Not Time to Panic Yet

Sharks fans, please, back away from the ledge.  Do not jump off the Golden Gate, Bay, or Dumbarton Bridge.  Things will be a-ok provided a couple of things happen.  The first thing that needs to happen is that Dan Boyle needs to have everything between his ears be alright.  I cannot imagine a worse feeling for a player to have than to have an own-goal to end a playoff game.  But guess what Dan, it was not all your fault.  Douglas Murray made a lazy pass and Nabokov was not really hugging the post all that tightly.  If there is one guy on the San Jose Sharks who will be able to bounce back, it is Dan Boyle.  The leader of the San Jose defense is about as strong mentally as they come.  He should be fine for the next game. 

The second thing that needs to happen is that the Sharks need not change anything.  When a team puts 50+ shots on net two nights in a row, that is domination.  It is that simple, the Sharks have dominated the Colorado defense.  The coaching staff and players should not change anything.  This is a game that the Sharks win 18 times out of 20.  The only thing stopping  them was Craig Anderson who turned in a whale of a game.  But he has faced over 100 shots in the past two games, and in one of them he gave up 6 goals.  Fear not Sharks fans, the Craig Anderson of last night was not the Craig Anderson of tomorrow.  If not for  him, the Sharks roll to a 4-0 victory.

Now, what if Anderson plays out of his mind and Colorado wins this series in 6 or 7?  There is nothing you can do if you are a Sharks player, fan or coach.  In that case it is simply a tip of the cap to Mr. Anderson.  What if Dan Boyle has a case of the "yips" (note, see David Duvall and Rick Ankiel for recent cases of the yips)?  He no longer trusts himself and his instincts; he turns into a shell of himself; he does not play his normal gave.  Then, the Sharks have a problem.  A big part of hockey is instincts--knowing where to go with the puck when, knowing where to be in the offensive zone, and knowing where to be in the defensive zone.  You instinctively know where to go.  But, if you second guess yourself, your actions are slower and in the game of hockey, if you blink the play is past you.

The San Jose Sharks will be fine so long as they do not change anything.  Craig Anderson should crack open and goals will trickle in because Craig Anderson, outside of one game, is not Patrick Roy; and if he thinks he is Roy, all the better when the Sharks beat him for 4 goals and his confidence crumbles.  Dan Boyle should be fine, and, in my opinion, will have his best game yet of the series.

A special note to all the jumpers out there, try not to break your ankles when you hit the pavement after jumping off the bandwagon.