Written by Gray | 16 October 2011

At least, not yet.

The Sharks managed to put together a good 30 minutes last night, and while it certainly wasn't enough to beat the Blues and their good 40 minutes of hockey, it was an improvement over the Friday night showing against the Ducks.

The Sharks managed to pull themselves together for the last 10 minutes of the first and all of the second, but couldn't adjust to the Blues in the 3rd. The Blues, meanwhile, having realized the Sharks had adjusted their game to more successfully counter their attack, regrouped in the second intermission. The Sharks, on the other hand, looked out of sync and confused in the third, and while they had the lead for a bit, they was eventually lost to the tune of 4-2.

I saw some Greiss blame going on last night; now really people, are we going there already? Only about 1/3 of the top line was on last night (because JoePa is ALWAYS in go mode), Boyle and Burns were scattered, Clowe missed his guy once, I think Desi or Demers did too, and there was a whole lot of sloppy skating going on. Boyle said the ice was sub par, and while I won't doubt that from watching how the puck bounced around, it certainly wasn't the reason they lost. And additional hindrance, yes, but their play was pretty much the biggest factor last night. Griess, on the other hand, was doing his best to keep the guys in front of him in the game. Remember, the goalie is you last line of defense. The team in front of him is supposed to prevent the opposition from reach him. If they get that far, you can't assume he will stop all shots all the time. He's only human, after all. So cut Greiss some slack here. The team's failings last night were not his.

Am I worried yet? No. I am disappointed though. As I stated earlier on Twitter, I was really hoping for 6 points out of this series of games.  The possibility of only getting 2 is sort of sad. Considering the Sharks were already behind, having only played one game in a week, the points would have been useful for staying competetive in those early, (and rapidly shifting), standings.

Tomorrow will be a good test for the Sharks. Will they remain off-kilter, or will they regroup and come out guns blazing? Only time will tell.

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