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Five Thoughts: Sharks defensive issues as well as Dany Heatley’s disappearance

Vancouver Canucks v San Jose Sharks - Game Four

SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 22: in Game Four of the Western Conference Finals during the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs at HP Pavilion on May 22, 2011 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Ezra Shaw

Game 4 of the Western Conference finals proved to be one of the oddest games we’ve seen all playoffs long. Vancouver was outshot wildly by San Jose, yet the Canucks won the game 4-2. Vancouver did all their damage on the power play scoring three times with the two-man advantage, a first in the playoffs. While there was plenty to like in Game 4 for Vancouver, there’s a lot to worry about for San Jose as well.

1. We’ve lauded Henrik Sedin’s play already here but after his four point Game 4 in which he assisted on all four Canucks goals it makes us marvel all the more about the job the Canucks previous opponents, the Nashville Predators, did to shut him and his brother Daniel Sedin down.

The Sedins relative quiet play against Nashville that saw them combine for two goals and five assists for the six game series is made to look even smaller given that Henrik has ten points in four games against San Jose.

The Sharks don’t have a defenseman like either Shea Weber or Ryan Suter that can shadow the Sedins, never mind both of them to team up against them. That one slight difference is making life especially hard on San Jose as they just don’t have the defensive stopper along the blue line. Douglas Murray does well enough for himself but he’s just one man.

2. San Jose may have dodged a bullet with Joe Thornton’s status for Game 5 still up in the air. Thornton taking his huge hit from Raffi Torres had to have terrified everyone on the bench as he was knocked out of the game. What they’re getting from him instead is a guy embracing the role of team captain.

Thornton could’ve let coach Todd McLellan do all the talking for him regarding his injury status but instead chose to let a Sharks beat reporter know that he’s feeling 100% fine and he’ll be in for Game 5. You don’t ever see players decide to do go out of their way to let everyone know how they’re feeling. Good for Thornton for doing this because the last distraction the Sharks need is to have the press flocking to get answers as to how Thornton’s doing.

3. It’s been just four games in this series, but can we put out an APB for Dany Heatley? While some like to focus in on how Thornton and Patrick Marleau are performing, the Sharks have been getting terrible efforts in every game from Heatley. Heatley has just one assist in this series and his effort level offensively has been virtually nil. Heatley is an important offensive part to the Sharks attack and while Thornton and Marleau earn the attention they get, Heatley hasn’t nearly heard enough criticism for his seemingly disinterested play on the ice.

Heatley has just nine points in all of the playoffs and three of those are goals. While Marleau, Logan Couture, and Ryane Clowe have been the goal scorers throughout the playoffs for San Jose, Heatley has been silent all through this series and for most of the postseason. It’s not too late for him to make his presence felt, but if he doesn’t want to be the focus of negative attention any more than he already is in ways, a huge Game 5 would go a long way toward that.

4. Game 4 spiraled out of control so quickly for San Jose in the second period. The Sharks had been playing a solid, tight defensive game through the first period. They got their chances to score on the power play but couldn’t do anything to score on it as Vancouver figured out what they had to do to slow down San Jose’s power play that entered Game 4 scoring on 46% of their power plays.

Conversely, San Jose’s inability to score on the power play turned into special teams problems on the other side as the Sharks gave up three 5-on-3 power play goals. The Sharks doing that against anyone will generally result in losing but doing that against the Presidents’ Trophy winners is really dumb. Special teams have been such a huge focus of this series and while the officials switched on and off between who they would book for infractions, the Sharks suffered for their sloppy play most of all. If nothing else, it was a highly veteran performance from the Canucks.

5. Of course, there was one item of note as the game concluded. Canucks forward Ryan Kesler attempted to show the officials what a perfect pratfall looks like as he goaded Sharks forward Ryane Clowe into taking a poke at him with his gloved fist in the face. Kesler fell to the ice as if he were crushed with a straight punch to the face. Kesler said after the game that it was a head shot and he hopes the league takes a look at it and perhaps takes action against Clowe.

That’s some solid spin doctoring from Kesler and even better politicking to try to win one in his favor. We love Ryan Kesler’s game the way we’d love ice cream cake at a birthday party but Kesler’s histrionics are maddening to see. The flopping to the ice is something we saw against Chicago but not again since then, at least not from Kesler. Having him take part in such bad acting makes us long for there to be another B-level film on TV.

You don’t see other players of Kesler’s ilk doing stuff like this and while we’re sure there’s a method to the madness as to why he does do it, it’s a part of his game we’d like to see him get away from as fast as possible. If you’re looking to dive to make things better for your team, you’ve got your priorities all sorts of wrong.