Showing posts with label Stever Bernier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stever Bernier. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Three Down, Three Up
After a 4-2 victory at Columbus tonight, the Sharks have now won three in a row after dropping the first three games of their eight-game road trip. I missed the first period of tonight's game, but tuned in just in time to see the Sharks falter (giving up a goal to David Vyborny and falling behind 2-1) then slowly take control of the game. By the middle of the third, San Jose was dominating the play, completely stifling the Columbus attack while generating fourteen shots of their own.
I certainly liked what I saw from new Shark Brian Campbell tonight. He chalked up an assist, was on the ice for one of the two San Jose power-play goals, moved the puck crisply out of the defensive zone in transition, and--best of all--came up with a huge open-ice hit in the third period. Campbell has played his entire NHL career prior to today in Buffalo, a terrific hockey town, and from press reports it is clear that although he suspected it was coming, the trade hit him hard. One always wonders how a reluctantly traded player will respond (Peter Forsberg, for instance, clearly never felt at home in a Nashville Predators uniform last year). The big hit suggests to me that Campbell, even though he was understandably sad to leave Buffalo, has brought all of his intensity to San Jose. That's good news.
Bernier the Sabre
In related news, Steve Bernier scored two goals tonight in the first period of his first game as a Buffalo Sabre. I mention this not only because I wish Bernier the best and hope the change of scenery will continue to do him good, but also because he helped do his old team a favor--Buffalo's 8-4 victory tonight came at the expense of Nashville, a team that is in competition with San Jose for Western Conference playoff position.
Wings on Leap Day.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Welcome, Brian Campbell. Happy Trails, Steve Bernier
Today was the NHL trading deadline, and I feel that the Sharks came out as one of the day's winners with their acquisition of All-Star defenseman Brian Campbell and a seventh-round draft pick from the Buffalo Sabres, in exchange for Steve Bernier and a first-round pick. Talented defensemen, particularly those who can contribute offensively, are the most in-demand players come trade time, and Campbell was certainly one of the top two blueliners whom one might have reasonably expected to be available. (Toronto's Tomas Kaberle was up there at the top, too, but he has a no-trade clause and it sounds like he invoked it).
I'm quite certain that San Jose's generally mediocre power play motivated Doug Wilson to be a very aggressive bidder in the Campbell Sweepstakes. Campbell's ability to create offense from the blue line will be very very welcome on a team that has struggled to get scoring from D-men all year. (The Sharks' leading scorer on the blue line, Craig Rivet, is twenty-sixth in points amongst all NHL defensemen at the time of writing, with 29 points. Campbell has 43 points so far this year). I had hoped that Matt Carle would develop into that offensive D-man/power-play quarterback, but he is one of a number of young Sharks who has simply not progressed this year--indeed, Carle has regressed, with only eleven points in fifty-five games, far off his pace from last year. With any luck, Campbell can step into that role and give the San Jose offense a shot in the arm.
Speaking of young guys who haven't developed, meet Steve Bernier, the world's newest Buffalo Sabre. Bernier has shown flashes of strong hockey so far in his NHL career, and his production hasn't taken the nosedive that Carle's has, but he still has seemed to be standing still, frustrating Sharks fans and no doubt the organization as a whole. Bernier is the type of guy who is classic trade bait--young, skilled, but falling short of expectations. The hope is always that a new coach/new teammates/change of scenery/whatever will provide a spark. Hopefully things will work out for Bernier with his new team.
I hope Doug Wilson intends to sign Campbell to a long-term deal. Guys like him are rare, and now that he's in teal, I'd like to see him stay in it for a while.
Davison to Long Island
Speaking of well wishes, hopefully new Islander Rob Davison will see more playing time than he did with the Sharks. Davison was sort of swept aside when young guys like Carle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic emerged...he's barely played at all in the last couple of seasons. Let's hope the Islanders have a good role for him to play.
Okay, so it's not quite a trade...
Also on the transaction front today, the Sharks signed Philadelphia Phantoms goalie Brian Boucher to a one-year deal, thus apparently confirming the suspicion that the organization doesn't really have confidence in either Thomas Greiss or Dimitri Patzold to serve as an adequate backup to Evgeni Nabokov this year. Is Boucher really any better? Well, at least he's a been-there-done-that veteran...not a bad trait in a backup netminder.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
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.
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.
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