Rivet Trade Paying Off Big Time

At the trade deadline, the San Jose Sharks picked up defenseman Craig Rivet from the Montreal Canadiens and Bill Guerin from the St. Louis Blues. I was very excited to hear that Guerin was coming to San Jose, but I was a bit disappointed when the dust settled and the only defensive addition was Rivet who has often been considered as a number three defenseman. Fortunately for Team Teal, the new Sharks d-man is playing like a number one.

I was rather pleased with Rivet's performance over the last 17 games of the regular season. His solid play and experience seemed to strengthen San Jose's young defensive corps which was struggling at the time. In addition, Rivet was also able to chip in a goal and seven assists which was more than I expected given that he only posted six goals and ten assists over the previous 54 games played.

However, since the playoffs started, I am no longer simply pleased, I am ecstatic. Rivet has simply been awesome. Not only is he logging more that 23 minutes a night, but Craig is also scoring. In Games One and Two, the Sharks defenseman posted a total of two goals and an assist. In Game Three, Rivet assisted on the game tying goal which really got the Sharks going. After a face-off win by Joe Thornton, number 52 was able to pick up the puck at the far point. Rather than immediately firing it into a crowd, the defenseman first delayed and then ripped a wicked wrister towards the net when a lane opened up. The shot was somehow able to get through what looked like five or six players before being redirected in by Milan Michalek. This goal definitely turned the tide and helped San Jose re-gain the series lead.

Currently, Rivet is tied for first in points (4 total) among all defenseman in the playoffs and if he continues at this pace, I imagine the Sharks will continue to see success (knock on wood).

A San Jose Sharks Blog