five games could very well advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Sharks have been to the Western Conference Finals only one other time in the franchise’s 19-year history, after the 2003–04 season. The only Sharks that remain from the 2004 Western Conference runners-up are Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov. No offense to Vincent Damphousse or Mike Ricci, but the players currently surrounding Marleau and Nabokov blow the 2004 team off the ice.

After a slow start in 2005–06 (the 2004–05 season was locked out), Sharks GM Doug Wilson traded for Joe Thornton. Thornton had struggled in the playoffs with the Boston Bruins, where he failed to notch a goal or assist in seven games.

At first, he continued his postseason struggles with the Sharks, but Thornton has gotten things back on track over the years. And he was “Jumbo” during last week’s series. He notched three goals and eight assists in five games against the Red Wings. He set up Patrick Marleau on the game-winning goal in Game 5 and in overtime in Game 3. Thornton’s play picked up where the other Joe left off. In Game 2 against Detroit, Joe Pavelski became the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1992 to have three straight multigoal games in the playoffs.

Secondary scoring was one of the issues that led to last year’s first-round choke. This year, all four lines are contributing. Rookie Logan Couture had a breakout game against the Avalanche. He scored two goals in Game 5. He might have topped that moment with the game-tying goal against the Red Wings in Game 3 with 6:43 left in the third period.

The Sharks’ blue-liners have played consistently throughout the playoffs. Dan Boyle didn’t let his own-goal in overtime of Game 3 against Colorado affect his play. He has been an effective part of the team’s offense and defense throughout the postseason.

Douglas Murray made the Red Wings and Avalanche pay for entering his area, leading defensemen on the team with 34 hits. He deserves his title of No. 1 unsung defenseman in the NHL, which was bestowed by ESPN.com.

The play of the Sharks’ defense has helped Nabokov. Even after giving up five goals in 20 minutes during Thursday night’s blowout 7-1 loss in Game 4, Nabokov still ranks among the leaders in Goals Against Average.

This is the best Sharks team of all time. But there are still two series to be won before the victory parade down Santa Clara Street.

If the Sharks advance against their TBD opponent from the East, it will be the deepest the team has ever been in the playoffs. But if they lose there, they will join the 2002 San Francisco Giants or 2003 Oakland Raiders as teams that fell just short. If they succeed, they will be the first Bay Area team to win a championship since the 49ers won the Super Bowl in 1995.

http://sharks.nhl.com/



by Staff on May 12, 2010
 Email  Print Share