Entries Tagged as 'San Jose Sharks'
Coyotes Beat Sharks in Shootout
In what can only be considered as the most intense hockey game for the Phoenix Coyotes this season, the young team shows its tenacity and its resiliency.
They were able to break the strangle hold placed on them by Evgeni Nabokov with a goal from Mike York.
They were able to kill off eight of nine penalties that the officials deemed necessary to give to the San Jose Sharks.
Peter Mueller showed his brilliance in the shootout, which should come to no surprise to anyone that followed his career from the World Juniors tournament en route to the NHL.
Shane Doan is money – that is all there is to it. He led by example and the team did not let up. After the tying goal went in, short-handed no less, Ric Flair would have been proud with the ranting and raving I did. I’m surprised that I didn’t wake my neighbors.
Ilya Bryzgalov will be worth every penny that the Phoenix Coyotes pay him and they should start working on extending his contract. A quality goaltender is a major key to success in the NHL, and Bryzgalov raised his game to another level tonight. He was rock solid and he showed his team just what he is made of.
They never quit. Last year, facing the same adversity, and getting no help from the other guy sitting on the Sharks bench, they would have folded like a lawn chair. However, this is a new team and they are fun to watch.
I have plenty of other thoughts about the game, but the most important day of my job takes place tomorrow, so I can’t burn the videos that I would like to show, nor produce a quality argument for consumption. Just know, that tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have plenty more to say about Jeremy Roenick, the officials, and Daniel Carcillo.
The video does not lie. Roenick should not have been able to score that go ahead goal.
But that is another rant for tomorrow…
Coyotes Lose a Close One Against Sharks
The Phoenix Coyotes lose a close game at home 1-0 against the San Jose Sharks. They played very well, but couldn’t solve the beast known as Evgeni Nabokov.
The Sharks did an exceptional job keeping the Coyotes shooters on the outside. Nabokov will stop anything he sees and he saw a ton. He had to make some quality saves though, especially in the waning moments of the third period, but he didn’t have to deal with an onslaught of shots.
Nick Boynton redeemed himself from his earlier transgressions with his strong performance tonight as he recorded three hits and did anything he could offensively. Keith Ballard also continued his hitting parade with three of his own.
The ironman of the night was Derek Morris. He took a puck to the face that split him wide open, and he needed ten stitches to close the wound. Instead of taking the rest of the night off like a NFL football player (other than Brett Favre), he goes back out there for two more shifts. What these guys will do for hockey and for their team amazes me and why I admire the work they do.
Last season, I remember the shouting and exhortations for the franchise to trade Morris away. Hopefully, based on his performance so far, and especially tonight, he silenced those critics.
The Coyotes got their scoring and power play chances and did the best they could against the top penalty killing team in the NHL. I felt for Steven Reinprecht though getting robbed against the post like that, but those will eventually go in.
The Coyotes gave the Sharks only three power plays (amazing how they even out, the Sharks had three power plays as well) and have given their opposition five in two games. Discipline for the Coyotes has improved and hopefully, that trend will continue.
So, the Sharks and Nabokov have silenced the Coyotes goal scorers for 231:00 so far and won all four games. Joe Thornton, Milan Michalek, and Jeremy Roenick all add to to their points, and Thornton’s gap over the other team members is still the largest of any team in the NHL.
The Coyotes travel to Los Angeles and face the Kings again Saturday night embarking on a grueling six game road trip in fifteen nights.
