Sharks-Stars: It's a Series Again

The Brenden Morrow hat trick.

We have a regular hat trick: three goals in a game.  There is a natural hat trick: getting all three consecutive goals scored by either team within a game.

Only Gordie Howe, noted tough guy AND skilled player, has a hat trick named after him.  It is for a fight, a goal, and an assist.  If I could register any hat trick, Howe's is the one I prefer.

I would not however want to register a Brenden Morrow hat trick: one goal scored, one kicked in and disallowed, one batted in with the hand and disallowed.

I am a Sharks' fan, and I have criticized the officiating in Sharks' games this post-season.  In the Calgary series, it had a decidedly anti-Sharks tone.

This series it has been pretty solid.

In this game Joe Thornton (first period) and Mike Modano (third period) got away with trips. 

Craig Rivet's right foot had not cleared the blue line when he came out of the box to take the headman pass, in which case a penalty should have been called when they pulled him down.  But this was an understandable missed call because it was so close.

However, the biggest call that affected this game went the Sharks' way.  Brenden Morrow certainly could have been called for interference of Evgeni Nabokov as the two analysts on the NHL Network suggested.  Because of contact from the Dallas forward, Nabby was unable to extend his right leg to stop the puck.

The goal also could have been allowed to stand.  In fact, because it was called a goal on the ice and no penalty was called, it should have been allowed to stand.  

The replays were, to borrow from the NFL vernacular, "inconclusive." Morrow kept his right leg back as he was crashing the net, and the puck hit it and was directed through the five hole. 

Perhaps he did this to kick the puck toward his stick.  Perhaps he did it to kick the puck in.  Only the Stars' captain really knows, and if it was the latter, he's not telling.

One could argue that the NHL engaged in a make-up call, since in game three Marleau knocked in a loose puck that was disallowed because the officials were too quick to blow the whistle.

Both rules need to be examined.

A quick whistle like the one that took Marleau's goal away in game three takes away a scoring chance. The NHL wants more goals, and this is a way to get them. 

If you are concerned with guys taking whacks at the puck after the goalie has possession, I have two comments: 1) it already happens, and 2) assess penalties when it is done recklessly by a player who, by location of his swing, reveals he knows the goalie has the puck.

And why have a stoppage of play because a puck went off someone's skate?  Why leave it open for controversial interpretation?   Who would choose to kick the puck if they could get their stick on it?  Let it count.

This is something they could change just like they did when Brett Hull stole the Cup from the Buffalo Sabres.  By rule that year there is no question the goal should have been disallowed, but the officials did not feel they could un-ring the bell. 

In the off-season, they examined it and came to the conclusion that since Hull in no way impeded the goaltender, there was no reason goals like that should be disallowed.  That meant the Hull goal would be the last controversial one of its kind.

Morrow's other disallowed goal cannot be allowed to stand, and he did not even argue that one.  Just as we do not allow hand-passes in scoring position, we cannot allow hand-shots.

Thanks to those two goals being disallowed, the Sharks were still in this one after two periods (in the business, we call that a segue). 

They were being out-shot 15-12 and dominated in the face-off circle.  They had 17 turnovers and the Stars had none.  But they were only down two goals.

In the third period, they came out with a vengeance.  They turned the tide in the face-off circle, ending up with an edge in that statistic, 28-25.  They continued to hit the Stars relentlessly, finishing with a 44-26 edge in that department.

More importantly, they did not turn the puck over.  (Either did the Stars, and I cannot tell you when that has ever happened for an entire game, much less one that went into overtime.  If it has, I doubt that team lost.)

The Sharks' play led to two breakaways in the third period.  Marty Turco apparently finally had the answer for Patrick Marleau, foiling his backhand attempt with a poke-check.  Brian Campbell, however, let loose a that wrister found its way past him to tie the game. 

Seven minutes before the tying goal, the Sharks faced a potential 3-0 deficit.  A penalty was assessed to Christian Ehrhoff, who was struggling in this contest as he has for much of the series. 

So was the Sharks' penalty kill, just over 73% in the playoffs coming in and having given up a goal to Jere Lehtinen (Zubov, Modano assists) on two chances already in the game.  But they killed this one off.

Twenty-three seconds into the following shift, Jonathan Cheechoo took a hit to poke the puck deep to Thornton in "Gretzky's Office" (behind the net where the Great One excelled).  Thornton got the puck to the front of the net and Milan Michalek continued to put his zero points in seven games first round performance behind him, netting his fourth goal in the five games of this series.

Ehrhoff got some redemption on the tying goal, feeding the puck up to Jeremy Roenick who split two defenders to hit a streaking Campbell from blue line to blue line.

Then Ehrhoff made a play that does not appear on the score sheet in overtime.  Dallas chipped the puck up the boards to get it out of the zone, but Ehrhoff slipped in behind the Dallas forward to keep the puck in. 

Joe Pavelski needed a little redemption of his own, having fallen to the ice in turning the puck over to Brad Richards in game three.  That play started Dallas' four goal barrage in the third period that gave them the come-from-behind victory.

Pavelski got his chance of redemption when he gobbled up the loose puck.  He faked Nicklas Grossman into a shot-blocking position and skated to the weak side for an open shot.  Little Joe then wired a wrister to the top corner glove side.  

Turco never had a chance to stop it: an overtime win for San Jose. 

It's a series again.