Sharks Move onto Second Round

#4 Nashville Predators Vs. #5 San Jose Sharks
The 5th seeded, San Jose Sharks (Worcester Sharks), opened up the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs against the 4th seeded Nashville Predators (Milwaukee Admirals). Even though the Sharks were the higher seeded, they weren’t the underdogs because of some injuries to some key players on the Predators.

game one
Mark Smith gave the Sharks the early lead in game one against the Nashville Predators, but unfortunately the rest of the team fell asleep for the rest of the period. Nashville got 1st period goals from Mike Sillinger, Martin Erat, and Shea Weber to take the 3-1 lead into the 1st break. Nils Ekman got the lone goal in the 2nd period assisted by Joe Thornton. Joe’s cousin, Scott, managed to tie the game midway through the 3rd period but it wouldn’t last long. Nashville would get the game winner 1:35 later when Paul Kariya slid a pass to teammate Adam Hall. Paul Kariya picked up 4 assists in today’s game. Also, all of Nashville’s goals game on the power play. Nashville leads the best of seven series 1-0.

game two
The Sharks, who were upset at their game one defeat handed by the Predators, had something to prove when they returned in game two. All you had to do was watch the 1st period and that was the whole game. The Sharks got three 1st period goals from Jonathan Cheechoo, Patrick Marleau, and Mark Smith and Vesa Toskala made 25 saves for the win. Jonathan Cheechoo also picked up 2 assists in the game. The Series now heads back to San Jose tied at one game apiece.

game three
The Sharks headed back west to host games 3 and 4 against the Nashville Predators. In game 3, Nashville got on the board first with a 1st period goal short-handed goal by Kimmo Timonen. Patrick Marleau then tied the game up with a weak goal past Nashville netminder Chris Mason. Rookie, Steve Bernier, put the Sharks ahead 2-1 with his first play off goal late in the 2nd period. Jonathan Cheechoo and Patrick Marleau both scored 3rd period goals to make the final score 4-1. The Sharks now lead the series 2-1.

game four
The Sharks hosted game 4 at the sold out HP Pavilion in San Jose. Former Holy Cross Standout Pat Rissmiller started the scoring for San Jose as he picked up his first of the playoffs from Carle and Goc. The Predators would take the lead 5 minutes into the second period when Shea Weber found the back of the net. Patrick Marleau showed why he is the captain of the Sharks. Patrick scored 3 goals in less than 20 minutes to lead the Sharks to victory. Nashville put some pressure on in the third period with 2 goals, but Vesa Toskala came up with 12 big saves in the 3rd. This was the first game in the series where Nashville out shot the Sharks. The final score was 5-4 Sharks. San Jose leads the series 3-1.

game five
It was a win or go home game for the Predators in game 5. The first period was fairly even, with San Jose out shooting the Preds 11-10. It took a fluke goal with .4 seconds left in the first period to break the tie. Steve Bernier tip in a shot from Scott Hannan on the power play to send the Sharks into the locker room with the lead. San Jose would pick up another power play goal from Patrick Marleau, his seventh goal of the playoffs, assisted by Joe Thornton and Tom Preissing. Nashville would finally get on the board, when Paul Kariya’s shot made it behind Vesa Toskala. It was too little to late though as the Sharks defeated the Predators 2-1, to win the series 4-1, and sent the Predators to trade in their hockey sticks for golf clubs.

The Sharks will play either the Colorado Avalanche or the Edmonton Oilers in the 2nd Round.


**Photo is courtesy of SJSHARKS.COM**