Reilly stickhandles in the backyard.
Saddledome, AL
As Reilly and I watched the Sharks and Flames last night, he turned to me and said “are you kidding me? Martin Jones has 47 straight saves, several of the spectacular variety and its still 1-0 for San Jose.” Well, as you know the mere mention of a shutout or great play by the color man and Calgary gets a goal with 1:22 left in the game. As they began their 8th power play of the game the Flames pulled their goalie Ortio for an extra attacker. It took an amazing tip by Joe Colborne off of a dynamite shot from the point by Giordano to finally beat Martin Jones.
As deflating as the goal was with practically no time left, the Sharks wasted no time in OT, putting the Beast and the two Joes on the ice and won it in 19 seconds with a power move by Burns off of a slick entry by Thornton and the Captain tucked it under the Calgary goalkeeper.
Reilly and I sat in amazement as the Sharks skated off the ice with the victory to continue their hot play. Since January 9th, San Jose is 18-5-4, as they keep pace with their California rivals in what has become a three team race in the Pacific Division. Anahymen has vaulted past the LA Kings to take over first place with the Kings 3 points back and the Sharks five points off the pace.
Remember when the pundits were calling the Pacific the worst division in hockey and they were extolling the virtues of the Central as the best division in all of hockey? Well, it seems the cream rises to the top as the Ducks have reeled off 11 straight wins to pass LA, who keeps chugging along under Dour Darryl Sutter. If the season ended today, the playoff pairing would feature another King/Sharks series. Always entertaining and these two teams flat out hate each other.
Regardless of who they play, Martin Jones has been the MVP for San Jose in his first season as a starter with 33 of the team’s 36 victories for the season. He is calm, cool and collected as he is square to the shooter and anticipates the cross ice presciently. Hows that for a two point word?
