These Are the Facts of the Case, and They Are Undisputed

The San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets tonight by the score of 3-2. They are now 23-12-6, for 52 points, good for second in the Western Conference behind the Detroit Red Wings, who are pretty clearly in a class by themselves. The Sharks are in sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division, and have two games in hand on Dallas (50 points) and three in hand on the Ducks (48 points).

These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed. So what's not to like?

For the second period and the first several minutes of the third, the Sharks asserted themselves as the better team and opened up a 3-0 lead. You finally got the sense that they were playing with a bit of cockiness. You could feel Columbus's morale starting to crumble. Then the Jackets' Andrew Murray stuffed one in short-side on Nabokov for his second NHL goal ever, and things started to come apart for San Jose.

If you get ahead of, say, the Ottawa Senators 3-0, it's reasonable to expect that they're going to roar back and make a game of it. (You could say the same thing about the Wings, but you're deeply unlikely to ever get ahead of them 3-0). The Columbus Blue Jackets are not a team that should be able to come back on you from three goals down.

This isn't to say the Jackets aren't a good team--they are. I predicted last season that they would make the playoffs this year, and halfway through the season they're certainly in the hunt. They are well-coached by Ken Hitchcock, tight defensively, and, most importantly for any team scrapping to make the playoffs, they're getting great goaltending from Pascal Leclaire (who mysteriously left the game after the second period tonight...still not sure what's up with that). But if you're going to get beat by them, you ought to get beat by them in a Ken-Hitchcock-style game--they work hard all game, frustrate your every offensive effort, and manage to slip in a goal late to win 2-1, for instance. But if you fancy yourself an elite team, you ought to be able to finish the Jackets off without too much drama if you manage to get a three-goal lead on them.

I want to stop being able to use the adjective fragile to describe this Sharks team, but I don't feel that I can. Not yet. After Murray scored tonight, it seemed like they started to panic. They were chasing on their next couple defensive shifts and quickly Jeremy Roenick was in the box for cross-checking. On the ensuing power play Nabokov, typically so calm in the net, suddenly can't find the puck off a long shot and looks for it behind him (as clear a sign as there could be that a goalie is expecting the worse). Where is it? Under his pads, loose on the ice. Sergei Fedorov saw it. 3-2.

This isn't soccer. It isn't reasonable to expect a shutout every night. You're going to be scored upon. Tonight, as soon as the Sharks were scored upon any cockiness evaporated and they became a very anxious group of hockey players. Mental toughness is so important in hockey. You have to be able to shrug, say, "Well, they'll never be able to beat us that way again," and get back to dominating. You can't be expecting things to fall apart at the first sign of trouble, because this can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

At this point, I could with some justice be accused of failing to acknowledge the big picture. The Sharks won. Period. And they have shown some resiliency over the past couple of games--Minnesota's rally was pole-axed by Cheechoo's quick goal on New Year's Eve, and, as I mentioned in my post about the Calgary game, I thought they bounced back well against the Flames after giving up a potentially morale-breaking 2-on-1 right off the bat. So let's hope that by weathering the storm tonight, they've put this can't-win-in-the-Tank bogeyman behind them, and the next time an opponent on the ropes scores a goal to potentially spark a rally, the Sharks will have the confidence to put on a bored sneer and calmly snuff that rally out.


On the Subject of Luck

Steve Bernier's goal was described as "lucky" or "fortunate" by everyone asked to comment upon it tonight, including Bernier himself. (A bouncing puck landed just right for him in the slot, and he did a little spin-o-rama and shot it past a surprised Pascal Leclaire). I beg to differ. It's one of the oldest cliches in hockey, indeed in sports--good teams make their own luck. The Sharks worked hard tonight and it paid off. Good goal Sharks, good goal Bernier.


Empty Netters

What would have been lucky for Bernier is if he would have actually scored an empty-net goal by shoveling the puck backhanded into the air from just inside the red line while going to the bench. That probably would have been the most entertaining empty-net goal I've ever seen. Unfortunately, he hit the post...

And it actually still comes in second in my all-time ranking of most entertaining almost empty-net goals. I was present at a San Jose-Minnesota game during which Minnesota, having pulled their goalie for an extra attacker during a delayed penalty, nearly shot the puck into their own net on a pass gone awry. That one hit the post, too.


Fedorov

Sergei Fedorov continues to contribute in Columbus. He doesn't score like he used to, of course, but his hockey savvy is still there. Hitchcock actually played Fedorov, a forward, at defenseman for significant stretches last season. That's a testament to his defensive skills and overall hockey sense--we tend to remember Fedorov in his heyday as a scorer, but he's always been a terrific defensive player.