We were lucky enough to be in attendance for the 3/25 game against Dallas. Not only was it Nabokov's 50th career shutout, but the rest of the team got back on track. That awful six game winless streak behind them, they have now won two in a row while Nabby only allowed one goal total. It's quite a turnaround and a welcome one, to boot!
Player highlights.
Torrey Mitchell = I know that going into the boards hard on icing calls is scary. It is his job, though. After he broke Kurtis Foster's leg by riding him into the endboards, it was obvious to everyone that he was letting up a bit. Then, the injury to his own leg when he crashed into the net during preseason 2008 kept him out of the entire season. What I'm trying to say is that it's completely understandable for him to be a bit hesitant about doing it. However, the kid is a champ and there is no more holding him back! He came in hard and hit the boards two or three times during the Dallas game. It's nice to see him build up his confidence again.
What's also been noticeable is the change in his game plan. Maybe it's because of the new coach or the new players, but he's not the default third line center any longer. He now has to work for his ice time and the even-younger guys on the team are his competition. I really like watching him play, but he's got to stop taking penalties. Two seasons ago, he was a PK specialist with great legs. He's still getting PK time, but not when he's the one in the box.
Patrick Marleau = Still one of the smoothest skaters on the Sharks, but it's clear that he is struggling a bit at all the changing roles he's been handed. He knows what to do on the PK, probably because he's out there on almost every kill. When he's out there with Jumbo, however, he's not getting his butt in the goalie's face. His 41 goals are deceiving, so he's got to stop trying to be the sniper on the team. Is it noticeable to other fans that his goals dried up a while back? Remember when he was the league leader in the category? I'm amazed that he's in 4th still. He's scored three in the last 17 games and none in the last seven.
Herein lies the problem. He seems to have lost the knack for being the playmaker. I can clearly remember three times in the game against Dallas that he came down the wing, slowed up to let players settle in front of him and pushed a weak pass right onto an opposing player's stick. I want to see him drive the net and pull the coverage with him. Then he can dish off to an open man. Maybe not all the players need to have consistent line mates, but I think he's one that does.
Niclas Wallin = It was my first time seeing him play in person, so it was a nice treat to see him take his job seriously. He was touted in the trade rumors and media writeups as a 3rd pairing D-man, and nothing more. I didn't see anything differently than what I read, but I saw some really refreshing flashes of blue-collar work there. He didn't make big mistakes and didn't incessantly feel the need to jump into the play. He can read the play and cut down the odds better than Leach or Huskins. If he had a booming shot, he might be a Blake 2.0 except he seems to have his emotions under control a bit better. Now that Vlasic is back, I see why Leach sat in the press box.
All in all, the game was great. There were a few spots in the game where the doldrums set in, but Dallas wasn't good enough to take advantage. I expected the chippiness to continue at the end of the game, but everyone seemed to calm down when Steve Ott got the boot. I wonder if the league has ever considered an additional bench minor to a team that takes more than one boarding call in the same game, like they didn't learn the lesson? That was on my mind after Couture was crushed from behind, but Marleau and the rest of the team got Ott to take his own extra minor anyway.
Signing off for today. I'm going to try to get these updates up after every game I watch in entirety. I'll also try to highlight three different players with each post.
Go Sharks!
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