GDT: WCF Game #1 - Sharks @ Blues - Voltron Edition - 5:00pm PDT NBCSN

[WineShark]

I haven't ready any of the other 900 posts here or what is on main page but here are my thoughts from the bar at Firehouse 37 in San Ramon where there were the bar was surprisingly, fairly full with Sharks fans.

1) Burnzie was horrible. I counted 6 giveaways. One went into the net, two caused odd man rushes.
2) Faceoffs - back to domination here
3) PP - Sharks saw the roadmap last night, now watch the video and transform slightly to create the better shots.
4) Sharks non-goal - nothing we can do there. Ref had to be directly behind net to see puck loose and he was skating in that direction when he blew the whistle. Move on.
5) Blues non-goal - the right call 100% of the time - classic goalie interference.

I think the Sharks can dominate this team after what I saw last night.

I'm with you. I thought the team played pretty well. Fix the Burns turnovers and this was a win. I think Team Teal can win the series and expect them to demonstrate new resolve in Game 2.

 

[FeedingFrenzy]

Those wanting to blame Jones for the loss blows my mind... Bad goal? Sure. But he could have easily let it get to him and instead he kept the Sharks in the game. I am so excited about the future with Jones. Calm, cool, love his demeanor. There is plenty of other guys to pin the loss on..

Refs- Dis-allowed goal
This changes the whole dynamic of the game imo.

PP- 0 for
Sharks get 1 and this game is a different story.

We need the 3/4 lines to pot a goal. They aren't playing poorly just need some scoring.

After all is said and done, we lost a game that we could have won. I think we take game 2 and head home with a split....

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

The team dominated the 2nd period in this game, which is a good sign, but they really need to get back to playing like that consistently.

DeBoer mentioned the emotional level in the team compared to what it was against LA and that still seriously worries me. Remember that LA series, when there were very few stretches one would say the Sharks were playing bad, only that LA was turning it up? That hasn't really been the case against Nashville or St. Louis yet. Our 2nd period was great and if they play like that every period they will win the series even though they were outscored 1-0 in that period.

I am seriously beginning to miss Matt Nieto. We need his speed in the bottom-6, even if he doesn't have the best hands he is a solid possession player and elite PK'er. Everybody rags on him but I would say he is better than Spaling, Zubrus, Wingels, and maybe Tierney at this stage. Tierney has disappointed me a bit these playoffs. He's got a few goals but I was expecting more from him.

People are heavily over analyzing the second goal. It was a bad goal by Jones. That's a turnover that every team makes a few times per game. That's a shot from behind the circle taken by a guy who scored 9 goals this season. Sure, the team needs better communication, but that goal is on Jones. You need to stop that shot.

I still don't know how to embed links from nhl.com, but you've got plays like this

https://www.nhl.com/video/elliotts-great-kick-save/t-280672614/c-43968903

https://www.nhl.com/video/elliotts-glove-save-late-in-3rd/t-280672614/c-43969603

https://www.nhl.com/video/elliotts-point-blank-save/t-280672614/c-43968803

Those 3 plays are far higher scoring chances than Lehtera's weak shot from behind the circle. Two of those are from a guy who hasn't scored less than 37 goals since Martin St. Louis led the league in points. You can't run around looking for skaters to blame on that goal when it's a routine shot. A shot from outside the circle from a guy with 9 goals in 82 games this season is not something you run around looking for skaters to blame for. If the San Jose Barracuda played the Sharks, I'm sure the Barracuda would get a few shots of that level of relative danger. No NHL team is going to suppress every single shot of that quality for 60 minutes, it is absolutely impossible. In game 7 against the Predators, the Sharks probably still gave up 10 shots of that level of relative danger. That's a routine save. That goal is 100% on Jones. You need to make those big saves in the playoffs.

With that said, the Sharks need to score more than 1 goal if they expect to win games. Ward's disallowed goal wasn't really a screwjob. Elliott heard the whistle and knew play was dead before Ward put it in.

Sharks had 32 shots. 2 off the post. Elliott made a few huge saves.

Sharks also hit two posts. Outshot the Blues 32-23. If every game is like this the luck will certainly turn and the Sharks will probably win.

Also, holy ****, why are you guys so damn pessimistic? People were really declaring the Nashville series over when Nashville won game 6. It's just annoying at this point and your jinx posts obviously don't do anything. Saying "The Sharks are gonna lose" isn't going to do anything but make everybody on this board angry and negative. It's 1 game in. They're down 1-0. Everybody has been talking all year about the resilience and heart of this team, and now once it's time for them to show it you all give up? Come on. If you're just here to talk about how the Sharks suck and are going to lose, why not go to the Blues forum? Your posts will be met with open arms.

 

[OrrNumber4]

Those wanting to blame Jones for the loss blows my mind... Bad goal? Sure. But he could have easily let it get to him and instead he kept the Sharks in the game. I am so excited about the future with Jones. Calm, cool, love his demeanor. There is plenty of other guys to pin the loss on..

The standard has to be higher than that. Sure, Jones did not spiral, as Nabokov would sometimes do. But Niemi was also great at not breaking down and bouncing back...didn't get the Sharks much, did it?

In regards to scoring, the quaternary scoring is dropping the ball. They don't have any *real* goals this playoff season (not counting the two empty-netters and the one goal in dead-time). Karlsson, Wingels, Zubrus, and Spaling should be have 3-4 goals between them by now. Just looking good isn't enough; some players like Wingels aren't even doing that.

On that topic, 34? career playoff games for Wingels, and no goals scoring into a tended net. When do we stop calling it bad luck and start calling it him being a bad playoff player?

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

The standard has to be higher than that. Sure, Jones did not spiral, as Nabokov would sometimes do. But Niemi was also great at not breaking down and bouncing back...didn't get the Sharks much, did it?

In regards to scoring, the quaternary scoring is dropping the ball. They don't have any *real* goals this playoff season (not counting the two empty-netters and the one goal in dead-time). Karlsson, Wingels, Zubrus, and Spaling should be have 3-4 goals between them by now. Just looking good isn't enough; some players like Wingels aren't even doing that.

On that topic, 34? career playoff games for Wingels, and no goals scoring into a tended net. When do we stop calling it bad luck and start calling it him being a bad playoff player?

Tierney has 3 goals that were all important. Unless you're not considering him quarternary, then, we've got Nieto with 1. But if you look at Zubrus/Spaling/Wingels/Karlsson as our quarternary scoring, then I would have to agree. It is seriously discouraging. I thought those guys would step it up offensively after the LA series when the opposing defensemen werent as big and werent committing as much interference but I guess I was wrong. It's not good. They need Nieto back because if nobody's scoring he is by far the best away from the puck. Completely agreed on Wingels. Really disappointed with him. Remember a year ago when he was looking like a consistent 15-20 goal guy?

Noticing we are agreeing a lot more lately. Not sure if I like it or not.

 

[OrrNumber4]

The team dominated the 2nd period in this game, which is a good sign, but they really need to get back to playing like that consistently.

DeBoer mentioned the emotional level in the team compared to what it was against LA and that still seriously worries me. Remember that LA series, when there were very few stretches one would say the Sharks were playing bad, only that LA was turning it up? That hasn't really been the case against Nashville or St. Louis yet. Our 2nd period was great and if they play like that every period they will win the series even though they were outscored 1-0 in that period.

I am seriously beginning to miss Matt Nieto. We need his speed in the bottom-6, even if he doesn't have the best hands he is a solid possession player and elite PK'er. Everybody rags on him but I would say he is better than Spaling, Zubrus, Wingels, and maybe Tierney at this stage. Tierney has disappointed me a bit these playoffs. He's got a few goals but I was expecting more from him.

People are heavily over analyzing the second goal. It was a bad goal by Jones. That's a turnover that every team makes a few times per game. That's a shot from behind the circle taken by a guy who scored 9 goals this season. Sure, the team needs better communication, but that goal is on Jones. You need to stop that shot.

I still don't know how to embed links from nhl.com, but you've got plays like this

https://www.nhl.com/video/elliotts-great-kick-save/t-280672614/c-43968903

https://www.nhl.com/video/elliotts-glove-save-late-in-3rd/t-280672614/c-43969603

https://www.nhl.com/video/elliotts-point-blank-save/t-280672614/c-43968803

Those 3 plays are far higher scoring chances than Lehtera's weak shot from behind the circle. Two of those are from a guy who hasn't scored less than 37 goals since Martin St. Louis led the league in points. You can't run around looking for skaters to blame on that goal when it's a routine shot. A shot from outside the circle from a guy with 9 goals in 82 games this season is not something you run around looking for skaters to blame for. If the San Jose Barracuda played the Sharks, I'm sure the Barracuda would get a few shots of that level of relative danger. No NHL team is going to suppress every single shot of that quality for 60 minutes, it is absolutely impossible. In game 7 against the Predators, the Sharks probably still gave up 10 shots of that level of relative danger. That's a routine save. That goal is 100% on Jones. You need to make those big saves in the playoffs.

I'm agreeing with you more and more nowadays. Vaingloriously, I'm going to credit myself for influencing you.

With that said, the Sharks need to score more than 1 goal if they expect to win games. Ward's disallowed goal wasn't really a screwjob. Elliott heard the whistle and knew play was dead before Ward put it in.

Yes, even if it was a quick whistle, there was a big gap between the whistle and Ward's crash to the net. Elliott reacts differently without the whistle.

Also, holy ****, why are you guys so damn pessimistic? People were really declaring the Nashville series over when Nashville won game 6. It's just annoying at this point and your jinx posts obviously don't do anything. Saying "The Sharks are gonna lose" isn't going to do anything but make everybody on this board angry and negative. It's 1 game in. They're down 1-0. Everybody has been talking all year about the resilience and heart of this team, and now once it's time for them to show it you all give up? Come on. If you're just here to talk about how the Sharks suck and are going to lose, why not go to the Blues forum? Your posts will be met with open arms.

On this point, I have to say if you don't like it, don't read it. I imagine that it has evolved due to the Shark's history of disappointment. Or, it is because people are massively hedging their bets: the Sharks win, and well, they win. If they lose, you can take solace in the fact that you "saw it coming".

Personally, I don't think panic is necessitated unless the Sharks are down 3-0 and 3-1.

 

[magic school bus]

Martin Jone2

 

[SactoShark]

Martin Jone2

That's harsh man.

 

[magic school bus]

That's harsh man.

Facts only.

 

[Levie]

Martin Jone2

Is Martin Jones forever a 2 goal goalie?

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Is Martin Jones forever a 2 goal goalie?

They probably win a lot more than they lose if this is the case