San Jose hasn't seen a debut like this since Joe Thornton arrived in town. As close to perfect as a home opener can get, the Sharks pasted their Southern California rivals with an impressive mix of speed, skill, toughness and intensity during a 4-1 victory. Everyone at HP Pavilion had to get goosebumps prior to the game, and the capacity crowd provided the perfect atmosphere to welcome hockey back to the Bay Area. The ovation for Evgeni Nabokov alone was enough to give you chills, and the team responded with an outstanding effort for Todd McLellan's first game behind the bench.
Things started off slowly and both clubs had to shake off some early jitters that resulted in some sloppy play, but the Sharks were able to settle in and take control in the second period. The main reason for that was the speed and confidence the Sharks displayed with the puck. It's clear the new season has brought a new attitude, with a focus on attacking and pressing the play rather than letting it come to them.
Offensively, the biggest objective has been getting the defense involved in the play and getting shots through from the point. San Jose outshot Anaheim 41-29 and Rob Blake led the way with seven shots. The veteran didn't hesitate to tee off on the power play whenever he got the chance.
"The biggest thing was getting more shots," said Sharks winger Jonathan Cheechoo, who finished with two goals, "guys getting pucks through makes you want to go to the net more because you know the puck's going to be there."
Cheechoo shook off any doubts about his shaky preseason play, and looked right at home on the top power play unit. After a dreadful start to the 2007-08 season, he appeared to be in midseason form battling for pucks in front of the net and burying his chances.
"It's nice to see Cheech get rewarded," McLellan said. "He was snakebit a little bit in the preseason and as a coach you are concerned a little bit for your offensive guys."
Not only were the Sharks pushing the play offensively, but they dictated the physical game as well. San Jose was initiating the contact and being proactive rather than reactive, which led to a number of Anaheim penalites after the first period. With the Ducks taking regular trips to the sin bin the Sharks cashed in, finishin 2-for-7 with the man advantage. Having Blake and Dan Boyle setting up twin right-handed shots made a huge difference, as Thornton was able to work the puck from the right side and set up a number of scoring chances.
"Any time you get pucks going to the net you're going to get second and third chances so you just have to get there and get ready," said Devin Setoguchi. The sophomore right wing notched a goal and an assist, and had to be the best player on the Sharks' top line, keeping his feet moving and causing a number of turnovers deep in the Anaheim zone.
"There was a lot of good signs," McLellan said. "We competed well, which is the most important thing. ... I'm a real big believer that if you shoot you have a good chance to get it back. ... It's hard to play in your own zone when the puck's going to the net all the time."
Defensively, Joe Pavelski excelled with two sprawling shot blocks that kept Anaheim from building any momentum and Nabokov was steady in goal, turning away 28 of the 29 shots he faced. The tandem of Murray and Ehrhoff were steady in their own end, and the Sharks didn't get running around in their own end too much.
"We've been talking about the offense a lot, but you still have to take care of your own end," said Dan Boyle. "I thought we did that well tonight."
Ehrhoff even chipped in with a goal, taking a little off his slap shot from the point and picking the corner glove side on J-S Giguere to give the Sharks a 3-0 lead early in the third period. Anaheim cut the lead to two with 5:30 remaining, but San Jose kept its foot on the gas and Setoguchi put the game away with an incredible second effort at 15:57 of the third period.
In fact, it might have been a perfect night to be a Sharks fan. On his way out of the building, one teal-clad patron could be overheared saying, "A Detroit loss and a convincing Sharks win. Now that's the way to start a season."
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