The Great Greiss: San Jose Sharks' Backup Making Most of Opportunities

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Before the 2009-10 season started, there were a few concerns for the San Jose Sharks.

Arguably the biggest concern among Sharks fans was goaltending.

San Jose wished franchise goaltender Evgeni Nabokov a happy 34th birthday during the offseason and good luck to Thomas Greiss going into his first full season as backup goaltender for the Sharks.

With Nabby getting ready to exit his "prime," coupled with the inexperience of Greiss at the NHL level, fans wondered if netminding would be weak in the Bay Area.

However, this has not been the case.

Evgeni Nabokov has been better than ever this season. He has probably been the Sharks' MVP so far. His closest competition has been former captain Patrick Marleau.

The 34-year-old is currently one of the top five goalies in goals against average with a solid 2.14. He also has a great save percentage of .925 and two shutouts to go along with it.

Nabokov struggled early in this season, but has clearly turned things around. He is now tied for first place with 11 wins this season.

But what about his understudy? How would Greiss do? He has spent the last few seasons in San Jose and Worcester with the Sharks' AHL affiliate.

Aside from his time there and in international competition for Germany, the young goalie had yet to see much action heading into this season.

So how would he handle his first real taste of NHL action?

Well, let's just take a walk down memory lane. All the way back to last month. October 6 to be exact.

San Jose took on the division rival Los Angeles Kings in Hollywood.

Starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov was still going through the struggles that I mentioned earlier. After allowing four unanswered goals, the all-star goalie was pulled midway through the second period in favor of 23-year-old Thomas Greiss.

This lit a spark for the Sharks, who went on to score four goals of their own, thus tying the game in the third period.

However, less than a minute after Dany Heatley tied the game with his first goal of the season, San Jose relinquished the lead after Greiss gave up a soft goal from behind the goal line.

The Kings would add an empty net goal and a "W" to the win column.

Greiss could probably hear the collective groan of Sharks' fans all the way from the Bay Area. Fans were already starting to give up on him--after just one game.

With Nabokov eventually righting the ship, the inevitable rest would leave Sharks' fans holding their breath.

Especially since Greiss' first start came against the Philadelphia Flyers, a highly-touted team with a lot offensive weapons.

But San Jose prevailed by getting the win on enemy territory.

And it would not have been possible of the goaltender from Koln, Germany hadn't stopped 37 of 38 shots in his first ever win in the NHL.

Greiss would go six games, totaling 12 days before his next start. That start was Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators.

In a game where the Sharks did not play their best hockey of the season, No. 1 kept his team in the game and allowed them to come back from a 3-2 deficit by stopping 23 of 26 shots. Many of those 23 saves were of the spectacular variety.

San Jose would go on to win the game 4-3 thanks to defenseman Dan Boyle's last minute heroics.

As for Greiss, he has played extremely well. A third round draft pick by San Jose in 2004, Greiss currently has a 2-1 record with a GAA of 2.04 and a 932 save percentage in three games played so far. 

But Greiss has done something that is very difficult for young goaltenders to do. He shook off a soft goal, went back to work at practice, and stepped up big time in relief of the workhorse Nabokov.

In the two starts for the 94th overall pick in 2004, Greiss was even selected the second star of the game in each contest.

But after allowing the game-winning goal in the heart-breaking loss to the division rival Kings, the poise and confidence Greiss has demonstrated has been extraordinary.

Especially since Nabokov's play has been so phenomenal and the expectations in San Jose are so high.

It is not uncommon for young goaltenders in the NHL to struggle with the mental aspect of their game.

But so far, Greiss has not had this problem. I know he has only played in three games so far, so I can't get that far ahead of myself.

But I've made my point. With Nabokov standing on his head, and his backup at the top of his game, the Sharks' goaltending duo is putting many minds at ease in San Jose.

Greiss has played with confidence, calmness, and maturity beyond his years early on this season. He hasn't gotten the nod very often from Head Coach Todd McLellan this season, but he has been ready to answer the call from his coach.

All but a lock to make Germany's 2010 Olympic team in Vancouver, Greiss expected to be the organization's goalie of the future, and his performances this season have shown us why.

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