San Jose (5) |
VS |
Edmonton (8) |
Edmonton wins series 4-2 |
Edmonton Oilers fans cheered the American national anthem before Wednesday night's game at Rexall Place and then watched with delight as their team eliminated the San Jose Sharks from the Stanley Cup playoffs. » FULL STORY
Strengths | Weaknesses | Key Player | |
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San Jose Sharks |
In Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, the Sharks have two centres who ranked among the top-20 scorers. Thornton hasn't been a big factor in the playoffs thus far, but in the regular season he transformed little-known Jonathan Cheechoo into a 50-goal scorer and doesn't have to carry the offensive burden by himself. While Marleau was overshadowed by Thornton this season, his 86 points were the most of his eight-year career. Marleau also led the team with eight points in five playoff games against the Nashville Predators. |
The Sharks' penalty killing (80.7 per cent) was abysmal this season as they ranked last among the Western Conference playoff teams and improved only slightly in the first round. Part of the problem can be attributed to San Jose's lack of a true defensive stud. The Sharks simply have too much trouble controlling the play in their own end and often find themselves scrambling to clear the puck to the relieve pressure. |
Joe Thornton: Thornton won his first scoring title but still needs to answer questions concerning his lack of productivity in the post-season. In his 35 playoff games with Boston, Thornton managed only six goals and was often criticized for his lack of toughness when the games mattered most. While Thornton failed to score in the Sharks' first five playoff games, he did post four assists and his supporting cast in San Jose is significantly better than it was in Boston. |
Edmonton Oilers |
The Oilers' surprising record on the road should give them confidence heading into the second round. Edmonton finished the season with the third-best road record (22-13-7) in the Western Conference and continued that success into the post-season as the team won two of three from Detroit at the Joe Louis Arena. The Oilers have had several big road playoffs wins during their illustrious history and won't be intimidated playing away from Rexall Place. |
The Oilers have the second-worst penalty-killing unit of the eight remaining teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs. With NHL officials proving in the first round that penalties will be called at any stage of the game, Edmonton's 80-per-cent efficiency won't be enough to advance another round. Part of the reason the Oilers were able to overcome the powerful Red Wings was that Detroit had an even lower penalty-killing percentage (78.4 per cent) than Edmonton. |
Chris Pronger: Though he suffered a foot injury shortly before the Torino Olympics, Pronger had a solid regular season for the Oilers. Playing in his first year in Edmonton, Pronger ranked ninth in league scoring for defencemen with 56 points and, considering his team's defensive liabilities, he posted a respectable plus-two rating. Pronger was even better against Detroit as he scored seven points in six games and leads all active playoff defencemen. |
SAN JOSE SHARKS GOALIES | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA | ||||
Evgeni Nabokov | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .750 | 5.00 | |||
Vesa Toskala | 11 | 6 | 5 | 28 | .910 | 2.45 |
SAN JOSE SHARKS TOP SCORERS | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW | |
Patrick Marleau | 11 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
Jonathan Cheechoo | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -1 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
Joe Thornton | 11 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -4 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
Christian Ehrhoff | 11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
Tom Preissing | 11 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
INJURIES | ||
---|---|---|
No Injuries were reported. |
EDMONTON OILERS GOALIES | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA | ||||
Dwayne Roloson | 18 | 12 | 5 | 45 | .927 | 2.33 | |||
Jussi Markkanen | 6 | 3 | 3 | 13 | .905 | 2.17 | |||
Ty Conklin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10.00 | .667 |
EDMONTON OILERS TOP SCORERS | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW | |
Chris Pronger | 24 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 10 | 26 | 3 | 0 |
Shawn Horcoff | 24 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 2 |
Fernando Pisani | 24 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 5 |
Ales Hemsky | 24 | 6 | 11 | 17 | -3 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
Ryan Smyth | 24 | 7 | 9 | 16 | -2 | 22 | 4 | 1 |
EDMONTON OILERS INJURIES | ||
---|---|---|
Marc-Antoine Pouliot | mononucleosis | indefinitely |
Dwayne Roloson | knee | indefinitely |
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