Team Canada Destroys Team Russia

Video Highlights from Last Game

Well, if there's a silver lining from last night's game between Team Russia and Team Canada...at least only one San Jose Shark finished his run at the gold medal...instead of four. However, to see Evgeni Nabokov get torched out there was tough. We all know how strong Number 20 is mentally, but after an outing like that, I still worry about how it may affect him once he's back in a San Jose sweater. Granted, it was essentially an All-Star game out there...a ton of shots coming from Canada and very little defense coming from Russia. More specifically, Evgeni saw 23 shots on goal in his 24 minutes of ice time...that's almost a shot a minute. You translate those numbers into a full 60 minutes and you get a 57 shot night! Unfortunately, Nabby didn't get to see 60 minutes as he was pulled after letting in a sixth Canadian goal. Granted, the Russian netminder couldn't stop the puck like he normally does, but the commentators made it seem like it was all Nabby's fault.

I will first start out by saying that Nabokov wasn't himself and looked pretty bad out there. However, I feel that it was somewhat unfair to pin it all on his shoulders. I understand that he is the one responsible for keeping the puck out of the net, but the commentators seemed to forget that the rest of the team is responsible for limiting their opponents scoring chances...which Team Russia did not do. With that said, just like a whining homer, I will look to spread the blame rather than just dropping the loss on Evgeni's head. What else do you expect from a Sharks fan?

On the first goal scored by Ryan Getzlaf, Nabby didn't have a chance. A nice pass by Dan Boyle was sent across the crease and the Anaheim Duck slammed it home into an empty net...not much Nabby could have done there. Where was the defense? Where was the backcheck? Why was Getzlaf so open?

On the second goal, it was a powerplay. Boyle put a shot on net while Patrick Marleau screened his regular season goalie. The puck found its way into the back of the net putting Canada up by two. Where was the defense on this play? Why wasn't Marleau pushed off the top of the crease? How do you expect Nabby to make a save when he can't see the puck?

On the third goal scored by Rick Nash, I will argue that Nabby again did not have much of a chance. Thanks to a turnover at their own blueline, the Russians found themselves chasing down and odd man rush going the other way. Unfortunately for Nabby, both forwards went unchecked and he was forced to stack the pads in an effort to fight off the odd man attack. However, Nash made a nice shot and beat Nabokov for the 3rd time. Where was the backcheck? Why didn't Nash's stick get lifted?

On the fourth goal of the night, this one was pretty bad. Brenden Morrow somehow picked up the puck and tucked it in on a semi-wraparound. However, this goal happened after Canada was able to control the puck in the Russian zone for what seemed to be an eternity. The Russian defense appeared to be a step behind and simply gassed out there...which is why Morrow was able to skate freely towards the front of the net. Why didn't Morrow get dropped at the near post? Why couldn't Russia clear the zone?

On the fifth goal, Corey Perry scored on a big rebound given up by Nabokov. After the initial save, Nabby was way out of position and the Anaheim Duck was able to slam the rebound home. The commentators couldn't stop talking about how Evgeni put himself out of position because of his aggressiveness. Well, that's the way he plays in San Jose, but that type of goal usually doesn't happen. Why? Because San Jose has a solid defense. If that were an NHL game against the Ducks, Nabby would have made the initial save and Douglas Murray would have cleared away the puck or tied up Perry's stick...or better yet, put gritty winger on his ass.

On the sixth goal, Nabokov got beat. Nothing I can say here...just a nice blast by Shea Weber.

So yes...I found a way to rationalize almost all of Nabby's goals allowed. Does this mean he's without blame? No. I'll admit that Number 20 looked bad out there. However, if there were a few key defensive plays made out there, our goalie wouldn't have been shelled so badly and the commentators might have laid off a bit. Let's just hope that Nabby channels this experience into a solid post-season run.

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