Sharks Find Themselves in Deep Water
The Chicago Blackhawks have all but finished the San Jose Sharks with a stunning overtime victory at the United Center in Chicago on Friday night. With their backs against the wall in a must-win situation, the Sharks played strong and stood toe to toe with the Hawks for 70 minutes. Unfortunately for San Jose, the ever-persistent Dustin Byfuglien shot a laser over the glove hand of Evgeni Nabokov and into the net at the 12:24 mark in overtime, his only shot on goal in the game. Chicago played absolute resilient hockey in Game 3, proving to the hockey world that their youthful group of guys have matured and learned how to win big games when the pressure’s on. Jonathan Toews added two assists to his impressive postseason resume, bringing his playoff point total to 25 and putting him as the favorite to win the Conn Smythe trophy this year. Toews has been stellar this postseason, disrupting the opposition, sliding between defenders and finding open teammates that can finish off big plays. One big beneficiary of Jonathan Toews’ slick moves is Dustin Byfuglien, the Left Winger that has been giving San Jose fits the entire series. Byfuglien has scored a goal in each game thus far in the series, including game-winners in Game 1 and Game 3. The Sharks have yet to find an answer for Buff, and along with big play from Toews and Dave Bolland, Chicago has been able to take control of this series. Coming into the series, San Jose had almost exorcised their playoff demons, as many writers have called it, and were one series away from the cup final. Chicago wasn’t going to make that easy.
The Sharks played a solid hockey game through to the bitter end, but Chicago has proven that they are simply a better team. Both teams were playing tough, and in the end, San Jose came up short. Patrick Marleau scored two goals again in this game, giving his team an opportunity to stay in the game. Unfortunately for the Sharks, their other skill players couldn’t step up when needed. Dany Heatley has been non-existent this series. The quick and skillful second line of Joe Pavelski, Ryan Clowe and Devin Setoguchi has been unable to find any success in the offensive zone, after starting the postseason red hot and crushing the defense on every shift. San Jose outshot Chicago again in Game 3, putting 46 shots on goal to Chicago’s 38. Antti Niemi has been outstanding, while Nabokov has been shaky. San Jose needs to find a way to put more quality shots on goal on Niemi and shoot the puck higher on the net. Stick a fork in San Jose, because they are all but done now. Chicago will more than likely sweep the Sharks, and for San Jose, the offseason will once again be filled with questions on how to reach the elusive Stanley Cup. Quick prediction: Chicago wins Game 4, and shakes hands in front of their home crowd.
By: Noah Glick > Find all of the NHL news & articles online from Pro Hockey Fans. |
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