Same old San Jose Sharks, even if they just completed their first series sweep in franchise history.
The ends justify the means, perhaps, but the Sharks still have a problem -- even if their Game Four win over the Vancouver Canucks means San Jose moves into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with the aforementioned sweep of the Northwest Division champs.
It's an easy problem to overlook if you want to, but the problem isn't going away.
In both overtime wins in this series, Game Two in Vancouver and last night's Game Four in San Jose, the Sharks took a one-goal lead into the third period, promptly gave up two goals to fall behind and then needed late goals to tie and force the extra session.
In Game Two, it was Patrick Marleau tying it up and Raffi Torres winning in overtime. In Game Four, it was Joe Pavelski tying it up and Marleau winning it in overtime.
Yes, San Jose won both games, but ...
Overtimes games are often a coin flip. In fact, the Sharks were the only National Hockey League team in 2013 to not score a goal in the five-minute, regular-season overtime format.
And now, they've won two playoff games that way.
See the problem here?
If you don't, that's fine -- most won't, because the Sharks won. Who cares, right?
Consider the extra effort needed to win in overtime when a tighter, third-period defense -- something the Sharks have lacked for many years now under head coach Todd McLellan -- could have won the game in regulation.
We've seen this issue eliminate the Sharks from the postseason both in 2011 and 2012. And if it wasn't for game-tying goals late in Games Two and Four here, maybe this series would be tied -- instead of over.
The fact the series is over shouldn't hide the ongoing problem for San Jose. It makes for great narratives: Patrick Marleau's playoff heroics, Joe Pavelski's big-game magic, etc.
Every team is flawed, of course, in one way or another: this has been San Jose's flaw for awhile. And if they can keep winning in spite of it? Great for them, great for the fans, and great for hockey.
But the Sharks would be best served to do their best to fix this fatal flaw before it's too late, because the road gets a lot tougher going forward.
San Jose knows this: they've been to the conference finals three times in franchise history, winning just three games total in those series against Calgary in 2004, Chicago in 2010 and Vancouver in 2011.
So if the Sharks want to win it all? They'll need to play better defense when protecting third-period leads, because overtime won't always be there to save them in St. Louis, Chicago or Pittsburgh.
