San Jose Sharks-Detroit Red Wings: Series' Top Three Stars

The San Jose Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings in the second round of the playoffs, losing just one game in the process. But it was much closer than that.

Were it not for a few timely plays, the Sharks could have been swept.

In Game One, Joe Pavelski goes down to the ice attempting a shot, but the puck squirts out to Devin Setoguchi on goalie Jimmy Howard's exposed side. The goal gives the Sharks a 3-0 lead in a game they won 4-3; failing to score there might not only have allowed Detroit to catch up, but raised the spectre of playoff failures past for San Jose when they did.

In Game Two, Pavelski out-raced the Wings to a puck and sent a centering feed to Ryane Clowe, who put a shot in between his legs with his back to the goal. Again, the Sharks won by just a goal, and one like that tends to give a team confidence that it is their series and demoralizes opponents.

In Game Three, Logan Couture sends a seemingly harmless shot on goal from near the boards at an angle well under 10 degrees to the goal mouth. However, Howard plays it poorly and the Sharks tie a game they were losing by two with just over 13 minutes to go—a game they go on to win in overtime.

In Game Five, Dany Heatley takes a hit to get a puck to Joe Thornton behind the net, and he sends a pass out to Patrick Marleau for the series-clinching one-timer. This play epitomizes why hockey has secondary assists: Heater's work is what made that play even more than Joe's pass or Patty's shot.

For the series, the Sharks were outscored 17-15 and attempted fewer shots (because of the rash of people correcting me because they miss a detail of what is said, I will clarify that this includes missed shots and blocked attempts). They were also out-hit in four games and managed fewer takeaways in three.

They won, because they out-blocked the Wings in all five games, had fewer giveaways in four, and made more timely plays. But as close as this series actually was, there were plenty of players on both benches to consider for the three stars.

Here are the final choices:

Joe Thornton

Joe Thornton had three goals on 10 shots, had five assists, won 54 percent of draws, registered 10 hits, and played more shifts (138) than any other Sharks forward.

He was minus-two, but contributed greatly on the power play which does not help one's plus-minus rating. He also had a major hand (either primary assist or goal) in all four game-winning scores.

Joe Pavelski

Joe Pavelski still carried the Sharks in Games One and Two, scoring two goals and getting an assist in each. He later added another assist and finished plus-one, won 53 percent of his faceoffs, and had seven hits, five blocks, and four takeaways to just three giveaways.

Pavel Datsyuk

Pavel Datsyuk was the gold standard for achievement in this series. He had a pedestrian (for him) one goal, four assists, and plus-one rating in the five games while winning just over half of his draws.

But he did things no one else did: Datsyuk's 10 takeaways was four more than Sharks leader Dan Boyle and six more than the best Sharks forward; meanwhile, he had nine hits, four blocks, and just five giveaways.

For more analysis about the Sharks forwards, see my grades on Shark-Infested Blogger , and look for a report card on the blue line and goaltending in the next couple days at that site.