It's About Time

The Sharks finally had their breakout game that they needed so badly. Any coach will tell you that each game is independent of each other, but even professionals can’t shrug off a severe beat down like the Avalanche endured on Thursday night. With each of the first four games being decided by only one goal, I was starting to think that whoever was praying to the hockey gods on a more regular basis, would win the series. Well, whether or not Armstrong forgot his lucky rabbit foot or just had a bad game, the Sharks finally cracked him and they got their mojo back.

It will be an interesting game tonight when the Sharks head back to Colorado to try and close out the series. The crowd will definitely be behind the Avs, but they’re most assuredly going to be a bit timid in the wake of such a dominant performance by the sharks. The more faithful fans will point out that the Avs hit three posts and Armstrong stumbled twice leading to two goals, but you can’t ignore the fact that the Sharks have out shot the Avs 211-131. Luck just finally turned the Sharks way and you can see what happened. But what can Sacco possibly say? It’s not like they can assign their shutdown line on Couture’s or Pavelski’s line. You leave arguably the strongest line in hockey to score at will. I don’t foresee McClellan doing a lot of messing with the lines, but I imagine Sacco has got to do something in the face of elimination.

Game 6 Picks:

Look for Boyle, Setoguchi, and Pavelski to have strong nights, but I think Blake will be the key to winning this game. He has tons of playoff experience and will know how to close out a series. Marleau may have a goal or two and he’ll start getting hot just in time for the second round.

Time to panic? Not yet.

All the way from Los Angeles, I can hear all the sighs emanating from San Jose. "Here we go again."

With Dan Boyle ending the game in overtime last night putting the Sharks down 2-1 in the series with the Avalanche, critics everywhere are licking their chops ready to label the Sharks as the official joke of the NHL. With a 1-0 overtime loss, the Sharks are facing an uphill battle with the possibility of failing to pass through to the second round while boasting the best regular season record in the Western Conference.

But there's no reason to Panic. The Sharks have steadily increased their play through the first three games. Game 1 was cleanly won by the Avs and Game 2 was a toss up in which the Sharks got the lucky break. The Sharks dominated the Avs for the entire game including overtime. With 51 shots compared to the Avs measly 17,the Sharks launched an 61 minute attack and without the impressive performance of Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson, the game could have been 5-0. Oh, and that's without the help of Dany Heatley who's due to return for game 4.

So, without a freak blunder, the Sharks should have won game 3. But like I said before, the Sharks are beginning to play like the best in the West and for Game 4 we should see an angry group of Sharks looking to punish the Avalanche. And you can bet that Boyle will be leading the charge.

NHL's Official Sharks / Avalanche Preview

Welcome

Welcome to the brand new Shark Attack blog where we're gearing up for the NHL playoffs starting tonight. This site will be updated with game previews and reactions towards important games and match ups. Stay tuned for in-depth analysis on all things Sharks.