Intent to Suck Ass. A Recap of Last Night's Game Against the Kings
That title could refer to many points in last night's game, but I am specifically referring to, and making a joke about, the decision to wave off Patty's goal late in the third.Another instance of the intent to blow rule causing what was an otherwise reviewable, (and good), goal to be left high and dry. That goal could have won the game in regulation for the Sharks, assuming that the Kings didn't tie things up in the few minutes left following it. It wouldn't have been a good win by any means, but it would have been a win nonetheless.
The ref assured us that Patty had pushed Ersberg into the net, and he had intended to blow the whistle before the puck crossed the line. Whatever. I'm really beginning to hate that rule.
The replays showed that not only did Patty NOT push Ersberg back into his net, (Ersberg fell back himself, likely in an effort to stop the puck) the puck crossed the line before the whistle blew. But, again, intent is more important than actual actions on the ice. Don't get me wrong, I understand that there needs to be some level of fudging allowed because the refs are human, and can only react so quickly, but on plays like that, where it isn't clear, I'd rather they just review it. If you review that and say "nope, I made the right call." then fine. Just look at it, is all I am asking.
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If you're thinking only one guy is to blame for this loss, well, you're wrong. I'll let that sink in for a minute.
"But Gray!", you fume, "Did you not SEE how wide Nabby's 5 hole was last night? Did you not see how he failed to stop pucks he should have been able to see coming in his sleep?! Did you watch Nabby last night at all???"
Well, yes, I did. I also watched everyone else on the ice, and weighed their performances in with his, which is why I don't feel like throwing him under the bus right now. Nabby had a bad night, that much is true and I'm not foolish enough to say he didn't. But he wasn't the only one. Now, true, maybe if he's on he makes some of those stops, a few LA goals don't go in, and he keeps the Sharks in the game. But then again, maybe not. It's just ridiculous to assume one guy was the entire reason for the loss. It's not like he was the only man on the ice. And that also ignores his stellar performances from only a few games past. If everyone threw their starting goaltenders out when they had a bad night, not one of them could make career out of playing that position.
The sky isn't falling. It just has a gaping 5 hole. That will be fixed.
"Alright ms. smartypants, if it wasn't alllll Nabby, who else was it, huh?!"
Easy.
Everyone.
You don't come into the second up a goal and leave it down by 2 if you didn't have a total team failure on the ice. The second was ridiculously bad for the Sharks. PK wasn't on, PP wasn't on, even strength play wasn't on, and puck possession was most certainly not on. It is really hard to score goals, or even get scoring chances, if you can't keep the puck for more than 5 seconds at a time.
As much as we may dislike to admit it, the Sharks were outworked and out played by the Kings last night. Given the standings within the division going into last night's game, i think it's reasonable to assume it was going to be close and hard fought. We really only got half of that equation from the Sharks. Whatever jump they had coming out of the first evaporated in a three goal parade by the Kings in the second. After that, they were flat. Yes, they came back to tie, but once you give up three unanswered, it's a pretty safe bet that you won't be winning that game. If, by some chance, you do win, it won't be a clean win. That's for damn sure.
Be mad about this loss, but in the end, let cooler heads prevail. At the end of the day, we watch sports for entertainment. Fun should never ruins one's day.
