WC Playoffs Round 1: San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings (Kings win 4-3).

[AC]

What a nightmare of a shift by Voynov.

He turned it over twice then tipped it into his own net.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Marleau has been clutch in these past two first rounds.

He could well be the most underrated playoff performer in the league. 60 career playoff goals.

[puckluck2]

Sharks are beating the Kings at their own game.

[Phaneufenstein]

Wow a lot of flukey goals by the sharks this game

[trackercowe]

While a part of me hopes the Sharks win it all, I don't want to see them win this one in a sweep.

[blender]

Originally Posted by Henry Fool

He could well be the most underrated playoff performer in the league. 60 career playoff goals.

Who says he's underrated?

[trackercowe]

Originally Posted by blender

Who says he's underrated?

Probably all the people that say he and Thornton were notorious in disappearing in big games. I think they would even admit to that occasionally (during their early years), but they've definitely been more committed to playing that much harder in the last few years. I bet getting rid of Wilson and Heatley made a big difference.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by blender

Who says he's underrated?

I do.

What an odd question.

[blender]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

Probably all the people that say he and Thornton were notorious in disappearing in big games. I think they would even admit to that occasionally (during their early years), but they've definitely been more committed to playing that much harder in the last few years. I bet getting rid of Wilson and Heatley made a big difference.

Fair enough. There was the year he lost the captaincy, but I remember so many of those playoff goals, I've always thought of him as a huge threat. Maybe just me, though.

[OILFAN #81]

Awesome win! Hopefully the Sharks finish them off on Thursday. The city continues to have that buzz everywhere, it's awesome to be a part of it. Sharks are deeper this year. A guy like Hertl makes a huge difference since Pavelski can either play LW on line 1 or shift to 3rd line center.

[kenk-la]

Remember before the series when Shark fans were questioning whether or not Niemi should start this series? Man, he made some solid saves in the first few minutes of the overtime to give the Sharks a chance to win. The guy may not have the most spectacular stats or style, but he has proven to be fairly clutch when necessary. If the Sharks can wrap this up on Thursday or in game 5 I really think they could win the conference.

[blender]

Originally Posted by Henry Fool

I do.

What an odd question.

Not trying to offend. I just had never thought of him as underrated, and was wondering if this was some kind of consensus that I had never picked up on.

But I agree that he is pretty good.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Curious on what goes on in the LA locker room. Sutter probably has quite a few words to share.

[Erick Estrada]

Kings defense has been getting exposed in this series for being on the slow side. Kings just don't have the team speed to compete with the Sharks when they are clicking. Voynov and Regehr haven't had a great series. While they were successful a few yeas back in their cup run I believe the team needs to make some changes to get a little quicker.

[PeteMoss]

When you score as little as the Kings do, you need to catch every break to win the Cup. Sutter needs to loosen the reigns a bit.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Voynov and Regehr haven't had a great series. While they were successful a few yeas back in their cup run I believe the team needs to make some changes to get a little quicker.

Nightmares of the Phaneuf - Regehr pairing with those two.

Regehr's speed has been exposed in this series. He has lost a step lately and the speed and strength of the Sharks is making it tough on him.

[Stay Golden]

I went with Sharks in 7 based mainly on game 7 home ice but they have simply dismantled LA. Kings might win 1 at best. They look rattled and slow compared to SJ.
The Sharks are playing with such confidence that they even are shooting from the side boards. LA doesn't have much room before they are getting crunched out there.

[t0rrent98]

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by blender

Not trying to offend. I just had never thought of him as underrated, and was wondering if this was some kind of consensus that I had never picked up on.

But I agree that he is pretty good.

Whether someone is underrated is a very subjective judgment based on general impressions of media and fans. To me Marleau is the kind of guy who is easy to forget in discussions about top players but always shows up very high in career stat comparisons.

Off the top of my head, I can only think of one active player with more playoff goals.

[Henry Fool]