Canucks Push Sharks to the Brink

The San Jose Sharks went into Game Four with the ability to tie up the series at two wins a piece, before heading back to Vancouver for Game Five and they had plenty of opportunity to do just that in the 1st period.

The Canucks gave the Sharks three straight power plays in the opening period, which the Sharks were unable to capitalize on and then two more quick power plays to start the second, also without much success.

So after going 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, the calls started going the other way for the Canucks, as they quickly saw the Sharks fall to pieces in their own parade to the penalty box.  It was quite amazing how quickly things went upside down for the Sharks, as four straight penalties turned into three 5-on-3 situations for the Canucks, to which the Canucks struck quickly on each of them, taking a 3-0 lead just after the halfway point of the 2nd period.

Early in the 3rd period, the Canucks added an insurance marker, which put the game well out of reach, even for a late push from the Sharks and the game finished as a 4-2 final.  The Canucks now lead the series 3-1 and they will head back to Vancouver for Game Five on Tuesday night.

Big players for the Canucks in Game Four were Sami Salo, who scored a pair of goals, including the winner and added an assist for a 4-point afternoon, while Henrik Sedin had 4 assists to tie that mark.  Daniel Sedin chipped in with a trio of helpers as well, showing that the twins were going to show up in this playoff season before too long.  Roberto Luongo made 33 saves for the win and 2 points for the pool as well.

The Sharks lost the services of Joe Thornton in Game Four to an apparent shoulder injury, leaving the game in the 3rd period, but the suggestion is that he'll be okay to go in Game Five, going so far as to say that he'll be 100% for the game.  It's somewhat hard to believe, having to leave Game Four, but you can take that for what it's worth, I suppose.

Overall Standings
We know that the lead isn't going to change, since both Tryst'n'Grant and the Langdon River Dogs have the same players in this series, so they won't mind that this series ends early.  Frankly, the earlier is much better, just in case some of the scoring happens to fall on some of the Canucks or Sharks players that they don't have.  Nevertheless, the lead is still 3 points.

All She Wrote jumped up a spot in the standings to 4th, picking up an extra point on the Luongo win, compared to only the Marleau assist for Pucking Luck, so both teams swapped places in the money spots.

Kalenab jumped up from 9th to 6th, thanks to the right combination of Sharks players and also Luongo getting the win.

It still doesn't look like the money positions are too safe yet, there could still be some play in there somewhere.

Game-Winning Goals
With Sami Salo scoring the Game Four winner on Sunday afternoon, 10 teams picked up a bonus point, but that hasn't really changed the landscape of the top of the bonus points table.  The Kings Don't Pay Their Bills still leads the pool with 17 GWGs, while four teams still carry 16 winners into Monday evening's Eastern Conference tilt.