Nabby...What was that?

Sharks 4, Flames 5

On Wednesday night, the San Jose Sharks lost to the Calgary Flames by only one goal. Though almost everyone on Team Teal was at fault for letting in five goals, one player in particular sticks out to me...Nabokov. Number 20 has simply been amazing this year; especially this past All-star weekend, but last night, he looked bad. Loose pucks, big rebounds, and one big give-away...handing over the puck to Owen Nolan and allowing him to score what was basically an empty netter.

Any time the Sharks score four goals, I expect them to win. Why? Well, because Nabby is back there and his goals against average (2.18) usually means that four goals is enough for two points. However, in the second game on back-to-back nights, Nabokov looked tired and out of focus. And who can blame him? Long flights from San Jose, to Atlanta, to Edmonton, and then to Calgary would make almost anyone tired...especially when you've started all but one game this year, AND played in the All-star game.

Heck, everyone in teal looked out of focus. There were bad penalties, weak penalty kills, sluggish legs...you could just feel like the loss was going to come; especially after the second period. However, very very late in the game, the Sharks mounted a bit of a comeback. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late.

To be honest though, I'm not that upset about the loss. Don't get me wrong, I wish we won, but as I've said in the past, San Jose isn't going to win every night. It was almost as if the Sharks were due for a bad game because nothing seemed to be working...at least not until the end. I guess I can be somewhat happy that even on an off night, the Sharks can battle back and almost steal a point or two from a very good Calagary team.

At any rate, I'm not going to worry about the loss too much. Next stop for Nabby and the Sharks...home at the Tank.

A San Jose Sharks Blog