Escape

Where to begin?

The San Jose Sharks bounced back from their dismal Game Six performance in Alberta and defeated the Calgary Flames 5-3 tonight, winning their first-round playoff series four games to three.

That's the one-line summary, but it doesn't begin to scratch the real story.

Let's start with Jeremy Roenick. JR, who is older than his uniform number (ahem) and was a healthy scratch in Game Six, was involved in four of San Jose's five goals, scoring two himself and chipping in two assists. You hear a lot of talk in the playoffs about the importance of "veteran presence", et cetera, and it's the kind of thing that one is tempted to sneer at and dismiss. Sharks GM Doug Wilson lured JR out of retirement in the offseason precisely to bring to the team that kind of guy...the kind of guy who can lead a team to victory through sheer force of will. So clearly he believes in it. I believe in it, too, and I offer Roenick's performance tonight as evidence.

I find something hockey-affirming in this. The notion that willpower, emotion, and courage can be at least as important as talent in ice hockey is not just an old saw for writers of dramatic sports journalism...it's as real as the blood on Patrick Marleau's face in Game Three.

I think the effort of Joe Thornton has to be acknowledged tonight, as well. Big Joe has taken a lot of heat for allegedly disappearing in the playoffs, not just this season but in years past (and not just in San Jose...in Boston, too). To an extent, I think some of this criticism is justified. But it's not about the goals. Some of Thornton's critics have been grumbling that his playoff goal totals are meager, but Thornton is not primarily a goal scorer and never has been. He is a dominant possessor of the puck and an extraordinary passer, and as such his role is to make the other players on the ice better. He excels in this role, which is why he's always among the league leaders in assists. But in this series, Thornton has only rarely seemed to be the player he was during the regular season--the dominant final shift in Game Four that ended in his game-winning goal was an exception, not the rule. But Thornton played inspired hockey tonight, possessing the puck well and winning at least two crucial battles for loose pucks in the late-going with six Flames on the ice.

The Sharks put forth the kind of dominating effort tonight that many fans of the team knew was possible, but which, to our frustration, we glimpsed only rarely during the regular season. It goes without saying that I'm glad the Sharks put together this strong of a game tonight, but in my mind it's still an open question whether the Sharks really have what it takes to play playoff-caliber hockey with enough consistency to challenge for the Stanley Cup.

The Sharks can be proud of their effort tonight, but they also need to count themselves as extremely fortunate to have advanced to the second round after a series that included a blown 3-0 Game Three lead and a dreadful effort in Game Six. They were the best of teams, they were the worst of teams. If they "come out flat" in even one game against Dallas, that will be one game too many, and summer vacation will be on us before we know it.

What will it take to convince me? A playoff series in which the Sharks work hard, fight for every loose puck, hit, get to the tough areas of the ice, and show the remorseless killer instict of, well, sharks, in every game. Not just "When it counts", or "When it matters most". Every. Single. Game.

Next are the Dallas Stars, the Evil Empire, against whom I nurse a deep and very personal grudge. I can't think of a team I'd rather beat in the playoffs.