Things that the Western Conference Finalists need to do to ensure they win (Part 1)
San Jose Sharks is well aware of the fact that it needs to do much better if it wants to stay alive in the series.
San Jose lost the first game and needs to win the next game to put things on level terms.
On the other hand, Vancouver Canucks also knows that there are areas where there is still room for improvement.
With the second game of the series taking place tomorrow at the Rogers Arena, we will be discussing things that both finalists need to do to make sure they win and move into the Stanley Cup Finals.
One of the main problems with Sharks is that it is unable to keep possession for long while on the offence. It was unable to penetrate the opposing defence regularly that cost them the game in the end and left them trailing in the series.
Another thing that has been a major problem for Sharks is the fact that it had to face numerous turnovers. There were many steals against them which could have been easily avoided.
"Yeah, they weren't necessarily turnovers deep in their end or so much in our end -- I think the neutral zone", Sharks’ defenseman, Dan Boyle, said. "We had full control of the puck and we'd find a way to do nothing with it, just kind of give up possession,
and they were back in our zone".
Canucks has shown great deal of strength and confidence in its backline so far in the playoffs.
However, even though Sharks has shown a lot of confidence and trust in its backline, it has failed to come up with the level of performances expected from it.
"We obviously live and die by the way the forwards can cycle in the offensive zone", he said. "Turnovers were a big factor in Game 1".
This is what Dan Boyle further added and was hoping that the team would do better in the second game as Sharks is hoping to win and levelling the series.
Another thing that Sharks needs to work on is to be stronger mentally. It puts in immense hard work in practice and it is about time that it takes things to the competitive level and shows it against Canucks.
Sharks’ coach, Todd McLellan, agreed to the fact that the team was mentally weak in Game 1 but it has what it takes to bounce back with an impressive performance.
Sharks has some big players involved in some tough and physical plays like Joe Pavelski and Chris Higgins.
Now, it is about time that it uses these weapons as the second game of the series provides them with an opportunity to level things on 1-1.
Tags: