A night of playoff dominance in San Jose
S.J. races toward Round 2 without those old guys
Playoff hockey is as familiar a South Bay sight as a corporate bus full of people coding at 80 miles an hour.
But this April, the playoff hockey has a different look.
On Monday, the Sharks roared into SAP Center, with a series lead and a full head of steam, but without two stalwarts. No Patrick Marleau, who was busy scoring goals in a playoff game in Toronto. No Joe Thornton, who is injured and unavailable. For the first time in 23 seasons, neither player was available for the playoffs.
But the Sharks haven’t exactly missed the men who have defined their franchise for more than two decades. On Monday, the Sharks used their speed and aggression to dissect the
Ducks, cracking open the game with a four-goal second period, and winning 8-1.
The Sharks are now just one victory from advancing to the second round.
If they can close out the series Wednesday night in Game 4, viewers outside of the Bay Area will see it on the Golf Channel. I kid you not. The game is scheduled to air nationally on the channel that belongs to the NBC family. Meanwhile, NBC will be airing “Family Feud” and local news and CNBC will opt for “Shark Tank” reruns, rather than the real action in the Shark Tank. There are conspiracy theories out there: maybe NBC is irritated at the NHL for not sending its players to the Olympics in February.
Whatever the reason, it’s an absurd look for a league that never can seem to figure out its broadcast partner. However, the Sharks won’t care where the rest of the nation sees them. And if they achieve their goal of a series sweep, the Golf Channel will be a perfectly appropriate spot for the Ducks as they head toward their tee times.
The Sharks look like a team that could have a long playoff run if they can solve the magic of the Vegas Golden Knights. They are faster than in past years, and more aggressive.
This might have something to do with not having twin 38-year-olds, Thornton and Marleau, on the ice.
Monday’s game was the first playoff game in San Jose that neither man was available since the Sharks’ run in 1995. That was around the time that people were figuring out their first email address. Kevin Constantine was the head coach, Arturs Irbe was in goal and the Sharks beat Calgary on a Ray Whitney goal in double-overtime before succumbing to the Red Wings in four straight.
The next time the Sharks made the playoffs was in 1998, when they had an 18-year-old named Marleau. Marleau did miss some playoff games in 2000, when head coach Darryl Sutter was frustrated with him, and made him a healthy scratch.
Thornton joined Marleau’s team in November 2005. And “Jumbo and Patty” defined the franchise ever since then, until last summer when Marleau left for Toronto as a free agent. Thornton suffered a serious knee injury in January.
And now the Sharks are a different team. Fast, fresh and more equal. Nine different Sharks have scored goals in these first three games. Everyone is getting in on the act. Whatever hierarchy that existed before appears to be gone.
The Sharks wanted to make sure they kept their momentum going when they got home. History was in their favor, as the franchise has not lost a playoff series after winning the first two games on the road.
But the Ducks, in contrast, did not believe their odds were insurmountable. Just last season, Anaheim was down 2-0 against Edmonton at home but came back to win the series and advance to the Western Conference finals.
And for athletes, recent memories are more powerful than statistics. For the Ducks, the percentages that they would lose the series 79.7 percent of the time were far less relevant than their memory of last season, which told them it was 100 percent possible for them to dig out of this hole.
But with Monday’s win, the Sharks tipped the balance overwhelmingly in their favor. The team that wins the first three games of an NHL series wins the series 98.1 percent of the time.
The way the Sharks are playing, the Golf Channel is the closest they’re going to get to vacation for a while.
The Sharks look like a team that could have a long playoff run if they can solve the magic of the Vegas Golden Knights.