The obvious question is what nickname should be attached to the
Sharks’ recently constructed third line. But Torrey Mitchell and
Kyle Wellwood could offer no suggestions.
”
Are we even deserving of a nickname?
”
Joe Pavelski added. They at least are deserving of some
attention. Over the past dozen or so games, the trio of Wellwood,
Pavelski and Mitchell has sparkled.
SAN JOSE
The obvious question is what nickname should be attached to the Sharks’ recently constructed third line.
But Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Wellwood could offer no suggestions.
“Are we even deserving of a nickname?” Joe Pavelski added.
They at least are deserving of some attention. Over the past dozen or so games, the trio of Wellwood, Pavelski and Mitchell has sparkled.
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“Sometimes you can’t really understand why certain line combinations work better than others,” Mitchell said. “But this one has been going well.”
The reality is the line probably shouldn’t mesh because the players are so similar. They all are right shots. All are natural centers. And all are on the smallish side.
“We’re three little guys, basically the smallest on the team,” said Mitchell, who goes 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds.
Actually, injured center Scott Nichol is only 5-9.
“Yeah, but Scotty plays like he’s 6-6,” Mitchell countered.
Still, these three have played big lately. The 5-11 Pavelski, centering the line, is returning to “The Big Pavelski” role he played in the postseason a year ago. He has eight points (one goal and seven assists) in the past three games.
The speedy Mitchell, who missed 16 games with a groin pull earlier in the season, has regained his confidence with two goals and three assists in the past seven games. The 5-10 Wellwood, whom Pavelski jokingly calls the line’s muscle, has four goals and two assists since being claimed off waivers Jan. 18 from St. Louis — Saturday night’s opponent.
But the statistics sheet often does not do justice to their contributions, Sharks coach Todd McLellan said.
“Are they lighting up the scoreboard?” McLellan asked. “No. But they’re finding ways to play in the other team’s zone. The puck seems to follow them around, and they’re putting a lot of pressure on the second and third defensive pairings of the other team. That’s valuable for us.”
It’s a testament of how highly McLellan thinks of the line that when Dany Heatley was suspended for two games, he decided not to tinker with their chemistry. Instead, he brought fourth-line winger Ben Eager up to temporarily fill Heatley’s spot playing with Logan Couture and Ryane Clowe in Thursday’s 3-2 victory over Minnesota.
The addition of another productive line has played a role in the Sharks’ rise to third place in the Western Conference standings.
“When you come at opponents in waves, it’s tough to play against,” Mitchell said. “The momentum just builds and builds. It’s almost like it’s only a matter of time before you’re going to explode and get some goals. We’ve been on the other end of that at times against Chicago or Detroit.”
McLellan is not hesitant about tweaking lines and making changes on the fly. So Wellwood, Mitchell and Pavelski played together in stretches before they became an official line.
“There were times where we thought we played some good games and then found ourselves split,” said Pavelski, who has 14 goals and 40 assists on the season. “Every time that happened, we would talk among ourselves and say, ‘What’s up with that? Let’s get back together. We had it going there.’ There’s just a good feeling when we’re out there.”
Ask them specifically why they work well as a group, and each one mentions the same thing: They all try to play an intelligent style.
“All three of us are pretty aware on the ice and seem to know what’s going on,” Pavelski added. “Wellwood is so smart. He’s just always in the right place.”
The one thing they can’t do, it seems, is promote themselves with a nickname. As Pavelski and Mitchell briefly bounced ideas off one another, Devin Setoguchi was listening from one locker stall away.
“How about The Three Stooges?” Setoguchi helpfully suggested.
Mitchell didn’t seem to like that one.
Wellwood agreed with Pavelski that there’s more work to be done before they’ve earned some notoriety.
“We’ll see if we can stick it out through the playoffs,” Wellwood said. “If we play well then against the top competition, then we’ll get a name.”
— Story by Mark Emmons, San Jose Mercury News
