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Preview: (1) SHARKS vs. (5) RED WINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW: (3) Vancouver vs. Chicago (2)
BY MARK SPECTOR
sportsnet.ca
(5) RED WINGS 
(1) SHARKS
SIf this series boils down to guts and experience versus nerves and an inability to perform under pressure, then we'll simply misquote former Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau:
The San Jose Sharks can no sooner defeat the Detroit Red Wings than a man can have a baby.
Of course, we all know how that quote worked out for Drapeau ...
For San Jose to Win:
Duh-uh.
For the Sharks to win its choking dog first-liners have to actually show up in the post-season, something that is completely out of the norm for Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, two good guys who just never seem to find another level come springtime.
The Marleau-Thornton-Dany Heatley line combined for one lousy goal (10 points) in San Jose's shaky, six-game victory over No. 8 Colorado. Thornton was minus-4 in the series, while every member of the Sharks top line was a minus player.
"Little Joe" Pavelski may be able to carry the Sharks past Colorado. But against Detroit? The Sharks' big line had better get their cart right, or they'll be done in five.
San Jose's Unsing Hero
Rob Blake. Never has leadership and an ability to stay calm in the face of an onslaught been more important for San Jose.
Blake walked into San Jose and was handed the captaincy for precisely this reason: to get the Sharks over the hump mentally. You saw what Detroit threw at Phoenix in Game 7. With the ever-beatable Evgeni Nabokov in goal, and a group of Sharks veterans who have been beaten so often they're more like a head-shy puppy than a hockey team, Blake's steady hand is going to play a huge role in quelling San Jose's head trash in Round 2.
For Detroit to Win
The Red Wings simply need to play like the Red Wings to beat San Jose. But we ask you: Was the Detroit team that uncharacteristically lost Game 6 at home a true representation of what's left in Motown? Or was that a hiccup, and the real Red Wings were what we saw in Game 7?
When this team plays that Game 7 game, they're Cup winners. But how many times can a team of this age, that has played nine consecutive playoffs rounds - the maximum - over the past three springs, continue to raise its game to that level?
We predict the Red Wings will run out of gas this spring. Just not in Round 2.
Detroit's Unsung Hero
Tomas Holmstrom. We know, he's not exactly unsung, but this guy plays the exact game that the Sharks have never been able to muster up themselves.
San Jose's defence will have to muster up a new level of playoff intensity to eliminate Holmer down low, and the old pro just continues to get the job done for Detroit. Drawing penalties,, tipping home pucks, and generally causing havoc that leads to goals he doesn't even earn a point on, this guy could kill San Jose with his grit and experience.
What To Expect
What to expect? What we have always come to expect from the Sharks, that's what.
This Sharks team doesn't have the goaltending, the grit or the stones to beat Detroit. San Jose is about to get a lesson in playoff hockey from the guys who invented it in the post-lockout era.
Thornton might get a clue, with a front-row seat to watch Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom. Then again, we assume he has a TV, and they HAVE played in a few big games over Thornton's career.
Detroit wins in six. It is the last series in teal for Marleau, Nabokov and GM Doug Wilson, among others.
Interesting Stat
It was 1994 that San Jose, behind the goaltending of Arturs (Like Wall) Irbe upset Detroit in Round 1. That was the first year the higher seeded team was allowed to choose a 2-3-2 format for a series, rather than the traditional 2-2-1-1-1.
Nobody ever opted to do that again after it blew up in the Red Wings face, and the option faded out of the NHL rule book soon after.
Since then the teams have met twice - in '95 and '07. The Red Wings have won eight, lost two, and generally owned the Sharks. We can't remember a match up of two teams like this, one an annual post-season powerhouse, and the other, a year-after-year choker.
Make no mistake: If No. 1 beats No. 5 in this series, it goes down as an upset.
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Poll
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Who will win the Sharks-Red Wings series?
WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW: (3) Vancouver vs. Chicago (2)