Ryane Clowe, the Sharks’ leading scorer in the playoffs, is out for game 6.  This is not good.  While I’ve certainly softened from the position I stated on the podcast, I can’t help but think the Sharks are significant underdogs tonight in Detroit.

If they do close the series out, I will be fixing myself a gigantic plate of crow.  Mmmm, crow.

Sharks lose game five in a ‘gutless’ fashion, as Jeremy Roenick might say, and the Dudes have some strong emotions about it.

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Game Five on permanent repeat for Detroit. Again and again and again and again….

The quote is from Mike Babcock, and you couldn’t find a better one to sum up game 3.  Thoroughly outplayed for most of the contest, the Sharks managed to prevent the Wings from blowing the game wide open.  I imagine Wings fans felt the same in the 3rd period last night as I did in game 2, when the Sharks were just curb-stomping the Wings, yet couldn’t find a way to put the game out of reach.  “One bad bounce, one bad play, and this game is tied, with Wings having all the momentum,” I thought to myself.  At that point, we witnessed a little force of nature I like to call Hamburgers.  The Wings did not have their own Hamburgers in the lineup last night- they only had a Zetterberger (2 A, but still managed to be -1). Instead, the Sharks bent but did not break, with Dan Boyle continuing his redemption by roofing one with less than five minutes left.

Still, as good teams do, the Wings persisted, creating several more chances, including one right near the end of regulation.  And the old take-a-penalty-in-overtime-but-kill-it-and-score-afterwards trick worked to perfection, one the Sharks had already whipped out in game 6 against the Kings.  The Canucks also pulled it off in game 7 versus the Blackhawks.  I think I can say now that going on the PP in overtime is decidedly a bad thing.  It’s basically the hockey equivalent of the two minute drill- score and you win, don’t score and you will lose.

I’m really enjoying this one, even more so than last year.  Despite the bad headline of this piece, Ken Campbell says what Doug and I said this week – this team could really do it. They are built as well now as they have ever been in their history.

The Dudes couldn’t me more thrilled that the Sharks take a 2-0 lead in the Wings series, same as last year.  Mike and Doug discuss what has led the Sharks to be so successful so far, the Snowgate controversy, and what changes Detroit will make for game 3, and if the Sharks should counter them.

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For the second year in a row, the Sharks are staring down the Wings in the second round.  Mike and Doug compare and contrast both the Sharks and Wings teams from a year ago, and make their picks.  A short recap of the first round follows, with some of the Dudes picks working out to perfection, and others not.

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The Dudes celebrate the gritty round 1 win against the Kings, with Joe Thornton putting in the game winner.  Mike and Doug identify the series MVP, evaluate Niemi’s performance and prospects, and look forward to either Chicago or Detroit in round 2.

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I was so mad at the Niemi tonight, because he basically gave that game away in the first ten minutes. People might quibble on how responsible he was, but I think he was at least partially to blame on all three.

1. Shot through traffic with a deflection, but he had a pretty narrow butterfly.  A 6’2 butterfly goaltenter should be able to cover the bottom of the net when he goes down, and he didn’t.  This was his ‘best’ goal.
2. Clifford’s goal came because Niemi couldn’t catch the damn biscuit, and left it 2 feet outside of the crease for him to clean up.
3. Penner’s goal was just an outside shot with Niemi too deep.

I knew once the Kings were up 3-0 they wouldn’t make the same mistakes they made in game 3, and sure enough, they sat on it, played the 1-2-2, got two and three guys in the shooting lanes, and pulled it out. But the real story of the night was Jonathan Quick, who made 52 saves, only giving up one goal. I was thinking to myself, how often does a Sharks goalie put up a line like that?

So I decided to invent a new stat, called the Goalie Steal. A goalie steal is when the goaltender gives up 1 goal or less while making 35 or more saves. 35 isn’t particularly significant, but I had to put a cutoff point somewhere. 31 or 32 saves just doesn’t sound that impressive, and somehow, 36 does. I went back and looked at the box score for every playoff game the Sharks have participated in since the lockout. Here are the goalie steals:

Notice anything missing about this list?  Yep, not a single Sharks goaltender has posted a Goalie Steal since the lockout.  Nabby had a 34 save shutout in 2007, so maybe I should give him a freebie.  But anyway, the point is the same- there hasn’t been a dominating goalie performance in the playoffs in a very very long time.

I admit this does certainly have something to do with the Sharks D- if they don’t give up a lot of shots, then the goalie doesn’t have the opportunity to steal a game.  That’s frankly true for most games- the Sharks haven’t given up 35 or more shots in too many playoff games.  But in every damn one of those games, they had to score 3 goals (the ‘magic number’) or more to win, or lost it.

Great game last night. And it was made that much better by participating in a chat right here at DOH.  I think we had about 15 people at the peak, which was really great.  Just a fun way to watch an away game, I plan on joining for future games, and encourage you all do to the same.  I just installed a differerent kind of chat, an IRC-based one, which I think will be more robust than the one we used last night.  You can even get IRC clients for smartphones, or a standalone one that you install on your computer.  I already tried an iPhone client, and it seems to work fine, so all those people who want to be at a bar and still participate in the chat, this will be a better solution.

Infrastructure stuff aside, it’s the 2nd line again that’s carrying the team.  You know what?  I don’t have a a problem with that.  Doughty-Mitchell is as tough of a defensive pair as there is in hockey, and it’s nice the Sharks have an answer when those guys do their job.  That’s not to excuse the Jumbo line, which really hasn’t been that great yet.  Joe made a nice play to get his goal, but it was on a line change.  It’s not like Joe, Seto, and Patty were cycling and creating chances for fifty seconds before Joe scored.

But really the most disappointing thing about the Sharks this postseason has been the utter lack of a 4th line.  Mayers played only 5:10 last night, and was still -1, on a goal that was catalyzed by his turnover.  Eager had only 3:18, but at least he wasn’t on the ice for that one- he must have just gotten off.  I feel like Joe Montana when I say “turnovers can hurt you” (not the most trenchant thing ever said about sports), but the Sharks have really illustrated that in this series.  I know icing is bad and all that, but wouldn’t you rather have a faceoff in your zone than a turnover at your own blue line?  Especially for a team that is just killing it in the faceoff dot.  Thornton was 6 for 7 against Stoll and 7 for 11 against Hanzus.  That’s just flat-out domination.

Doug and I will be at the game tomorrow night, but feel free to jump on the chat again if you’re watching from home.  I’d like to hear how it performs.

The Dudes almost can’t believe the Sharks dug (Doug?) themselves out of a 0-4 hole.  But here they are, up 2-1, and the Dudes try and figure out what has gone so right (and wrong) with the series.  Does Niemi’s last two performances warrant a change?  Who are the unsung heroes and goats so far?  All that, and a recap of the other great 1st round series.

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