Western Conference Quarterfinals Preview: San Jose vs. Colorado
While watching another San Jose Sharks team crumble in the playoffs would, at the very least, be entertaining, they shouldn’t have too much trouble with the banged up Avalanche in the first round. After a redhot start, the Avs limped to the finish, and will have a couple of issues in matching up with the West’s most dominant offensive team. Regardless of how this series goes, the season will go down as a success for the Avs, who weren’t supposed to be challenging for anything more than a lottery pick this season.
Offense: The Sharks’ potent offense is led by one of the best forward trios in the game today. Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau have combined for 103 goals this season. They complement each other perfectly, but they’re not the only ones who can score on this Sharks’ team. Joe Pavelski and Ryane Clowe both had more than 50 points, while free agent acquisition Manny Malhotra chipped in 14 goals and 33 points. The Avs don’t have a line that comes close to the Sharks’ top line, but they have plenty of capable young scorers. Paul Statsny, Matt Duchene, Milan Hejduk and Chris Stewart all had more than 20 goals, with Stewart leading the team with 28.
Advantage: San Jose
Defense:San Jose’s not just stacked on offense. They’ve got one of the best veteran defensive corps in the game today, with Rob Blake and Dan Boyle leading the way. Doug Murray is a big, physical defenseman, while the acquisition of Niclas Wallin at the deadline bolstered the Sharks’ blueline even further heading into the playoffs. The Avalanche don’t have the name recognition of the Sharks on defense, but Scott Hannan and Adam Foote are both good, tough guys that handle business in their own end pretty well. Four of the Colorado defensemen finished the year with more than 20 points, led by John-Michael Liles (25 assists, 31 points).
Advantage: Colorado
Goaltending: Craig Anderson tired a bit at the end of the season, probably due to the fact that he faced the 3rd most shots in the league, but the career backup netminder has far exceeded expectations in the starting role for Colorado this season. He’ll be making his playoff debut in this series, and how he plays could determine this series. At the other end of the ice, Evgeni Nabokov will be looking to erase some disappointing finishes over the last few years. Nabokov had yet another solid season for the Sharks, winning 44 games and posting a 2.43 GAA and .922 save percentage. If he plays like he does in the regular season, Colorado could be in trouble, but as we’ve seen more than once, something about the playoffs doesn’t always sit well with the Sharks.
Advantage: San Jose
Special Teams: Yet another area where, on paper, the Sharks hold a significant advantage over their opponents. The Sharks were not only the most effective team in the West with the man advantage, but had the 2nd best penalty kill efficiency mark, killing 85% of their own penalties. Colorado was well off of those numbers, but they still have some pop on their powerplay. Duchene scored 10 of his 24 goals on the powerplay, leading all rookies in powerplay goals, and John-Michael Liles had 20 of his 31 points with the man advantage.
Advantage: San Jose
There’s no reason San Jose should lose this series, but it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility. Everyone keeps talking about how the Sharks have crumbled in the playoffs time and time again, and the pressure may be more on them to win than it is on the youngsters from Denver. Still, I don’t see the Sharks blowing this one.
My pick: Sharks in 6