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SHOOOOOOOOOOT!
by Mike Chen on 09/18/08 at 12:03 PM ET
Comments (10)
Are you one of those people that yells “SHOOOOOOOOT!” when the defense holds on to the puck at the point? Well, guess what? While some people may have called you an impatient fan that doesn’t understand the “nuances” of the game, new Sharks coach Todd McLellan says you’re right.
McLellan has the numbers to prove his point. In studying the statistical charts from 2007-08, one number popped out at him: shots taken by defensemen. Detroit, the best team in the league, had more than 800 shots from the blue line. Sharks defensemen took only 536 shots.
“That’s almost a 300-shot difference,” McLellan said. “So we sat down and asked, ‘Why? Did the players have the ability to do it? Well, yeah. Did they get the puck as often? I don’t know. Were they encouraged or discouraged to shoot it? I don’t know.’ This team last year was a great team and well-coached, in my opinion. But that’s what we’re going to stress — getting pucks to the net a little bit more, especially from the blue line, and getting the defense a little more active in the rush.”
What else are you right about? I don’t know what McLellan thinks, but I’m sure he’d agree with you on the following:
-Every injured opposing player is so totally faking it. Get up, you pansy—this isn’t pro wrestling!
-When a home team player gets knocked over, that is, in fact, a penalty. Every time.
-When a home player gets called for hooking or holding, that’s definitely a bull**** call.
-There is absolutely no way, no freakin’ way that that home player was offsides. No way.
-Every goal under review for the visiting team is so obviously not a goal. Especially the ones that completely cross the goal line. No way.
-If the visiting team scores, they must have cheated to do it. Check the hockey pants and gloves for any foreign objects, including brass knuckles, Jeff Jarret’s guitar, Rick Martel’s perfume, or Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ pet snake Damian.
Note: All of these apply to the crazy woman who sits behind me at games. She seriously yells stuff like this on every play. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
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Comments
Maybe. But then again, the addition of Blake and Boyle might suggest otherwise, just maybe.
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 09/18/08 at 12:26 PM ET
My pre-camp guess is that the first unit will be Cheechoo/Thornton/Clowe up front with Marleau and Boyle at the points. Patty did pretty well there two seasons ago. Second unit will be Pavelski/Michalek/Setoguchi with Blake and Ehrhoff. Those are total guesses as McLellan hasn’t divulged any potential line combos yet.
Posted by Mike Chen on 09/18/08 at 12:34 PM ET
Boyle and Blake can run the PP on their own so it sort of makes some sense to split them up on two PP units.
Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 09/18/08 at 12:38 PM ET
The Sharks have been playing Marleau on the PP point for two years now. Whoever is there, McClellan should get a lot more production off the point.
But hey, if your team is having an off night, at least that lady gives you some entertainment. I think those people are hysterical!
Posted by Matt Fry from Winnipeg on 09/18/08 at 12:39 PM ET
The catch is, you’ve gotta have someone who knows when to shoot it. Sammy failed for the Wings cause he was always a beat off. He’d shoot after the lane closes up, sending a rebound off the defender’s skate back down the ice.
From what little I’ve seen Marleau and Boyle are pretty decent at shooting the lanes.
Posted by Nate A from Detroit-ish on 09/18/08 at 01:02 PM ET
Nate, you also need confidence from the blueliners that someone in front of the net is creating havoc.
Admittedly, I know nothing about the Sharks’ current defense corps, I would imagine that if McLellan really wanted to beef up scoring from the point, he would he snatched Schneider off waivers.
Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 09/18/08 at 01:59 PM ET
The Sharks don’t have the cap space for Schneider. And after snagging Blake and Boyle, they don’t need a ton more firepower on the point.
Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 09/18/08 at 02:37 PM ET
*tap tap* Is this thing on?
Oh, it is working. Glad to see you were able to get your blog up, Mike.
Shoooooot!
I still say put Murray in front of the net during a PP. Who will move him.
I think the Sharks major problem on the power play is time spent outside the offensive zone. One the puck leaves the zone, seems that the Sharks wait 60 seconds before actually bringing a puck back into the zone.
Posted by Patrick C from Sunnyvale, CA on 09/18/08 at 10:06 PM ET
Mike, you have a coach who was willing to put Mikael Samuelsson (a forward!) at the point on the PP. You could see that coming soon on the Sharks’ PP.
Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 09/18 at 01:11 PM
Yay! Samuelsson will be traded to San Jose!
What? 
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 09/19/08 at 06:27 AM ET
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Mike, you have a coach who was willing to put Mikael Samuelsson (a forward!) at the point on the PP. You could see that coming soon on the Sharks’ PP.
Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 09/18/08 at 12:11 PM ET