Game #77 Keep the wins coming Sharks v.s Ducks 7pm

[sjrules99]

Marleau: 2 points in the last 5 games.
Thornton: 4 points in 5 games. 0 goals.

You'd think these guys would step it up when something was on the line but they're continuously not having the impact superstar players should.

Their non-leadership is unacceptable.

Filo has told me to address this, so here yah go:

yes, they arent scoring much. But they are giving up much less. marleau is a plus player is 5 of the last 7 games. He's minus in just one. Jumbo has been minus in just 1 of the last 5 (plus is 3). Point being, they arent lighting the lamp that much. they arent scoring 2+ per game. BUT, they are consistently outscoring the opposition while usually head-to-head against the other teams' top lines.

i'd love to see more from patty, for sure, and this game was not a good one, but like I said, if the bottom 6 is even, the sharks win 1-0 and we all praise the great play by the sharks and how the were gritty and how the top line did a nice job shutting down perry/getzlaf. The bottom six failure completely changes the narrative here and makes the top 6 look bad in our eyes when they are not the problem.

 

[sjrules99]

Do you really expect Thornton to step up?

25 goals for the Finnish Flash. He continues to AMAZE.

In this particular game, jumbo was excellent. He saved a goal with a key block, he set up guys left and right and it's not his fault that pavs couldnt finish or that marleau fumbled continously. His line shut out the ducks' stars (ENG doesnt count). I would say he was as good as you can ask, pretty much. Be nice if his line put the puck in the net, but they certainly did not get beat either.

 

[Mr. Teal]

Filo has told me to address this, so here yah go:

yes, they arent scoring much. But they are giving up much less. marleau is a plus player is 5 of the last 7 games. He's minus in just one. Jumbo has been minus in just 1 of the last 5 (plus is 3). Point being, they arent lighting the lamp that much. they arent scoring 2+ per game. BUT, they are consistently outscoring the opposition while usually head-to-head against the other teams' top lines.

i'd love to see more from patty, for sure, and this game was not a good one, but like I said, if the bottom 6 is even, the sharks win 1-0 and we all praise the great play by the sharks and how the were gritty and how the top line did a nice job shutting down perry/getzlaf. The bottom six failure completely changes the narrative here and makes the top 6 look bad in our eyes when they are not the problem.

I'm not blind to their contributions but I remain underwhelmed.

Sorry I just can't keep defending those guys when they can't make it happen when it counts. We're paying them far too much to be merely adequate.

 

[Mr. Teal]

Also the whole thing about Thornton not being a shooter is bunk.
I've seen that guy pick corners in the games and the all star skills competitions as well as any elite player, but he doesn't shoot the puck. That's a mental block.
Between those two guys, our scoring should be much higher even against the league's top lines.

Selanne is 20 years in to his career and still scoring against us while our top 2 are stymied yet again when a playoff berth is on the line.

Not cool.

 

[sjrules99]

I understand the frustration with the top 2, but against a team like the ducks, if you shut down perry/getzlaf, you have done your job. The rest of the sharks need to beat the rest of the ducks. No reason why we cant, except that we can't with this roster and the dearth of depth. When the ducks are a deeper team with multiple lines going, that says it all...

I actually think jumbo said in the postgame interview that we cant match a 4 line team. Did anyone else catch that? he basically said they have no scoring depth, in so many words. its the first time I have ever seen frustration, subtle as it may be, at the sharks bottom six forwards. it's clear that he is getting tired of watching those lines go out and lose games for the team.

It's big thing when jumbo basically calls you out, because he is such a little sweetie.

 

[sjrules99]

Found it:

"For whatever reason, our four lines can't match up against their four lines," Thornton said. "That's probably been our Achilles' heel."

dem's fitin wurds.

 

[Mr. Teal]

It's big thing when jumbo basically calls you out, because he is such a little sweetie.

I hate that about him. We don't need nice right now and the time to start calling guys out was last month.

I liked it better when teams were afraid to play the Sharks because of guys like Nolan, Scott Thornton and Marchment.
Nolan used to be a bit of a dick in hindsight but he had a fire to win that we haven't seen since his departure.

Now teams look at the Sharks and think they're soft. They get no respect.

 

[abaskin18]

Other fun facts about the last 14 losses:

- 6-35 on the PP
- 3.57 GAA (Does not include the two SOL additions)

Correction on the PP numbers, my bad. And I should have wrote GA/G, rather than GAA, again, my bad.

- 6-38 on the PP, roughly 15%

GA:
3/28 ANA: 3
3/20 LA: 5
3/19 ANA: 5
3/13 CGY: 3
3/10 PHO: 3
3/8 DAL: 3 (SOL so the score was 4 against, but I'm not including that)
3/6 EDM: 2 (SOL so the score was 3 against, but I'm not including that)
3/3 STL: 3
3/1 BUF : 1
2/26 MIN: 4
2/25 NAS: 6
2/21 CLB: 6
2/19 DET: 3
2/17 CAR: 3
Adds to : 50 GA, in 14 games, 3.57 GA/G

I'm sure there are a handful of empty netters in there if someone wanted to calculate.

 

[MrFlyingV]

Marleau: 2 points in the last 5 games.
Thornton: 4 points in 5 games. 0 goals.

You'd think these guys would step it up when something was on the line but they're continuously not having the impact superstar players should.

Their non-leadership is unacceptable.

Did I hear Drew say Marleau has 2 goals in the last 17 games? If true, that is pretty pathetic.

 

[Slimpikins]

I understand the frustration with the top 2, but against a team like the ducks, if you shut down perry/getzlaf, you have done your job. The rest of the sharks need to beat the rest of the ducks. No reason why we cant, except that we can't with this roster and the dearth of depth. When the ducks are a deeper team with multiple lines going, that says it all...

I actually think jumbo said in the postgame interview that we cant match a 4 line team. Did anyone else catch that? he basically said they have no scoring depth, in so many words. its the first time I have ever seen frustration, subtle as it may be, at the sharks bottom six forwards. it's clear that he is getting tired of watching those lines go out and lose games for the team.

It's big thing when jumbo basically calls you out, because he is such a little sweetie.

I couldn't disagree more. At 18M for the top line, they need to do more than break even against the Ducks top line. Breaking even is what you want your bottom lines to do, the top players are paid to produce. I think it is flawed logic if you expect guys getting paid peanuts to carry the scoring (and berate them for no offense) while the top paid players just need to not screw up.

The leaders on this team need to set the pace, now. This team needs to win to get into the playoffs and the top line needs to lead by example.

 

[Stackem]

I couldn't disagree more. At 18M for the top line, they need to do more than break even against the Ducks top line. Breaking even is what you want your bottom lines to do, the top players are paid to produce. I think it is flawed logic if you expect guys getting paid peanuts to carry the scoring (and berate them for no offense) while the top paid players just need to not screw up.

The leaders on this team need to set the pace, now. This team needs to win to get into the playoffs and the top line needs to lead by example.

+1. Great post.

Folks seem completely obsessed with hammering the 3rd and 4th lines almost to the point where the top 2 lines get a free pass.

 

[Mr. Teal]

I look forward to eating crow based upon my harsh criticisms of this team's on ice leaders.

 

[naes666]

I'm not blind to their contributions but I remain underwhelmed.

Sorry I just can't keep defending those guys when they can't make it happen when it counts. We're paying them far too much to be merely adequate.

AMEN!

Preach it!

 

[naes666]

I couldn't disagree more. At 18M for the top line, they need to do more than break even against the Ducks top line. Breaking even is what you want your bottom lines to do, the top players are paid to produce. I think it is flawed logic if you expect guys getting paid peanuts to carry the scoring (and berate them for no offense) while the top paid players just need to not screw up.

The leaders on this team need to set the pace, now. This team needs to win to get into the playoffs and the top line needs to lead by example.

can't rep you at the moment, but i would if i could!

 

[Mr. Teal]

AMEN!

Preach it!

I still remember the game we all went to with Dr. Kato, ELud and others.
Remember those guys?

It's been a while.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Marleau is eating up a lot of money for too many more seasons. Marleau was a figure skater last night. Pathetic.

 

[naes666]

I still remember the game we all went to with Dr. Kato, ELud and others.
Remember those guys?

It's been a while.

yeah too bad none of them came over here, they were a fun bunch!

we should go to a game again some time, maybe we can get the board to meet up, i know Vee is around and would probably be down for it.

any other local folks want to have a field trip?

 

[KillerVee]

yeah too bad none of them came over here, they were a fun bunch!

we should go to a game again some time, maybe we can get the board to meet up, i know Vee is around and would probably be down for it.

any other local folks want to have a field trip?

Yup!

 

[KillerVee]

Fuck, I just bought 5 Mega Millions tickets. If I win, I'll get us a box, ok?

 

[naes666]

Fuck, I just bought 5 Mega Millions tickets. If I win, I'll get us a box, ok?

i am running out to the store to buy 25 for the IT department office pool shortly...i will do the same if i win...hell if i win, i will pay for Rick Nash!