If you have to go, that’s the way to do it. The Sharks battled through more than six periods of intense playoff hockey last night, falling to Dallas in one of the most entertaining games you’ll ever see. Milan Michalek got destroyed again, but the Sharks didn’t wilt or waver as they have in the past. They took the hits and kept on coming, kept pressing forward looking for that goal that would have pushed the series to a seventh game.
Both teams laid it all on the line, and the Stars were simply the better team in the end. They were better prepared for the playoff grind, creating offense rather than waiting for it to appear in a turnover or power play opportunity. Their best players found the score sheet, rather than groping for it like an old man fumbling for a light switch in the dark. San Jose’s penalty kill faltered one final time, leading to another second-round playoff exit.
However, there’s a different aspect to this playoff exit than the last three. We finally saw the Sharks battle back, showing some resiliency and putting in a strong effort right to the bitter end. The Stars took their foot off the gas once they took a 3-0 series lead and the Sharks put the hammer down, working toward a miraculous comeback that ultimately fell short. A lot of people are putting emphasis on that effort over the last three games, leading to a little optimism for the fall and possibly saving Ron Wilson’s job.
Well, if choking away the first three games of a series rather than the last three is considered progress then Shark fans are going to be waiting a long time to win the Stanley Cup. How sad is it that we’ve reached a point where people are just happy to see a concerted effort? Sure everybody hopes for a victory, but after all the previous playoff disappointments and 2-0 elimination losses people are consoling themselves with the fact these Sharks provided an effort.
Question it all you want, but San Jose’s troubles began at the Teal & White Game in September. The Sharks had one opportunity to play exclusively for the season ticket holders, proving to them this season would be different than the others. It was a nice little event, but it was, and still is, the worst hockey game I’ve ever seen at any level. I won’t outline how disgusting the lack of effort was, but Dimitri Patzold recorded a shutout. Patzold – the man who couldn’t stop a greased pig from running into a dishwasher – posted a shutout.
I remember meeting with Sharks general manager Doug Wilson in December, and I told him the team’s troubles began at the Teal & White Game. He looked at me like I had eight noses. He said the game was nothing more than a “glorified practice,” where the most important thing was avoiding injury. I fully understand you don’t want teammates sending each other into the third row, and you don’t want guys blocking shots with their orbital bones, but that kind of selective effort carried over into the regular season and eventually the playoffs.
Wouldn’t you want players who approached every practice, scrimmage or game with intensity and gave you everything they had? Each time a player straps on the blades he should be willing to work hard, whether he’s skating alone on a homemade rink or performing in a meaningless exhibition. Wayne Gretzky wasn’t the fastest or the strongest, but he worked harder than anyone every time his feet hit the ice. Nobody had to tell him to do it.
The Sharks approached the regular season as if it were a glorified practice, simply 82 exhibition games before the playoffs began. We saw it during the first-round series against Calgary, taking a three-goal lead in Game 3 before the remaining 56 minutes of glorified practice. There’s no other way to describe Game 6 than glorified practice, void of effort or urgency. That glorified practice put the Sharks down 3-0 to the Stars. They mailed it in after tying the score in Game 1, quit after two strong periods and a 2-1 lead in Game 2, and stopped skating after taking a 1-0 lead in Game 3.
San Jose’s season followed the same, familiar pattern. We witnessed another season marred by inconsistency, another March for the ages, and another second-round playoff exit. Obviously something has to change, because we’ve reached a point where sadness and frustration have been replaced by apathy. Surely ticket prices will be raised again, and we’ll hear the same familiar phrases about patience, the learning process, and a young core. But next season people won’t be so quick to believe these boys who cried Cup.
You can spread the blame from ownership right on down, and just as this group won as a team they lost as a team. But once again the big guns fell silent once the second round began. The most dangerous offensive threat on the ice, Joe Thornton posted three assists over six games. He finished the season fifth in league scoring, but he was outscored by five Dallas players during the second round. I’m reminded of the great line from Wayne’s World 2, when Wayne calls out “Hey, my girlfriend’s in there!” only to hear, “A lot of people’s girlfriends are in there.” Yes, Joe’s effort was there, but a lot of people’s effort was there.
That brings us to the captain, Patrick Marleau. Heading into the series, if you were trying to decide which captain was going to have a better series you probably could have flipped a coin. Both Saskatchewan natives were born in 1979, both were drafted in the first round of the 1997 draft, and both have had their captaincies questioned at times. However, one of them led his team to the Western Conference final, recording five points and a +3 over six games. He tallied two overtime winners, including the series-clinching goal.
The other put in another poor second-round performance, leading to another early playoff exit. He finished the series with two points and a -2, and he was on the ice when the series-clinching goal was scored, but didn’t do any celebrating. Sure he tried hard and had a few scoring chances, but his play will result in another summer of questions about whether or not he’s fit to be the captain. His defenders will compare his struggles to those of Steve Yzerman, but Patrick Marleau is no Steve Yzerman.
Thankfully, writing has given me the opportunity to interact with a lot of Shark fans. I keep getting the feeling they’re tired. They’re tired of coveting other team’s captains, tired of getting their hopes up only to see things come crashing down, and tired of seeing a Mike Ribeiro or Tomas Holmstrom outplay Joe Thornton each spring. The Game 6 loss didn’t come as a shock, and they had gradually detached themselves over the last week, anticipating that final loss to kick off the summer of change.
Who stays and who goes? Those questions will be answered over the coming weeks, but a bigger question looms for every fan clinging to a teal sweater, agonizing over a team that will have to wait at least one more year to join those who have appeared in a Stanley Cup final. When does this franchise take the next step, approaching seasons with more effort and dedication than a glorified practice?
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Join us tonight for SharksBuzz at 10 p.m. PT, wrapping up the season and looking ahead to the long summer of uncertainty. We'll go for as long as the calls keep streaming in, so give us a jingle at (724) 444-7444, talkcast ID# 74909.
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