Choking on Wings

Surprisingly, the following post will have no mention of the Montreal Canadiens who are now just 2 wins away from a trip to the Eastern Conference Final.... Holy Crap, I've dreamed my whole life for this, this is amazing, It's a dream come tr---

Sorry, I got a little excited there.

But I'm here today to talk about a series that I do not care about whatsoever. The Sharks vs the Wings. Currently, the Sharks lead 3-1 and are one win away from a spot in the West Final. Yesterday, the Sharks tried for the sweep and instead got destroyed 7-1 and have to wait another 2 days for a chance to wrap up the series.

Now you're probably saying that it was just a bad game and all they need to do is win one more game where as the Wings have to win three. And we all know the stats. Only 2 teams have ever come back to win a series after going down 3-0.

But one day, a third team will arise and come back from that deficit. How soon? Well all signs point to next week. Let me explain.

The San Jose Sharks are currently in one of the biggest playoff funks ever. For the last 5 years, they have had great regular seasons only to arrive in the playoffs and get booted out in the first or second round. Last year, they finished with the best record in the NHL and promptly got knocked out by the Ducks in the first round. This year, they again finished first in the West, and had their troubles against a garbage Colorado team, but survived.

Now they're up against the back-to-back Western Conference Champion, Detroit Red Wings. And through the first 3 games, it looked like a completely different Sharks team from years past. A new hero in Joe Pavelski. Joe Thornton actually hitting somebody in the playoffs. Dan Boyle actually putting the puck in the opposition's net. Just like that, it was 3-0 San Jose and the ghosts of playoffs past were slowly being exterminated.

But then yesterday came. Evgeni Nabokov showed signs of his Olympic brilliance this year as he let in 5 first period goals. Rob Blake showed us why he should retire VERY soon. It was not a good day for San Jose. Final score 7-1 Detroit. San Jose confidence level= 0%.

Whenever a series goes down 3-0, there's always some mention of "Could this be the series where the comeback happens?." And the Sharks have heard their fair share of it already. This is a San Jose team that has handled pressure EXTREMELY poorly in the last 5 years. So now they're faced with having to stop a comeback that has happened twice in 93 years. Pretty simple, right? Not for the Sharks.

Here's how Game 5 might look. The Sharks will be gripping their sticks tightly, the fans will be biting their fingernails nervously. The Wings will be playing loose hockey. They have nothing to lose, they've been to the Finals two years in a row. They will be having fun and the Sharks will be going through hell trying to wrap up the series. So who do you think has the advantage?

And the Sharks will have to spend today and tomorrow hearing about the possible comeback through the media. But who on this team can put a stop to that? Other than Dan Boyle and Rob Blake, two aging defenceman, nobody on this team has won anything. The San Jose Sharks do not know how to win high-pressured games.

And now they are faced with their biggest test yet. A chance to finally make it to the West final, but trying to prevent a collapse that happens once every 40 years. If anyone could come back from this, it would be the Wings. And if anyone could collapse like this, it would be the Sharks.

We might be in store for a little next history come next Wednesday. Because the Wings are 25% done the comeback. And the Sharks know it.