Another accurate prediction thanks to the brave challenge from Phoenix, however injuries took their toll in Game 7 as Shanahan and Streit missed it. However, Lidstrom missing a few games also has to be taken into consideration.
Three Stars of the Series
1. Milan Michalek - 4 goals, 5 assists, +3, 2 game winners - Out of all the high-profiled young guns on the Sharks who would have guessed that Michalek would play a huge part of the success? Michalek's strong and consistent play helped the Sharks avoid an upset with his two points in Game 7.
2. Brendan Shanahan - 3 goals, 4 assists, +3, 2 game winners - An offseason of what ifs for Phoenix will have the question "what if Shanahan was healthy for games 6 and 7?" Shanahan's strong and veteran presence led the Coyotes in the first two Phoenix victories scoring both winning goals in those games. However, after being injured in Game 5, Shanahan missed the final games letting San Jose off lightly.
3. Tomas Kaberle - 1 goal, 6 assists, 18 hits - In the absence of Lidstrom for two games, Kaberle stepped up his play and contributed an average of a point per game against the Coyotes. His offensive production with his strong defensive play gives him the nod over the rest for third star.
Scapegoat of the Series
Now I can't pick anyone off Phoenix as most expected Phoenix to go out, the goaltending was shared between Raycroft and Belfour, an interesting tactic, maybe sticking with the veteran Belfour was needed? The players that needed to produce for Phoenix did, so that's why the scapegoat of the series is Alexander Ovechkin, Eric Staal and Justin Williams. All young stars that could have cost the Sharks the series, they combined for 11 points and matched that with a -11 rating. Though an odd thought, maybe Ovechkin and Staal could use the veteran presence on the right wing in Stu Barnes and demote Williams to the third line? Who knows? But the Sharks will have to sort out what they have to do as they take on the offensive juggernaunt that is Chicago.
Yeah, I really missed shanny in game 7, especially considering streit was out too... and the goaltending was a tough one... I started with Belfour, but when he got lit up for 6 goals in game 2 I tried Raycroft in game 3 and he played well but lost, so I went back to Belfour for game 4. He responded and played great, but in game 5 he got lit up yet again so I went with Raycroft in game 6 and he played awesome so I was faced with a very tough decision for game 7. In the end I went with Raycroft, and in his defense, while he let in 6 goals and played pretty bad, his team in front of him was brutal too allowing 35 shots against compared to 27 for... maybe it wasn't the right thing to do, but it was a tough call... In the end I don't think either of these guys was good enough to win the series with.
I had to make some tough calls aswell concerning my roster...
PHX really shut down Staal and AO in the first 4 games...so I decided to put them on the 2nd line and move up Horton and Michalek to play with Semin...
In retrospect, i think that is a coaching move that might of saved the series for me,,,,Staal and AO did virtually nothing for me in games 5,6 and 7 while Michalek and Horton really carried the team offensively.
