by Kevin Schultz
It hasn't been a normal year so far for the San Jose Sharks. Each of the last four seasons they have finished the year with at least 105 points and 49 wins. This year, the Sharks aren't on pace for one of their "usual" finishes, but with 30 points in 26 games are on pace for 94 points. To add to that, the Western Conference is as tight as can be with only nine points separating the second-place team from the worst. Wednesday night, the Sharks showed why their regular-season experience from the last few years still makes them a very tough team to beat in the Western Conference.Traveling cross-country in the middle of December against a very tough Philadelphia Flyers team, this was the easiest game in the book in which to roll over or take a night off. This is the time in the season that separates the tough teams from the soft ones and the Sharks were in the middle of an East Coast road trip. Make no mistake, the Sharks made a lot of noise in the hockey world tonight in a nationally televised game on Versus -- and not just because of a disallowed Flyers goal.
Down 4-1 early in the third period with a trip to Buffalo later that night, it would have been easy for the Sharks to give up. You could argue the deficit should have only been 4-2, as the Sharks had a second-period goal disallowed for "a distinct kicking motion" that was a very tough call that could have gone either way. Packing it in and starting to think about a struggling Sabres team on Thursday night seems like an option a lot of teams or players might have taken.
No comments:
Post a Comment