Sharks Vs. Colorado: Should The Sharks Be Scared?

Another year, another high playoff ranking, and another opponent that we should beat.  It sounds all too familiar doesn't it?  Outside of last year's first round upset at the hands of the Ducks, the Sharks have done well with the high playoff ranking and easy-ish opponent category.  2004 against St. Louis, 2006 and 2007 against Nashville, and 2008 against Calgary.  What made the series against the Ducks different?  Well, besides the fact that they had two Hall-of-Fame defensemen in Pronger and Niedermeyer, the Ducks had three things: speed, great goal-tending and team physicality.

The Ducks took it to the Sharks as the used great team speed and a physical fore-check to wear down our defense.  The pounded the Sharks down low, out-muscled our defenders, and wore us down.  Their team speed was evident every time Douglas Murray, Rob Blake and Marc-Edouard Vlasic had to turn around to catch up to Teemu Selanne or Bobby Ryan.  And, finally, what more do I need to say except, Jonas Hiller.

So what makes this year different?  How is Colorado different from Anaheim?  Well, first off they are a faster team.  Even with Mueller and Duchene possibly out of the line-up, their team is full of speedsters.  In the four match-ups against Colorado, I don't think I saw the Sharks face a faster Western Conference team.  Colorado's forwards are fun to watch.  This is a potential problem for the Sharks as speed on the blue-line is an issue.  Blake has lost a step from last year, Vlasic looks slower, Murray, despite his big hits and good positioning, has never been fast, and Wallin might not beat Bengie Molina in a foot race. 

This is Colorado's biggest advantage over the Sharks, and one the Sharks need to figure out how to counter.  Perhaps less agressiveness from the defense in the offensive zone will help, but really, it will be about taking advantage of the looser referees and using little hooks and holds to slow down the high octane Colorado forwards.  Rob Blake is a master of it, and you could see, if you watched closely down the stretch, he looked as if he was playing better.  Fewer penalties and he wasn't getting beat often.  Why?  Well, the refs loosened up and he did his little hooks, holds, trips, etc and it was not getting called.

When it comes to team physicality, Adam Foote never backs down from a challenge.  The man will punish you down low if he gets a chance.  Darcy Tucker is still a man with a mean-streak who will beat you down if you give him the opportunity.  But, beyond those two, the Sharks have a clear advantage here.  We are bigger in height and size looking up and down the rosters.  Our forwards need to take advantage of this.  Pound Scott Hannan, JM Liles, and Kyle Quincey down low.  You are bigger, stronger, and tougher than their defensemen, so take it to them! 

How about goal-tending?  Craig Anderson has been hot all year.  There was talk at the beginning of the year of him being a Vezina winner and maybe MVP.  He's slowed down a bit, but the man can make saves and steal games.  But, again, while he has been great, he's not Jonas Hiller.  He's not some up and coming star.  He is a career journeyman who got a chance to start and has taken advantage of it, but there is no question that he is beatable.  Screen him, get in his grill, throw him off his game and combine that with a goalie who has yet to see playoff action, and you've got a recipe for Chris Mason 2.0 (Mason being the Nashville goalie the Sharks ate alive in 2006).

But, let's be realistic, what's the biggest difference?  No big-name defender.  There's no Pronger back there, no Zubov, no Shea Weber.  When Scott Hannan is your best defenseman (no offense Scotty, we still love you in San Jose!) you've got a problem because as good as he is, he can't stop Joe Thornton down low like how Pronger or Zubov could.  This series is for the Sharks to win.  Despite Colorado being a great story with a heck of a hockey team with amazing speed, there simply is too much fire-power for the Sharks to lose this one.  This is not a repeat of 2009, it looks a whole lot more like a repeat of 2006 against Nashville.

Prediction: Sharks in 6.