Feb 15, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2) is stopped by San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (31) during the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Today the San Jose Sharks continue their February road trip with another stop to the Windy City to to take on the Chicago Blackhawks.  This will be their third and final meeting of the season against the NHL leading franchise.  Currently the Chicago Blackhawks lead the season series 2-0 vs. San Jose.  The last time these two team squared off against one another was last week on February 15th in which the Blackhawks defeated the Sharks by a 4-1 final.  The lone goal scorer for San Jose was Tim Kennedy who recorded his first goal as a Shark.  His goal was assisted by Logan Couture whom happened to feed Kennedy a sweet pass.  Also getting an assist on Tim’s goal was defenseman Brad Stuart.  As for the Blackhawks, they received scoring contributions from Dave Bolland, Marcus Kruger, Andrew Shaw, and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

After winning seven straight games, the Sharks were recently ridding an 0-4-3 record going into Blues territory this past Tuesday.  Great news for San Jose was they finally snapped their seven game loosing skid in St. Louis by beating the Blues 2-1.  In that contest the Sharks big guns stepped as Captain Joe Thornton tallied his fourth of year, while Tim Kennedy added his second strike of the season.  Thornton’s goal was assisted by both Boyle and Marleau.  As for Kennedy’s, he was helped by Wingels and Braun.  In fact, Tim Kennedy’s goal turned out to be the game winner.

For league leading Chicago Blackhawks, they continue to press forward as they remain unbeaten in regulation with a 13-0-3 record.  They are recently coming off of a 4-3 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks.  The deciding goal in the shootout went to Blackhawks Andrew Shaw.

As of today, San Jose has 8-4-3 record with 19 points to their credit.  They are in 2nd place in the Pacific Division and 6th overall in the Western Conference.  For Chicago, they are in 1st place in the Central Division, 1st overall in the Western Conference and lead the NHL in points with 29 points.

Tale of The Tape:

Sharks
Goals per game: 2.47 (22nd)
Goals-against per game: 2.13 (4th)
Power play: 18.9 percent (11th)
Penalty kill: 87.1 percent (5th)

Blackhawks
Goals per game: 3.31 (2nd)
Goals-against per game: 1.94 (2nd)
Power play: 18.6 percent (12th)
Penalty kill: 87.9 percent (3rd)

Injuries
Sharks: James Sheppard (lower body) is out.
Blackhawks: Marian Hossa (head) and Corey Crawford (upper body) are questionable.  Daniel Carcillo (lower body) and Steve Montador (concussion) are out.

****Tale of The Tape/Injury Report courtesy of Kevin Kurz.****

Official Link: http://www.csncalifornia.com/blog/kevin-kurz/sharks-blackhawks-glance-1

Feb 15, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (31) makes a save during the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Who’s Hot: If nothing else, the Sharks have learned just how valuable goalie Antti Niemi can be.  Niemi was rock solid again against St. Louis, stopping 25 of 26 shots.  The Finnish netminder has given up more than one goal just twice in his last six starts.  Duncan Keith has five points in his last three games for Chicago.

***Who’s Hot Report courtesy of the San Jose Sharks.***

Official Link: http://sharks.nhl.com/club/preview.htm?id=2012020249&navid=DL|SJS|home

Tonight’s contest has a 5:30p PST puck drop and can be seen on CSNCA HD and can be heard on 98.5/102.1 KFOX.  In addition, for US based viewers the game will broadcasted nationally on the NHL Network.

LET’S GO SHARKS!!!!!!!!

Be sure to follow all of your BoT staff on twitter!!!  

@KingShark49 @81Bayer

Blades of Teal: Tape to tape “WITH THE PASS” of expert analysis on San Jose Sharks, Worcester Sharks, and San Francisco Bulls hockey

Nov 23, 2011; San Jose CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) battles against Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa (81) during the second period at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Today the San Jose Sharks welcome into town the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time of the season.  This matchup is one of three scheduled meetings between these two Western Conference powers.  When these two clubs last faced one another, San Jose defeated Chicago 5-3 on February 10, 2012.  In that contest the Sharks received a balanced scoring effort by both the defense and offense.  Former Sharks Jamie McGinn and Benn Ferriero lit the lamp, while Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, and Justin Braun pitched in on the scoresheet with goals of their own.  San Jose’s net minder Antti Niemi was able to turn away 27 of 30 shots his former club fired at him.  In addition, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns recorded three assists on Braun’s, Ferriero’s, and McGinn goals that night.  For the Blackhawks, Marcus Kruger scored twice, Patrick Sharp recorded an assist on both of Kruger’s goals.

Last night the San Jose Sharks were handed their first regulation defeat courtesy of the Anaheim Ducks by a 2-1 final.  San Jose had 6 opportunities on the power play and came up short on all of them.  The good news for the Sharks was that they killed off all 6 of Anaheim’s power plays and extended their penalty killing streak to 27 straight kills that dates back on January 26th against Colorado.

For the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, they are coming off of a 3-2 shootout victory over the Calgary Flames this past Saturday.  In that contest, Blackhawks Marian Hossa scored the game tying goal with three seconds left in regulation that sent the game into overtime.  In extra time neither would score as the game went to the shootout competition.  The hero for Chicago was Patrick Kane who recorded the only goal in the shootout.

Despite loosing to the Anaheim Ducks, the San Jose Sharks still maintains their first place spot in the Pacific Division and their second overall position in the Western Conference with a 7-1-1 record and 15 points to their credit.  For the Blackhawks, they currently lead both the Central Division and Western Conference with a 7-0-2 record with 16 points.  They are also the last remaining club without a regulation loss.

Tale of The Tape Report:

San Jose Sharks

Games Played: 9

Wins: 7

Loss: 1

OT: 1

PTS: 15

Winning Percentage: 0.833

G/G: 3.22 (6th)

GA/G: 1.67 (T-1st)

PP%: 26.0 (5th)

PK%: 87.8 (6th)

S/G: 30.4 (9th)

SA/G: 28.7 (14th)

FO%: 57.3 (2nd)

Chicago Blackhawks

Games Played: 9

Wins: 7

Loss: 0

OT: 2

PTS: 16

Winning Percentage: 0.889

G/G: 3.00 (8th)

GA/G: 2.00 (3rd)

PP%: 20.6 (14th)

PK%: 94.4 (1st)

S/G: 27.9 (22nd)

SA/G: 28.6 (13th)

FO%: 50.5 (14th)

April 5, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) during a stoppage in play against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Who’s Hot Report: Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in nine games, while Marian Hossa is 6-4-10.  Four Sharks have already reached double digits in scoring – Joe Thornton (3-11-14), Patrick Marleau (9-5-14), Joe Pavelski (4-8-12) and Logan Couture (6-5-11).

Injury Report: Chicago has been playing without defenseman Michal Rozsival (lower body) and forward Daniel Carcillo (knee).  Dave Bolland missed Saturday’s game at Calgary with a lower-body injury.  San Jose remains without defenseman Brent Burns, who is on injured reserve following offseason hernia surgery.

Official Link: http://sharks.nhl.com/club/preview.htm?id=2012020137

2011-2012 Season Series Statistics: San Jose Sharks tied Chicago Blackhawks 2-2

Today’s contest has a 7:30p PST puck drop and can been seen on Comcast Sportsnet California HD and can be heard on 98.5 KFOX.  Tonight’s contest will also be televised on the NHL Network in Canada.

LET’S GO SHARKS!!!!!!!!

Be sure to follow all of your BoT staff on twitter!!!  

@KingShark49 @81Bayer

Blades of Teal: Tape to tape “WITH THE PASS” of expert analysis on San Jose Sharks, Worcester Sharks, and San Francisco Bulls hockey

Mar 24, 2012; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (31) stands in front of the goal before the game against the Phoenix Coyotes at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Niemi is a good goalie in a lot of ways, and a not so good goalie in others, which isn’t all too dissimilar to most goalies in the NHL to be completely honest. Some goalies are great at covering the angles, others have phenomenal fundamentals. While others don’t rise to the occasion in big situations, or give up juicy rebounds. Nobody can be great at everything, no matter how much we want them to be. And Niemi is certainly no exception. In Chicago he was great at keeping the puck out of the net, but in San Jose he’s had moments where he’s look anything but average. But why?

If you look at the defensive corps they had in Chicago, it was flat out on another planet. Campbell, Keith, Byfuglien, Seabrook, and a young Hjalmarsson; and they all played 77 or more games with the exception of Campbell who played 68 games. But the other thing they had was great team defence that did an amazing job of tying up lose sticks in front of the net and playing man to man everywhere else on the ice. In San Jose we do not have that caliber of defence, not even close. And our team defence has been anything but average since Niemi got here, and he has paid for it more than anybody else in the franchise, save Jay Woodcroft (who I think will get the axe this summer). I believe Niemi is a victim of his surroundings and is being unfairly crucified by the fans and here’s some numbers to back me up.

In Nabby’s last year with us in 2009-10, he posted an impressive record of 44-16-10 in 71 games played with a 2.43 gaa and a .922% and 3 shutouts. That same season Niemi posted a 26-7-4 record in 39 games with a 2.25 gaa and a .912 and 7 shutouts. Very impressive numbers, with the exception of his save %. For the season as a team the Sharks scored 257 goals and allowed 209 while Chicago scored 262 and allowed 203, very comparable numbers. But Chicago was better in the post season which is why they moved on and we didn’t. The following season in San Jose Niemi posted a 35-18-6 record in 60 games with a 2.38 gaa and a .920% with 6 shutouts, better than what Nabokov did the previous season. Good enough to earn us a 2nd trip to the conference finals. As a team in 2010-2011 we scored 243 goals and allowed 208 which are very comparable to the season prior. However the PK% plummeted from 85% in 2009-10, 278/327, to 79.4% in 2010-11, 216/272, representing a 5.6% drop from one season to the next which simply does not happen normally.

Now we all know what happened this year, but for the sake of argument I’ll go over the numbers to round out my point. Niemi posted a record of 34-22-9 in 68 games with a 2.42 gaa and a .915% and 6 shut outs. But the team as a hole scored only 219 goals and allowed 205. So we allowed 3 fewer goals as a team but scored 24 goals fewer. Yes Niemi gave up some softies to be sure, but when your team scores 24 fewer goals year over year it makes it tough to post the same overall record. Also, the PK slipped even further to 76.9%, 173/225. To put the PK numbers in perspective, the last time the Sharks PK was ranked as low as they have the last 2 years was was the year after the lockout in 2005-06 when they 23rd overall and were 1 of 2 teams with less than 400 times being shorthanded with a PK% of 80.7, 322/399. Think about that for just a second.
So before Niemi got here the Sharks were 4th in scoring in the league, and last season they were 13th. Niemi is the type of goalie who needs a great defence in front of him so he only has to focus on the initial save, and maybe a 2nd depending on the shot location. But in San Jose we don’t do that. At least not with the defencive scheme we deploy. We leave the weak side open constantly among many other issues. And because Niemi is a gamer and doesn’t want to let the team down, he plays the shot straight up while trying to cheat over just a little bit to try and make that second save a little easier on him. When in reality he just isn’t good enough to do that. And because he cheats, which ultimately comes from a lack of confidence in the D to do its job, he lets in weak goals.

Now I’m not making excuses for Niemi’s moments of poor goaltending and allowing weak goals, but I am trying to say let’s give the guy a little bit of a break. We had Nabokov for 10 years who was one of the most fundamentally sound goalies to play in the NHL in the last 30 years and he could make those little cheat saves and cover a lot of crease with ease (by sacrificing his 5-hole ultimately). And at the end of the day it’s the team in front of him that’s let him down, not him letting them and us down. So can we please stop calling for Niemi’s head on a platter and trying to run him out of town? Because just like I discussed with the Nash sweepstakes, that will not resolve our problem.

~ BleedingTeal

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