A San Jose Sharks Blog

Even though San Jose nearly gave the match away, it was a relatively well-played game by the boys in teal. I was happy to see the entire team put up a pretty solid 60 minute effort where they used their speed, size, and ability to control the puck against a very motivated Flames team. I finally felt like the Sharks were playing their game, at their tempo, and fortunately it was good enough to take a crucial Game Five. That is not to say that they were perfect.

On certain plays, San Jose seemed to have way too much difficulty clearing the zone. More often than not, this scenario was started by a turnover. To finish off the Flames, the Sharks are going to have to do a better job of taking care of the puck. In addition, I know that Miikka Kiprusoff is a very good goalie...one of the best in the league today, but when you get breakaways on him, those have got to go in.

But now is not the time to be too critical. The Sharks just took the lead in the series for the first time and are headed back to Calgary with a chance to end the first round in six (*knock on wood*). Moreover, Thursday's game was a great one to watch and I'm in a pretty good mood...San Jose looked good and from the way they were smiling at the end of the game...I'm assuming that they're feeling good, too.

Notes:

• Maybe he doesn't know that a rookie should be nervous during the playoffs because Devin Setoguchi continues to make a big impact. The young winger didn't make it onto the scoresheet, but he definitely threw his weight around all night and helped to score the game tying goal by keeping the zone during the Sharks' two-man advantage.
• The Cheechoo train has left the station and is now chugging down the track at full speed. Known for his streaky play, Number 14 has scored 3 goals in the last two games. Let's hope this streak lasts for a long time.
• Clowe and Pavelski continue to put up numbers which is a big reason why the Sharks have been winning. On the night, Little Joe picked up his 2nd goal and 4th assist of these playoffs while Ryane picked up his 4th assist as well.
• Nabokov was pretty solid tonight, making a number of big stops; 33 in all. He didn't perform as well as he did in Game Two, but Nabby did enough to pick up the win.