Inside the Shark Cage, Vol. 69

Quite the reversal game for the Sharks as they lost to the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime. The gameplay was completely flipped from last game against Nashville.

In the last three games, San Jose trailed going into the third, but each time they came back to win. That was an NHL record. Coach Todd McLellan was all but pleased with the effort of the Sharks though. It’s been tough to find a full 60-minute effort this season.

The Sharks got the message — for the first 20 minutes — and kept pressure on the Panthers throughout the first frame. Things were looking really good; the Sharks scored two goals and held the Panthers off the scoresheet after one.

All downhill from there.

Florida turned the heat up for the remainder of the game, and with Tomas Vokoun making stops at key times, the Panthers were able to tie the game up in the third at 2-2. It seems the Sharks forgot what it was like to have a lead so late in the game.

The Sharks actually attempted to score in overtime, coming as a shock to me. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to find the back of the net. A shot from the point doomed San Jose, and they leave HP Pavilion with one point.

It’s like McLellan is a one-period coach. He sure can get the guys ready to play and spark them for one period, but after that, it’s disgusting. That’s not on the coach though. He can turn the key to the ignition, but the players have to step on the gas and keep the pedal down.

I’m just glad this string of crappy play is happening now and not at the very end of the season. That occurred last year and we all know what went down in the playoffs.

Fight!

Brad Staubitz finally decided to appear, in his first scrap since Jody Shelley was traded. He took on Nick Tarnasky, and it was an uneventful affair. The two swung each other in circles before falling to the ice.

Manny Malhotra took it upon himself to defend Joe Pavelski in the third period. Jason Garrison slammed Pavs’ head into the boards, which sent Malhotra off. The two tussled, but it also was dull. Malhotra received an instigator and 10-minute misconduct for it.

Other Notes

Hit-O-Meter: SJ 32  FLA 36; Scott Nichol and Dany Heatley both had six.

No photos were posted for the game. Odd.

The Sharks travel to Anaheim tomorrow to take on the Ducks.

–Ray

Inside the Shark Cage, Vol. 64

Quite the oh well game tonight as the Sharks lost to the Buffalo Sabres 3-1. The Olympics are going on already, and the game just seemed pretty worthless. The Sharks played like it too.

The defense was terrible tonight. Mistakes galore keying all three Sabres goals. Dan Boyle turned it over in his own zone a few times, and Rob Blake had some bad turnovers as well.

The Sharks power play was disgustingly bad, not getting much opportunities at all.

Heatley shows us a survival technique for games that don't matter. (From SJSHARKS.com)

Again, this game was just blah. Too many other things going on to really put a lot of emotion into this one. The Sharks watched the opening ceremonies last night, so I’m sure that made the apathy worse for tonight. I don’t blame them. Hockey shouldn’t be played right now — NHL-wise. It should have ended by Friday.

Kent Huskins was the lone Shark scorer. You know nobody cares when that happens.

That’s all I have to say about the game.

Traded

San Jose traded Jody Shelley to the Rangers for a 2011 conditional sixth round pick. I don’t see the point of this move. Well, I guess it’s to stop the Worcester shuttle. Shelley only made $725,000, so the moves are limited. But I was thinking maybe that was all that needed to be moved to make a bigger move after the Olympic break. Time will tell. I’ll miss Jody. He was a good guy and always had funny things to say.

Other Notes

Hit-O-Meter: SJ 15  BUF 21; Niclas Wallin led with three.

It’s break time! Two weeks of Olympics. Good luck to all the Olympians. I’ll be taking a break as well. See you guys in a fortnight.

–Ray