So my beloved San Jose Sharks are going to be playing in round 3 for the second time in franchise history and its going to be against a very dangerous team. How dangerous you might ask? Ask the fans of the Vancouver Canucks who just got defeated 4 games to 2, in a series that they never really looked like they showed up. Henrick Sedin who lead the league with 112 points in the regular season didnt even lead his team in scoring through 12 games, the title of top scoring Canuck during the post season belongs to Mike Samuleson.
The thing is during the Blackhawks 4 good games agains Vancouver they dominated the Canucks. Out scoring them it seemed by at least 3 goals to 1. The Blackhawks had 2 hat tricks in the 6 game series. You are going to be going far in the post season when you score a hat trick every 3 games. They looked like the grittier team in the series and thats not something that I say often. In Vancouvers defence (no pun inteded) I think about half of their top 6 defence were out with injuries during this series.
For the Sharks to win this is what must happen: 1) Nabokov must be the Sharks best player for the 7 or less games agains the Blackhawks. Nabokov has been extremely good in the playoffs this year but he is going to have to elevate his game even further against the Blackhawks. 2) The Sharks must stay out of the penalty box, this hasnt been a problem for the Sharks for the first 2 rounds but they need to keep moving with their feet and playing with energy. 3) The team must put defence first. Ever forward and defence man must play their best ever hockey in their own zone. Winning defencive faceoffs and getting the puck deep into the Blackhawks zone is going to be key to winning this best of 7 series.
So there you have it, my prediction is that the Sharks will win in 7 games.
Also the Montreal Canadians have just beat the Penguins in 7, so I am going to say that in the next series (against either Boston or Philly) they will win in 7.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Nathan, this series is all in the heads of the Sharks. They have the ability to move to the next level, as they demonstrated against Detroit. They just need to have the right mind set, and go in there and win!
ReplyDeleteBTW, the game is televised here on Sunday!
We'll be rooting right along with you!
Love you!