Nabokov Strong in Goal

Sharks 3, Oilers 0

Nabby continues to look sharp in net. First, he shut-out the East All-Stars during his twenty minutes of play in the NHL All Star game. Then last night, in front of a national audience on the Versus Channel, he stopped all thirteen shots he faced in the win against the Edmonton Oilers. It was his sixth shut-out of the season. Nabby gave a lot of credit to how the team played in front of him. But with Garon’s strong play at the other end, and one or two bad bounces, the result could have been different. With our recent history at Rexall Place, the Sharks probably needed the shut-out to prevent the Oilers and their fans from getting into the game.

The Sharks were starting to get on a roll right before the All Star break. I was a little worried that the break would kill their momentum. But the Sharks came out strong, out shooting Edmonton 39 to 13. They looked fast on the quick ice at Rexall, and they kept an aggressive forecheck for all 60 minutes. The Sharks got their scoring from the third and fourth lines, with goals by Pavelski, Grier, and Rissmiller. It’s nice to know that these guys can step up when our first and second lines get blanked. I’m still looking for more goals from Cheechoo and Marleau. Cheechoo seems to be headed in the right direction with his effort against the Blues last week.

During the first intermission, it was announced that the Sharks had acquired enforcer Jody Shelley from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a sixth round pick in the 2009 draft. My first reaction was disgust. I have hated Shelley ever since his cheap shot on Brad Stuart. I have heard several people comment that Brad was never the same after that hit.

After I got over my initial shock, I tried to look at the acquisition as objectively as possible. As noted in the previous post, grit and toughness has been a question mark for this team. With the loss of Scott Parker, Ryan Clowe, and even Mark Smith, there hasn’t been an agitator. Someone the other team has to worry about if they decide to take runs at our players. No disrespect to Davison, Murray, McClaren, Bernier, or anyone else that has dropped the gloves for the Sharks, but Shelley is a bona fide Enforcer. At 6’4” and 225 pounds he will be an intimidating force on the ice. He is the Blue Jacket’s franchise leader in penalty minutes with 1,025 since signing as a free agent seven years ago.

I don’t know too much more about him. He’s only played 31 of the BJ’s 52 games this season. And according to HockeyFights.com, he’s only had about six fights this year. I hope he’s not nursing some hidden injury. Maybe he’s just not getting enough minutes from Ken Hitchcock. Hopefully he’s healthy and can give San Jose some much needed toughness. Next time, Tkachuk might think twice before picking on Torrey Mitchell.

A San Jose Sharks Blog