San Jose Sharks' Lackluster Effort May Be Just What Doctor Wilson Ordered

Now that the Sharks' playoff seeding is secured, the term I will introduce non-fans to is playoff beard.  This is what most players and the most die-hard fans (hopefully just the males!) grow throughout the playoffs until their team is eliminated.

The Sharks' streak of getting at least one point in the standings for each game ended at 20 on Thursday, and it was no fluke. 

Before the Sharks took the ice, the Red Wings had already clinched the President's Trophy with a win over Columbus.  Thus, Los Tiburones as we sometimes call them out here in the glorious Bay Area, officially had nothing to play for.

And it showed.

They came out on the first shift with a Joe Thornton score that included an assist from Tom Cavanaugh in his NHL debut.  After that, they seemed to put it on autopilot.

The Kings dominated play for the rest of the game, scoring twice in the second.  Then the Sharks gave up another to Raitis Ivanans, who has almost half his goals in the eight contests against the division champions. 

A Joe Pavelski power play goal in the third (with an assist from Thornton) helped the Sharks look like they might keep their streak alive.  However, Anze Kopitar ended that hope by getting to a loose puck with under six minutes to go, beating Nabokov with a quick shot to the glove side; he also landed an empty-netter in the final seconds.

Nabokov was not even supposed to play, but Wilson apparently put a record his goalie can no longer achieve over the need for him to rest.  Now if he sits on Sunday it will be six days minimum since his last game; if he plays, he will have played the second most games of any goalie in the modern era.

I love the job the Wilsons (Ron the coach and Doug the GM) seem to have done.  That being said, if Nabby falls apart in the playoffs it rests on them for playing him too many nights and not getting someone the staff was confident enough to play until right before the trade deadline.

In the meantime, this might be the bitter pill that keeps the team honest.  It was improbable that they could keep up the pace they were playing anyway.  Losing to a team that had the worst record in the league should humble San Jose, who may have been a bit too cocky going into the playoffs without this regulation loss.

However, they will not be able to turn it off and on in a week.  I will wait to see how they bounce back on the road in the season finale against Dallas Sunday before I will make any predictions about whether they win the Cup.  They are pretty likely to play Calgary but may get Colorado in the first round, either of whom will be tough outs.

OTHER BASIC HOCKEY ANSWERS FOR THE NOVICE FAN

Why do they allow fighting?  Fighting is pretty much only allowed in juniors, minor leagues, and the NHL.  I have watched a number of college and international games and have yet to see anyone actually toss off the gloves.

However, the referees tend to miss things in all sports, and having an enforcer can keep a team from trying to see how much they can get away with. 

If a guy punks out by diving (pretending you were tripped to draw the penalty, AKA "Paul Kariya-ing" or "the Forsberg Flop"), you staple him to the boards at first opportunity and draw the other team's fighter into a bout.  (Unlike Todd Bertuzzi's dangerous attack on Steve Moore, the honourable fighter gives his opponent fair warning and the fight is mutually agreed upon.)

The same thing happens if someone takes a cheap shot that puts one of your teammates at risk, like stomping on you with their skates or delivering an elbow or crosscheck to the head.  (Unless of course they are the Ducks and cowardly wait until the last five minutes, when a fight gets fines for the coach and suspensions for the players involved.  This team-wide pattern of behaviour is why it is appropriate that Bertuzzi is with the Ducks now.)

This stops behaviours like Terrell Owens' antics.  If I am the enforecer on Owens' team and his mouth makes me have to drop the gloves, during the intermission I tell him, "next time you do that I'm letting you fight your own battle!"

It also stops teams from doing what the Patriots did in the first part of the season.  If they disrespect you as a fellow athlete by running up the score, one of their guys gets his face rearranged.

So hopefully you now understand why the fighting is a positive for the sport, not a negative.