Every dog has his day. That's the sports clich? you know. Every dog also has his chew toys. That's the sports clich? you don't know. I just invented it.
But it's the clich? that applies now. In the Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings rivalry, the Sharks have always been the chew toys. When the two teams play, regular season or playoffs, the Red Wings usually allow the Sharks to wiggle and bounce about happily for a while ? before clamping down and squeezing the life out of them. Classic example: second round, 2007.
The Sharks have existed for 19 years. Their overall record against Detroit is 25-55-8. In the 44 road games at Joe Louis Arena, the Sharks have won just eight times. That includes the Sharks' only victory over Detroit this season, which occurred in an overtime shootout on a night when goalie Evgeni Nabokov made 50 saves.
"They're a better team now," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said of the Red Wings after Wednesday's practice.
Oh, swell. Drop the puck.
The prediction this time for the series that starts here tonight: Detroit wins in seven games.
Let me be clear: I believe the Sharks can win and advance to the conference finals. They have the talent to do so. Goodness knows, they should have the motivation. But until I see them beat Detroit with my own eyes, I cannot in good conscience pick our beloved Los Tiburones to get the job done.
In searching for reasons why they might,
however, I did come up with one wild-card factor: McLellan. The Sharks' coach was impressive in the way he handled his team's bumpy start to the first-round series against Colorado. McLellan's method was particularly effective after the Sharks lost Game 3 in overtime, on the fluky, oh-no goal when an attempted backhand clearing pass by Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle made it past Nabokov.
The agonizing defeat put the Sharks behind in the series, two games to one. But instead of screaming or panicking, McLellan remained calm. He called off practice the next day. He told the players to rest up, go to the movies, whatever. After the team dinner that night, he then brought out some video clips to illustrate the Sharks' good and bad plays.
In one video clip, Boyle was joining a rush up the ice and fired a backhand shot at Colorado goalie Craig Anderson ? from just about the same spot where Boyle's oh-no goal had been launched. Anderson made the save.
"See, you don't want to take that kind of backhand shot," McLellan told the team, deadpan, "because it'll never go in."
Laughter broke out in the room, although not from Boyle at first.
"In hindsight, it was kind of funny," Boyle said. "It didn't bother me "... It was just to lighten up the mood."
Yes, but beyond that, McLellan's tactic sent a message, namely: Guys, we're big enough to giggle at this stupidity and stick with our plan and move onward.
The Sharks proceeded to win three straight and take the series.
"I think the main thing preached here," defenseman Rob Blake said, "was patience."
In the next two weeks, much will be made of McLellan's relationship with Detroit coach Mike Babcock, because McLellan spent three seasons with the Red Wings as a Babcock assistant. But the far more important relationship is and will be the one between McLellan and his own Sharks players.
His next major challenge will be to amp up the play of his Big Three ? Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley. They combined for just one goal against Colorado. That won't be enough to beat Detroit. You would think that those three, after seeing what Joe Pavelski's line did against the Avalanche, would be fired up to match that performance. But as we have seen over the years, igniting Marleau and Thornton into an extra gear can be difficult.
The solution could be shuffling the lines again, as McLellan did in the first round. Marleau's best contribution against Colorado was on defense.
So don't be stunned if McLellan puts Marleau on a checking line with Manny Malhotra and Torrey Mitchell, then moves Logan Couture up to a line with Thornton and Heatley.
Will that work? It could. Or it might just give Detroit something more to chew on. This won't be a simple task to accomplish for the Sharks. But if they do, it will be one great Toy Story.
But it's the clich? that applies now. In the Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings rivalry, the Sharks have always been the chew toys. When the two teams play, regular season or playoffs, the Red Wings usually allow the Sharks to wiggle and bounce about happily for a while ? before clamping down and squeezing the life out of them. Classic example: second round, 2007.
The Sharks have existed for 19 years. Their overall record against Detroit is 25-55-8. In the 44 road games at Joe Louis Arena, the Sharks have won just eight times. That includes the Sharks' only victory over Detroit this season, which occurred in an overtime shootout on a night when goalie Evgeni Nabokov made 50 saves.
"They're a better team now," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said of the Red Wings after Wednesday's practice.
Oh, swell. Drop the puck.
The prediction this time for the series that starts here tonight: Detroit wins in seven games.
Let me be clear: I believe the Sharks can win and advance to the conference finals. They have the talent to do so. Goodness knows, they should have the motivation. But until I see them beat Detroit with my own eyes, I cannot in good conscience pick our beloved Los Tiburones to get the job done.
In searching for reasons why they might,
however, I did come up with one wild-card factor: McLellan. The Sharks' coach was impressive in the way he handled his team's bumpy start to the first-round series against Colorado. McLellan's method was particularly effective after the Sharks lost Game 3 in overtime, on the fluky, oh-no goal when an attempted backhand clearing pass by Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle made it past Nabokov.
The agonizing defeat put the Sharks behind in the series, two games to one. But instead of screaming or panicking, McLellan remained calm. He called off practice the next day. He told the players to rest up, go to the movies, whatever. After the team dinner that night, he then brought out some video clips to illustrate the Sharks' good and bad plays.
In one video clip, Boyle was joining a rush up the ice and fired a backhand shot at Colorado goalie Craig Anderson ? from just about the same spot where Boyle's oh-no goal had been launched. Anderson made the save.
"See, you don't want to take that kind of backhand shot," McLellan told the team, deadpan, "because it'll never go in."
Laughter broke out in the room, although not from Boyle at first.
"In hindsight, it was kind of funny," Boyle said. "It didn't bother me "... It was just to lighten up the mood."
Yes, but beyond that, McLellan's tactic sent a message, namely: Guys, we're big enough to giggle at this stupidity and stick with our plan and move onward.
The Sharks proceeded to win three straight and take the series.
"I think the main thing preached here," defenseman Rob Blake said, "was patience."
In the next two weeks, much will be made of McLellan's relationship with Detroit coach Mike Babcock, because McLellan spent three seasons with the Red Wings as a Babcock assistant. But the far more important relationship is and will be the one between McLellan and his own Sharks players.
His next major challenge will be to amp up the play of his Big Three ? Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley. They combined for just one goal against Colorado. That won't be enough to beat Detroit. You would think that those three, after seeing what Joe Pavelski's line did against the Avalanche, would be fired up to match that performance. But as we have seen over the years, igniting Marleau and Thornton into an extra gear can be difficult.
The solution could be shuffling the lines again, as McLellan did in the first round. Marleau's best contribution against Colorado was on defense.
So don't be stunned if McLellan puts Marleau on a checking line with Manny Malhotra and Torrey Mitchell, then moves Logan Couture up to a line with Thornton and Heatley.
Will that work? It could. Or it might just give Detroit something more to chew on. This won't be a simple task to accomplish for the Sharks. But if they do, it will be one great Toy Story.
