The calendar may say that it’s January 2011. But Sunday night,
Jonas Hiller sure made it seem like it was the spring of 2009 all
over again. Just as he did two seasons ago when Hiller stoned San
Jose in the first round of the playoffs, the Ducks goaltender
flummoxed the Sharks as he stopped all 37 shots in a 1-0 Anaheim
victory at the Honda Center.
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ANAHEIM
The calendar may say that it’s January 2011. But Sunday night, Jonas Hiller sure made it seem like it was the spring of 2009 all over again.
Just as he did two seasons ago when Hiller stoned San Jose in the first round of the playoffs, the Ducks goaltender flummoxed the Sharks as he stopped all 37 shots in a 1-0 Anaheim victory at the Honda Center.
“He certainly elevates his game for us,” Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle said.
OK, but then every goaltender seems to be doing that lately against the Sharks. San Jose (21-17-5) now has lost four consecutive games. But that’s not even the mind-boggling part. It’s how the Sharks are losing.
They’ve scored just one goal in the last three games. What should be one of the most potent attacks in the NHL is suffering a complete power outage.
“In the 12 or 13 years I’ve been playing, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a scoring slump like this—especially with the talent in this locker room,” Boyle said.
Hiller was following in the skate marks of Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, who had 42 saves in the Predators’ 2-1 victory over the Sharks Saturday. Two nights before that, it was Buffalo’s Ryan Miller blanking the Sharks, 3-0.
What has the Sharks shaking their heads is that at least in the last two games, they’ve done everything right. They’ve generally played smart, aggressive hockey; attacking the net and peppering goaltenders with high-quality scoring chances.
But they have nothing to show for it.
“I haven’t seen a drought like this where we just couldn’t score,” forward Ryane Clowe said. “On the other hand, some of the saves the last three games have been unbelievable. You might be able to put together a highlight reel. Goalies have been standing on their heads.”
The Sharks now have been shut out seven times this season. In the last five games, they have just five goals. So after the game, Sharks coach Todd McLellan talked about how the players need to remember that they’re actually a pretty good team.
“What we’re dealing with right now is doubt,” McLellan said. “And we don’t want doubt to creep into their minds. We have to keep reminding them that they have a lot of offensive talent and they are creating chances.”
Almost forgotten was the fact that Hiller, who is riding a scoreless streak to 154 minutes and 50 seconds, wasn’t the only goaltender who had a stellar night. For the second consecutive game, the Sharks’ Antti Niemi did a nice imitation of a brick wall as he recorded 28 saves.
“He played great, but we just can’t get him any run support,” Sharks captain Joe Thornton said.
The one puck that Niemi didn’t stop came at the 14:29 mark of the second period on a nifty goal by Bobby Ryan.
The Ducks forward carried the puck across the crease as he was fronted by Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. When Ryan finally did shoot, the puck not only got past Vlasic but also eluded Niemi—who was screened on the play by a crowd that included Boyle and the Ducks’ Joffrey Lupul and Brandon McMillan.
“I pushed him pretty far into a bad angle,” Vlasic said. “But there were like four guys in the crease and Nemo couldn’t see it. It wasn’t the best of shots, but it found a hole.”
That was all the Ducks (23-18-4) would need against a Sharks team that now is doing some soul-searching.
“We’re playing good hockey,” Thornton said. “It’s just that nothing wants to find its way into the net for us right now. We’re right there on the brink. We’ve just got to keep our heads up and keep fighting.”
McLellan added that the Sharks have their choice of how they want to handle the slump.
“We can pout, feel sorry for ourselves and hang our heads, or we can continue to work,” he said.
— Story by Mark Emmons, San Jose Mercury News
