San Jose Sharks depending on performances from some key players to find success in the playoffs
The question as to whether or not San Jose Sharks lost its determination or whether it lost its combining abilities, still hovers after Game 1.
Sharks lost the first game of the Western Conference Finals but it was evident after the game that it wouldn’t last long in the series with the same sort of performances. Once again, Sharks went down as a result of defensive lapse.
It was in the lead at the start of the final period which has been the case on quite a few occasions now.
However, it was unable to handle the pressure and Canucks took advantage of this and scored twice to get into the lead and secure the game, 3-2 in the end.
Nonetheless, if Sharks want to stay in contention in the series and for the Stanley Cup title then it needs to improve on its performances and it will be looking for some good performances from its key players.
Ryane Clowe was nowhere to be seen during the first game of the series. He was expected to score a goal or come up with an assist as he was the leading point scorer for Sharks.
However, he was absent from any positive action for Sharks and ended the game with only one shot and one block.
He was out of Game 6 due to injury against Detroit Red Wings and this is what the experts say might be the cause of his deteriorated performance.
Nevertheless, any player’s inclusion in a team demands the best out of him and Clowe didn’t show the best.
He is expected to bounce back in the second game with a much better performance so that Sharks can not only level the series, but also take an advantage going into Game 3, the home ice advantage.
"Let's call a spade a spade, we were awful (Sunday) night", Clowe said. "We've got to be a lot better than that. We had the puck a lot of times on our stick and just turned it over. That hasn't been in our game”.
Another player t of whom a lot was expected was Dany Heatley. He was unnoticed like his teammate in the middle line and was poor to say the least. He committed fouls and he was rugged during the course of the game.
However, the player who disappointed the most was Joe Pavelski. Though on his day he can play in any position, this just didn’t seem to be his day as he was shuffled out of his role of being the third centre.
He was never able to settle into the game and made only one shot during the game, ending the night with one block and a hit.
All of the above mentioned players need to step up their game if they want San Jose Sharks to progress further in the playoffs since Canucks is one of the best teams in National Hockey League and the stakes rise even further as it is in the Western Conference
Finals.
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