Hockey players rarely can be described as choir boys. It's just not in the nature of the rugged, teeth-loosening sport to be on your best behavior. But so far in the playoffs the Sharks have been, relatively speaking, little angels.
"You're calling the wrong guy that," Sharks winger Ryane Clowe said.
Maybe, but the Sharks have been finding their way to the penalty box far less often than opponents. The Sharks have been on the power play 62 times in 12 postseason games compared to having to kill off only 38 penalties.
San Jose might have dropped Game 1 of the Western Conference finals 2-1, but Sunday's loss couldn't be blamed on a lack of power-play time. While Chicago was called for five penalties, the Sharks were not whistled for a single one.
"It's not just luck," Clowe said. "We're just not putting ourselves in a position to take penalties and we're being real careful with our sticks. We need to continue that because it's a sign that we're doing something right."
Opponents will agree that it's a sign of something — but not necessarily that the Sharks are just being smart and disciplined.
In the first two rounds, Colorado's Joe Sacco and Detroit's Mike Babcock weren't shy about expressing their frustration over the disparity of penalties called between their teams and the Sharks.
The Blackhawks were more circumspect with their comments in the wake of Sunday's game, which makes sense considering they won. ButAdvertisement
it doesn't mean they were happy about the sin bin being a Shark-free zone.
"It would be nice to get a few calls out there," winger Patrick Sharp said.
Sharks center Scott Nichol countered that he would have been surprised if Chicago wasn't complaining at least a little bit.
"They're doing their job," Nichol said. "They're getting it in the papers so maybe the referees can read it. But they can't call it if you don't do anything."
Such subtle working of the officials is all part of the psychological gamesmanship of the NHL postseason. Sharks coach Todd McLellan was doing his best to send a message Monday through the media as he praised Game 1 referees Paul Devorski and Brad Watson.
"I turn on that NHL.com and all the hockey pundits out there are absolutely shocked the Sharks didn't take a penalty," McLellan said. "I know Devo and Brad Watson didn't sit down and use their 2,300 games of experience and say, 'Tonight is going to be the night where we're not going to give them a penalty.' "
Sunday might have been unique — "Zero penalties just doesn't happen," Sharks captain Rob Blake agreed — but San Jose has shown composure all postseason. The Sharks have taken 55 penalties compared to 77 by opponents.
In the process, the Avalanche and Red Wings helped prove the accuracy of the old hockey cliché about how it's hard to win from inside a penalty box.
But considering that the Sharks came out on the short end of Game 1 against Chicago despite the penalty edge, was it also an indication that the Sharks weren't playing physical enough? Are they really being too angelic on the ice?
To a man, the Sharks said no.
"If you go a bunch of games in the regular season without penalties, maybe it is a sign that you're not doing enough of the dirty work," Clowe said. "But in the playoffs we've been really good about playing between the whistles and not engaging in the scrums in front of the net that the refs are watching close."
Heading into tonight's Game 2, both teams made it clear what they hoped to do better in their special teams.
The Blackhawks want to cut down on the penalties and maybe even see if the Sharks' box door actually swings open.
"I think staying out of the box is a priority," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We expect to play hard and draw some penalties as well."
Meanwhile the Sharks, who have converted on 12 of their 62 power plays for a 19.2 percent clip, are hoping to make better use of their time when tey have the man-advantage.
"When you get five more power plays than the other team, you really need to use that," Clowe said.here
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