Game-tieing goal changed Sharks momentum in Game 1 loss to Blackhawks

So much for that Motor City Mojo.

The Sharks, who looked like world beaters in beating the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference semifinals, are back in a familiar spot in the playoffs.

Having to prove themselves to the world. Again.

In baseball, momentum is the next’s day starting pitcher. In hockey, it’s the next goal. The Sharks had a 1-0 lead in the first game of their Western Conference finals series against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday when they lost sight of their goal. Because Evgeni Nabokov lost sight of the puck.

With the Blackhawks wearing out a path to the penalty box, the Sharks had every opportunity with a one-man advantage to extend their one-goal lead, the Blackhawks bounced on their big chance. Patrick Sharp lined up a shot as Nabokov was leaning to his left in the goalmouth.
Sharp’s shot wound up going between Nabby’s legs. The five-hole goal completely changed the game’s momentum and Nabokov didn’t see it coming.

“I didn’t see the puck,” Nabby told me after the game. “I had no idea where it was coming from. When I did, it was too late.”

The Sharks lost a game in which they did not commit a penalty and did not allow Chicago star Jonathan Towes a single shot on goal and he leads the NHL in points scored this post season.

“We were disciplined. We were skating pretty good with them. We did a great job, but they still got the win so it didn’t really matter, I guess,” Nabby said.

What mattered is offensively Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley, a pair of snipers, both had good looks at the net to shoot the puck past Chicago goalkeeper Antti Niemi , but couldn’t finish and Joe Pavelski’s line had 17 shots on goal and couldn’t score.

“For the most part we were the best team out there,” Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle said. “But we lost. It’s as simple as that.”

As simple as losing sight of the puck.

“I’m always hoping to make one save more than the other guy,” Nakobov said. “You just never know. If I was in my first year (as a rookie) I may try to think how the game went. Now I don’t even think about it. Whatever happens happens because you cannot predict how the game is going to go. You have to ready for whatever.”

Whatever.

The Sharks did not play badly in Game 1. They obviously need to play better in Game 2. Or they will be fighting for their playoff lives going to Chicago for Game 3.

Why NHL playoffs are better than NBA's

The Philadelphia Flyers made the Stanley Cup playoffs on the final day of the regular season this month in a shootout and now they have home ice advantage in the Eastern Conference finals.

Go figure.

The Flyers, a No. 7 seed, and the Montreal Canadians, a No. 8 seed who also made this year’s NHL playoffs, are playing in a best-of-seven games series for the right to play in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Look at it this way: It would be like the Oklahoma City Thunder playing the San Antonio Spurs of the Chicago Bulls playing the Charlotte Bobcats to get the NBA Finals.

That’s the beauty of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Its unpredictability. The stars in the NHL playoffs are not necessarily stars during the regular season. And that’s why I like the NHL playoffs better than the NBA playoffs. There’s no comparison.

The NHL playoffs have SUDDEN DEATH overtime. The NBA playoffs just have overtime, with commercial interruption.

The NHL playoffs have history. The NBA playoffs have histrionics.

For the NHL playoffs, the players grow beards. For the NBA playoffs, the players grow weed?

In the NHL playoffs, the best players don’t always start. In the NBA playoffs, the best players always start.

The NHL playoffs have Doc Emrick, the best announcer in sports. The NBA playoffs have Doc Rivers.

The best goals in the NHL playoffs are the most difficult. The easiest goals in the NBA playoffs – slam dunks – are the most watched.

News of injuries in the NHL playoffs is limited to “upper body” and “lower body.” News of injuries in the NBA playoffs is limited to “LeBron” and “Kobe.”

In the NHL playoffs, players wear helmets. In the NBA playoffs, players wear tattoos.

In the NHL playoffs, players go to the penalty box. In the NBA playoffs, players go to jail.

In the NHL playoffs, the spotlight is on the teams. In the NBA playoffs, the spotlight is on
LeBron James no matter if he is playing in the playoffs or not.

In the NHL playoffs, they SCORE! In the NBA playoffs, they score.

There are mullets in the NHL playoffs. There are shaved heads in the NBA playoffs.

There are power plays in the NHL playoffs. There are power trips in the NBA playoffs.

In the NHL playoffs, goaltenders are known to stand on their head. In the NBA playoffs, the goaltenders are known to block the ball on its way down.

In the NHL playoffs, it takes about two minutes to play the last two minutes of the game. In the NBA playoffs, it takes about 20 minutes to play the last two minutes of the game.

At the end of series in the NHL playoffs, the players line up to shake hands. In the NBA playoffs, they hug and shake hands before and after every game.

At the end of the season in the NHL playoffs, the winning team hoists a Cup that has the name of every player on every championship team on it. In the NBA playoffs, the winning team gets a trophy with only one name on it … and he never played a game in the NBA.

Sharks stars finally shine when it counts

Hockey has as many well-worn cliches as any other sport but they ring true.
For example, big players play big in the playoffs. Last night, Joe Thornton sparked a Sharks' third-period comeback with a goal then Patrick Marleau scored the game-winner in overtime with a brilliant assist from Thornton. Those two players have been maligned in their careers for not producing in the clutch come Lord Stanley Cup's tournament yet they came up big last night.
For all the times we have heaped criticism on them, now is a time to praise them for a change.

One sidelight on the Sharks' fans conspiring to throw the shark/octopus seafood platter on the ice during Game 2 on Sunday night: KNTV, the NBC affiliate in San Jose, assigned a reporter to do a follow-up on the story and he played the PETA card in his interview with one of the co-conspirators. C'mon. It was harmless fun. I think most people recognized and appreciated the spirit and intent of the prank. I suppose if there is a next time, the Sharks' fan ought to throw a leopard shark onto the ice wearing a fur coat.

I get the last laugh

When I was working at the Marin Independent Journal as a hockey-loving sports columnist I was told by more than one person in the newsroom that "No one cares about hockey in Marin County."
So I find it very amusing as I type this at this very moment that the No. 1 most viewed story on the Marin IJ's website right now is a hockey story I wrote three years ago.

How the real-life shark got on Sharks playoff ice

Call it the Great Shark Caper II.

While the Sharks went two up on the Red Wings in the best-of-seven games Western Conference semifinals playoff series on Sunday night, Sharks fans one-upped Red Wings in a longstanding Stanley Cup tradition.

When San Jose’s Joe Pavelski scored the game-tying goal on Sunday night at the Shark Tank to make the score 1-1, a Sharks fan in Section 114 ran down to rink side and hurled a day-old leopard shark over the glass and onto the blue line on the ice. Inside the shark’s mouth was an octopus, the symbol of success in Red Wings’ lore.

Pavelski nearly skated over the stuffed shark celebrating the goal. Little Joe meet Big Stunt.

"It was some kind of fish," Pavelski told me after the game, a 4-3 Sharks' victory. "It surprised me. I almost tripped over it. I didn't see it coming. I'm just glad it didn't hit me."

How does that happen? It happened exactly three years ago on Sunday when the same group of Sharks fans conspired to sneak a 48-inch leopard shark past security to their seats.

I know. I wrote the exclusive story about …
http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_7129022

The Sharks fans vowed at that time they would do it again when the Sharks met the Wings again the playoffs. They pulled off the Delta House-like "Eat Me"" prank again.

They had conflicts and missed Game 1 of the series on Thursday night but put their secret plan into motion on Friday morning. They bought an octopus in a fish market on Mission in the City. Unfortunately, the shark they had ordered from North Carolina turned out to be of poor quality and not up to their standards.

So they scrambled to find another one, searching piers throughout the Bay Area for more than 12 hours on Saturday. Mission improbable began to look impossible. Things were real bleak on Saturday night but then they got a cell phone call tipping them off that someone had hooked a real-life 36-inch leopard shark at McNear Pier in San Rafael.

One shark: $40.
One octopus: $12.
Two playoff tickets online: $600.
The opportunity to show up the Red Wings and their fans: Priceless.

On Sunday morning, the Sharks fans sewed the octopus into the mouth of the shark then recruited a Sharks fan that had the longest inseam to sneak the stuffed shark into the San Jose Arena. That’s right. Using Velcro and duct tape, the guy had it strapped to one of his legs inside his sweat pants as he cleared security.

Once at their seats, the stuffed shark was placed under the seats the fans were sitting in. Once the Sharks scored the first goal – on a power play -- one of the fans stood up, grabbed the shark, ran down next to the Wings’ penalty box and launched the virtual sea platter onto the ice. Within a minute, an arena crew employee skated onto the ice from one end of the rink with a shovel, scooped up the shark and dumped it off the ice on the other side of the rink.

Versus may cover hockey from one end of the continent to the other but they missed that.

The Sharks Nation will not.

Sharks fan throws real shark on ice

Call it the Great Shark Caper II.

With the Sharks trying to go two up on the Red Wings in the best-of-seven games Western Conference semifinals playoff series on Sunday night, Sharks fans one-upped Red Wings in a longstanding Stanley Cup tradition.

When San Jose’s Joe Pavelski scored the game-tying goal to make the score 1-1 at the Shark Tank, a Sharks fan ran down to rink side and hurled a day-old shark onto the ice onto the blue line. Inside the shark's mouth was an octopus, the symbol of success in Red Wings’ lore.

Pavelski nearly skated over it celebrating the goal.

How does that happen? It happened exactly three years ago today when some Sharks fans conspired to sneak a 48-inch Tiger shark past security to their seats.

I know. I wrote the exclusive story about …
http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_7129022

More updates to come about this developing story ...