Titan Clash didn’t disappoint, but still just game 54

You wouldn’t know it from the build-up, but the San Jose Sharks clash with the Chicago Blackhawks was just game 54 of the regular season. These teams might very well meet in the playoffs and at this point it looks like the route to the Stanley Cup for a Western Conference team is through one of or both of these teams.

There’s still the Olympics, the trade deadline, 28 games, and a playoff curse label left to get through before that potential rematch comes up. There’s plenty for the Sharks to think about before wondering if they can stick with the Blackhawks for a seven-game series.

It was just one game but it was the first of the four games between these teams that the Sharks played well in.

They were dominated in the first period and deserved to be down 3-0 because the Blackhawks were all over them in that period. I expected some kind of comeback effort but the push back in the second period was probably their best against the Hawks. The effort was there in the third but once the game was tied, they eased off as the Blackhawks stepped up their game following  a timeout. In that situation, why step off the pedal?

Though the first game went to overtime, it was dominated by the Blackhawks. The second game was the abomination at the Tank that resulted in three short-handed goals against and a 7-2 final. Game three actually resulted in a win for team teal but that was only because Evgeni Nabokov played arguably his best game of the season. The shot total in that game was 47-14 in favor of Chicago.

Last nights shot total (39-37 in favor of Sharks) didn’t tell the script of the game. In this game it looked like Cristobal Huet was the better goalie. Nabokov put his team in a 3-0 hole early and though he had some horrendous defense in front of him, he is suppose to be the supposed “edge” factor that the Sharks have on the Blackhawks.

Those defensive lapses might be slightly excused by the fact that Dan Boyle didn’t play and Marc-Edouard Vlasic only played seven minutes because of an injury.

It’s been thrown out into the hockey world that the Sharks need more depth on defense and I mentioned it earlier this season as well. If the team is really having trouble getting secondary scoring, they can’t afford to let a forward they have go.

The cap situation doesn’t leave the Sharks with a lot of trade options unless they want to clear some cap by getting rid of a current player. I just don’t see that happening. In fact they’ve already started a possible compensation scenario by practicing Brad Staubitz on defense.

Staubitz played defense for his entire hockey career until the last year and a half when he was asked to transition to forward. It wouldn’t be a seamless transition but considering he’s only a fourth line forward, it’s not like they team is losing much gusto up front. They could use the depth on defense.

The Sharks are suppose to be the team challenged with a lack of offensive balance. The line that had the least scoring chances last night… the Burger Line of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dany Heatley. That line also happened to be out on the ice for the majority of the goals against. It was an off night, but just one off night from your best players in the playoffs can cost more than a game.

Those three players will benefit the most from going through the Olympics. The added pressure on Team Canada will help them get a feel for ways to deal with it and step up. Something they’ll have to do once the playoffs roll around.

It might end up being the last truly meaningful game the team plays until the playoffs. Thanks to some scheduling quirks they have already completed their season series with division foe Los Angeles. There’s only one game remaining with both Anaheim and Phoenix. Oddly enough the meet Dallas three times in the month of March alone.

The Sharks can take this game for what it was: a nice comeback with a bitter end against a team that will be your biggest obstacle to the Stanley Cup Finals. Until that time comes, it’s time to move on.