Well, Dallas Lost Tonight, Too. So There.

The Sharks played poorly tonight against an undermanned and less-talented Edmonton Oilers team that will likely (although by no means certainly) be on the outside looking in come playoff time, and lost 3-2.

I did not get the sense tonight that the Sharks were deflated in the wake of Tuesday's last-minute loss to Calgary. This wasn't like other poor outings I've had the displeasure of writing about since I started this blog, in which San Jose came out with zero energy. There was at least some energy tonight--J.R., Jody Shelley, Marcel Goc, and Jonathan Cheechoo were among the players in teal who put in good efforts, and Joe Pavelski scored a hard-working goal--but this doesn't change the fact that the Sharks were sloppy and disoriented for most of the night, and there were significant stretches of poor and even lazy play (notably a dreadful effort on a 5-on-3 in the first period). Even Thornton had a relatively crummy game.

No disrespect to the Oilers, whom I generally like (unless they're playing San Jose), but they are a very beatable team this season and they represent the type of team the Sharks will need to pile up wins against down the stretch to win the Pacific. To their credit, the Sharks never gave up tonight, and they made the game close just because, well, they have better players than Edmonton, but if they were to turn in a performance like that against Anaheim or Dallas or even Minnesota they'd lose by three, easy.

Not a good way to end a six-game home stand. Now they set off on an absolutely crucial road trip, starting Sunday at Madison Square Garden. Hey, at least the game will be on at a reasonable hour for those of us who don't live in California...


Blockheads

The revised rules standards of the post-lockout NHL have decreased the defensive utility of small hooks and holds and other bits of interference and substantially increased the importance of shot blocking. But blocked shots are more than just a defensive weapon--they are also often the catalyst for a counterattack. We saw this tonight on Edmonton's third goal--the real back-breaker that put the Sharks in what turned out to be an excessively deep hole.

You could see the nightmare developing as soon as Christian Ehrhoff made the decision to flip the puck towards the net with an Edmonton Oiler obviously in the way. The shot was (inevitably) blocked, the puck was instantly behind Ehrhoff, and the play was headed the other way. Seconds later Fernando Pisani was clear and beat Evgeni Nabokov on the breakaway. Oilers 3, Sharks 1, just like that.

Players in general--and particularly defensemen who spend a lot of time at the points seeking to create offense by driving pucks toward the net--have to be extremely aware of the potential for shots to be blocked. Frequently I see players wind up and attempt to shoot even when there is clearly a defender in position to block the shot. Unsurprisingly, these shots are, in fact, typically blocked, rebounding the opposite way with considerable speed. At a minimum this can allow the defense an easy clearance, and at worst it can wind up behind the shooter's goalie. Now more than ever, generating open shooting lanes is crucial. This requires precise, rapid movement of the puck and movement of players away from the puck. If the shot ain't there, it's best not to try.


Data of Questionable Value

In a previous post I alluded to the danger of putting too much stock in shots on goal as a measure of how a game is going or did go. Good example tonight--San Jose outshot Edmonton 30-18, but the Oilers were the better team all night long.