The San Jose Sharks have become notorious for their spin in recent years, constantly twisting the truth or fudging the facts. Examples include Doug Wilson claiming that the Christian Ehrhoff trade wasn’t a salary dump, but a move necessitated by Jason Demers’ development. Sure Doug, and I’m the Exalted Queen Mother of the Red Hat Society. Today, in their dealings with fans and the media, the Sharks are about as open, honest and up-front as the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar and claimed he thought it was a pomegranate jar.
Daniel Sedin broke his foot last week and the Canucks announced it was a broken foot, with a recovery period of four to six weeks. Joe Pavelski broke his foot two weeks ago and the Sharks called it a “lower-body injury” with a recovery period of at least two weeks. Take a look at the Canucks website and you’ll find a section called Injury Report, which lists each injury, when it was sustained, and the number of games missed. With the Sharks, you’re lucky if they acknowledge Torrey Mitchell even exists.
Considering their penchant for bending reality like it was an origami horse, we shouldn’t be surprised at the number of excuses Sharks players and coaches offered up after their 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals last night. It started with Todd McLellan, who failed to hold his players accountable for the five penalties they took in the first period.
“We played slow. They were quicker,” McLellan said. “We were forced to take penalties and then when we did have the puck, we couldn’t put two passes together and that made us even slower. We’re nowhere near what we’re capable of.”
We know McLellan sometimes struggles with his vocabulary, so we should mention that forced, by definition, means “compelled by force or necessity.” Were the Sharks forced to take any of those penalties? Were any of them necessary to the team’s performance? Let’s take a look and decide for ourselves.
1) Kent Huskins holding penalty – Washington’s Alexander Semin entered the Sharks’ zone on the left side without any offensive support. No other Capitals player had crossed the blueline, and he wasn’t in alone on the goaltender, but Huskins decided to hold on and take him down. Verdict: Not forced, not a necessity.
2) Jed Ortmeyer tripping penalty – With the Sharks shorthanded, Ortmeyer pulled the old can opener on Washington’s Eric Fehr in front of the net. It was a completely needless penalty as Fehr had already lost control of the puck. Verdict: Not forced, not a necessity.
3) Scott Nichol hooking penalty – With the Sharks shorthanded, Nichol deflected Semin’s cross-ice pass to the side boards and hooked the Washington forward as he turned to retrieve the puck. This all happened 50 feet from the Sharks net. Verdict: Not forced, not a necessity.
4) Derek Joslin high sticking penalty – Semin had beaten Joslin wide to the outside, so the Sharks defenseman reached with his stick and clipped him up high. It saved a great scoring chance, because Semin was in alone on Nabokov. Verdict: Forced, because Joslin had been beaten wide, but hardly a necessity.
5) Evgeni Nabokov holding penalty – Nabokov coughed up the puck behind the Sharks net and grabbed Washington’s Quintin Laing by the head. Verdict: Not forced, not a necessity.
I really hope McLellan isn’t telling his players the same thing he’s telling the media, because if he’s in the room saying, “You guys were forced to take those penalties,” he’s a worse coach than anybody suspected. He hasn’t been able to turn the Sharks around, and he juggled the lines late in the third period, which did more harm than good. Honestly, what difference does it make where Ortmeyer plays? It doesn’t matter how much cream cheese you spread on your shoe, it’s not going to taste like a poppy seed bagel.
The excuses continued with Joe Thornton, who pointed to the Sharks’ early string of penalties as the trigger for their downfall. “It takes all your energy away and we’re done for the rest of the night,” Thornton said. “We were dead. It’s too much to ask for guys to penalty kill for that long a time.” On the surface, Thornton’s statement is absolutely shameful but let’s recap, just so we have the facts straight.
After the first period, the Sharks had killed four of their five penalties, thanks in large part to Nabokov’s goaltending heroics. Not only had the Sharks withheld the Washington attack, but they had responded, tying the game 1-1. Now, during the intermission I’m sure there was a sense of relief, because it could have been much worse, and the Sharks were still very much in the game.
Thornton obviously didn’t feel this way. In fact, he felt his team was done for the rest of the night; they were dead, and couldn’t possibly win the game. Are we surprised? Of course not. It’s just the latest stunning display of Thornton’s leadership, resiliency and determination. And this was one of the two players that was untouchable after the Sharks’ first round collapse. Honestly, can anyone be surprised by the team’s annual failure?
Now, I’m not saying Thornton’s remarks were completely invalid. However, let’s take a look at the amount of time the Sharks spent shorthanded last night. The team wasn’t shorthanded at all after the first period, and their 8:52 total was much less than their 10:07 against the Ducks or their 11:58 against the Wild. Maybe the team total wasn’t the highest we’ve seen, but let’s examine the individual totals, comparing last night’s shorthanded time with the season average.
Thornton did see 1:45 of shorthanded time, which was 21 seconds more than his season average. Could this explain why he and the rest of the team were “dead” or “done for the rest of the night” as he claimed? You have to think Sharks captain Rob Blake would agree with Thornton’s assessment, since he led the team in shorthanded time and saw the biggest increase (1:55) over his season average.
However, Blake didn’t resort to any cheap excuses the way Thornton did. He also didn’t remove accountability the way his coach did. Instead, the Sharks captain called out his teammates for terrible effort, execution and performance.
“The third period, when we should be a desperate team, we can’t even get it out of our zone on the power play,” Blake said. “We played with no desperation and no drive whatsoever.”
“We weren’t in the game from the start,” Blake said. “We have five minors in the first period, second period, they scored two goals in a minute. Third period, when we should be the desperate team, we’re on our heels.”
“All around, a terrible effort,” Blake said. “Mentally, we’re not even close to being where we need to be.”
Isn’t that a refreshing change from the shoulder shrugs, blank stares and excuses we’ve become accustomed to? Mentally, the Sharks aren’t even close to being where they need to be. You can look for all the reasons why, but you have to start right at the top with McLellan and Thornton.
***
Three Studs
3. Jamie McGinn – McGinn doesn’t belong on a scoring line, but at least he put in a decent effort and finished his checks. He’s being thrown into the fire this year, without the same support system he enjoyed as a rookie last season, and we’ll see if he can turn into a productive third-line forward. If he keeps playing hard, you have to think chances will come… probably.
2. Scott Nichol – On a night when too many Sharks were dogging it and couldn’t complete a pass, Nichol set up Ferriero’s goal with a heads-up centering feed and put in some great effort on the penalty kill. He also won 82 percent of his draws and finished with a team-high four hits. Nichol simply brings it every night, win or lose, without any excuses.
1. Evgeni Nabokov – Nabokov kept the Capitals from running away with it in the first period, coming up with some big saves and giving his teammates a fighting chance. He was hung out to dry on each of the goals, and you can argue his rebound control should have been better although people other than Ovechkin have to be there in front to clean up the garbage.
Three Duds
3. Joe Thornton – I suppose he was gassed after his 1:45 of penalty killing, which should explain why he didn’t have a shot, a hit, or any meaningful impact on the game. There was some concern coming into the season that Thornton and Heatley were going to coast together, only playing when they felt like it. The early results have reinforced that idea.
2. Jed Ortmeyer – Honestly folks, Ortmeyer couldn’t crack the Nashville Predators last season. Today, another year older and slower, he’s playing on the San Jose Sharks third line. His lazy backchecking was evident on Ovechkin’s second goal, and his offensive weaponry consists of weak wrist shots from the top of the faceoff circle. I’d prefer Rissmiller, please.
1. Kent Huskins – What can you possibly do with Huskins, a one-dimensional defensive defenseman who struggles defensively? You can’t trade him and you can’t waive him after seven games, but playing him has proven to be a mistake. His turnover led to the Caps’ second goal, and he was terribly out of position on their fourth goal, ending up on his butt. There might not be a worse contract in the league, because Huskins is going to make Shark fans long for Ehrhoff and Lukowich all season.
***
Thanks to everybody who joined me last night on the SharksBuzz Postgame Show. My voice sounded like it had been run over by a gravel truck, so I really appreciated all the help. We’ll be back at it tomorrow night after the Sharks-Islanders game, breaking it down and taking your calls at (724) 444-7444, talkcast ID# 74909.
Join the Discussion:
»