Edmonton 2, San Jose 0
Patrick: 3 shots, even
17 May 2006
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Dwayne Roloson and the Edmonton Oilers protected the Canadian national anthem from another round of booing. They knocked out San Jose before the Sharks could get the series back home.
Michael Peca and Shawn Horcoff scored in front of a sellout crowd of pompom-waving fans Wednesday night, and Roloson made 24 saves in the biggest game of his career as the eighth-seeded Oilers beat the Sharks 2-0 in Game 6 of the quarterfinal series.
That put the Oilers in the Western Conference finals for the first time in 14 years.
"No one wanted to go back for Game 7 in San Jose," Horcoff said. "To come back and win four straight against that team shows a lot about our character."
After dropping the first two games in San Jose, Edmonton stormed back with four straight victories. It is the first time the Oilers rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win a series. They won two in a row at home and took Game 5 in San Jose after fans there booed the Canadian anthem.
That was just another sour note during the Sharks' sudden and unexpected slide.
"It's always tough to lose especially when you have the series lead," Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo said. "We're going home. It's just really disappointing."
Edmonton will now face the sixth-seeded Anaheim Mighty Ducks, who will host Game 1 on Friday. The winner of the best-of-seven series will take on the Eastern champion -- Buffalo or Carolina -- in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Oilers just squeaked into the playoffs but are peaking at the right time. They upset No. 1 seed Detroit and then took out San Jose, the top team left in the wild West, to reach the NHL's final four for the first time since 1992.
"This is obviously an exciting day," forward Ryan Smyth said. "We want to go down to Anaheim and give ourselves another chance. ... It's nice to shut another team out."
Peca scored when he and Sharks defenseman Scott Hannan chased a loose puck over the San Jose blue line. He outfought Hannan, and sent him down to the ice before racing in and wiring a wrist shot past the glove of goalie Vesa Toskala.
Horcoff doubled the lead with just over 8 minutes left in the game. He took Todd Harvey's pass from the corner and found himself alone in front of the net. With Toskala out of position, Horcoff lifted a shot in under the crossbar.
The Oilers were bailed out by Roloson after taking seven minor penalties in the first two periods. Roloson got stronger throughout and posted his first career playoff shutout.
"It's starts from your defense up, and we seem to play solid defensive hockey," Smyth said.
In the first period, Roloson used his quick glove hand to thwart Sharks captain Patrick Marleau on a close-in wrist shot. Soon after, on a 5-on-3 power play, he jumped in the air like a shortstop to snag a puck flying through the slot.
"We had our opportunities but we never scored," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "It certainly wasn't for lack of trying or lack of effort. It was one of those nights where we always would seem to be a foot away from a rebound or overskated an open opportunity.
"We were pressing, throwing everything at them, but it just didn't work."
Roloson also foiled Nils Ekman on a one-timer in front of the crease, and got a little help when Steve Bernier fired a shot off the crossbar in the second period.
He also credited the players in front of him for wiping out other scoring chances.
"When you're eliminating passing lanes, it's hard for them to get anything going," Roloson said.
Toskala also played well, stopping Peca on two breakaways in the first period and flicking out his right pad to stop Horcoff's breakaway in the second.
The Oilers fans razzed Toskala, who allowed 11 goals in the previous two games after giving up just five in the first three. The crowd serenaded the goalie with mocking chants of "Ve-sa! Ve-sa!"
The Sharks can also blame their exit on their woeful power play. San Jose was 2-for-27 going into the game and then went 0-for-8 on Wednesday.
This is the second consecutive season the Sharks have been knocked out by an Alberta-based team. They lost the 2004 Western Conference finals to the Calgary Flames, also in six games. San Jose was an overtime goal away in Game 3 from taking a 3-0 lead in the series but instead lost in the second extra session.
The turning point on the series came midway through Game 4 when the Sharks failed to protect a 3-1 lead. The Oilers stormed back in a 5-minute span to tie the game and then went on to win 6-3.
Edmonton 6, San Jose 3
Patrick: 3 shots, minus 2, 1 assist
14 May 2006
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The Shark Tank is always a hostile place for visitors, and it got even more foreboding when a bunch of San Jose fans booed the Canadian national anthem before Game 5.
The Edmonton Oilers have heard it all before -- and after their latest gritty win, the eighth-seeded underdogs are one win away from the Western Conference finals.
Fernando Pisani broke a tie with his second goal early in the third period, and Ryan Smyth had two goals and two assists in the Oilers' 6-3 victory over the Sharks on Sunday night, putting Edmonton up 3-2 in the second-round playoff series.
Nothing has shaken the Oilers while they eliminated the Detroit Red Wings and pushed the Sharks to the brink after dropping the first two games of this series. But Edmonton's us-against-the-world energy undoubtedly got a boost shortly before the opening faceoff, when many fans loudly booed "O Canada," insulting the Oilers and the 10 Canadians wearing teal uniforms.
"I didn't think too much of that," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "I'm sure our fans won't do that to the U.S. anthem."
Sharks officials thought their crowd was responding to a handful of Canadian fans that apparently could be heard booing the American anthem on the San Jose television feed before Game 4.
The Oilers didn't care -- and in Game 6 on Wednesday night, they'll try to make sure the Shark Tank is silent until next fall.
"Everybody has their own opinion on it, but it's your country, your flag," Smyth said. "You can do what you want. Other than that, no comment."
The Oilers did all their talking on the ice -- and when they were done, the Sharks were in disarray. Edmonton was quicker and smarter throughout, even keeping its cool when San Jose rallied to tie it at 3-all early in the third period.
And with their third straight victory following fifth-seeded San Jose's back-to-back home wins last week, the Oilers headed home with a chance to make the conference finals for the first time since 1992. Edmonton lost the first two games of the series, but won a triple-overtime thriller and rallied from a two-goal deficit in Game 4 to tie the series at home.
The Anaheim Mighty Ducks are waiting for the winner -- and plans for the first all-California conference final are in big jeopardy.
"Everybody believes in that locker room," defenseman Chris Pronger said. "That's the first step for us. Everybody is buying into the system. Even when we were down 0-2, we just felt we could win two home games and be right here."
The Oilers jumped to a 3-1 lead with three goals on their first eight shots, including Shawn Horcoff's short-handed score just 12 seconds into the third period. San Jose rallied to tie it with quick goals from Christian Ehrhoff and Jonathan Cheechoo, but Pisani scored on a 2-on-1 break with Shawn Horcoff with about 15:57 to play.
Jarret Stoll and Smyth added power-play goals in the final minutes. Horcoff had a goal and two assists for Edmonton.
Scott Thornton also scored for the Sharks, who have been just as streaky in the playoffs as in the regular season: They had won six straight postseason games before losing the last three, including this embarrassing effort in their first loss in five home playoff games.
"We definitely hurt ourselves," said Joe Thornton, who had an assist. "We made too many mistakes. We're just not shooting the puck when we have the chance. ... It's very simple. We lose, we're out. We're not ready to go home yet. We have to pull our socks up and get back to it."
Edmonton managed just seven shots in the first two periods of Game 5, but scored on two of them. Dwayne Roloson, the veteran trade-deadline pickup who finished with 21 saves, was outstanding behind a penalty-killing unit that held San Jose scoreless on seven power-play opportunities in the first two periods.
Vesa Toskala made just 12 saves on 18 shots for the Sharks, who earned 2-1 victories in the first two games of this series. San Jose had lost in regulation at home just twice since shortly before the Olympic break in early February.
"We've made it obviously pretty hard on ourselves," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "You can't blame Tosk. We gave up 2-on-1's, a giveaway, a deflection ... very easily correctable mistakes, and we have to hold each other accountable to do things right. We've got to work a heck of a lot harder."
Smyth scored a power-play goal on a rebound in the second period, and generated Edmonton's short-handed goal in the opening minute of the third by stripping the puck from Patrick Marleau and feeding Horcoff, the hero of Edmonton's triple-overtime win in Game 3.
Ehrhoff and Cheechoo scored goals 107 seconds apart to breathe life into San Jose -- but Pisani and Horcoff capitalized on San Jose's defensive mistake for an easy goal 2 1/2 minutes later.
Edmonton 6, San Jose 3
Patrick: 2 shots, minus 1, 1 assist, 2min hooking penalty
12 May 2006
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The San Jose Sharks got complacent after taking a two-goal lead midway through the second period, and the Edmonton Oilers took advantage.
Jason Smith scored the tiebreaker 2:57 into the third period as the Oilers scored five unanswered goals to rally for a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night, tying the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2.
"It was just a matter of time before we got some bounces," said Michael Peca, whose goal at 12:28 of the second started Edmonton's comeback from a 3-1 deficit. "I think we are doing a much better job getting pucks to the net and getting our forecheck going. I think they seemed a little too satisfied with their start, but one thing we have been all year is resilient."
Sharks forward Scott Thornton agreed his team lost its edge after Jonathan Cheechoo's goal made it 3-1 just over 9 minutes into the second
"We were guilty of trying to sit back and be comfortable with the lead," Thornton said.
Smith took a pass from Sergei Samsonov from the corner, skated in alone on Sharks goalie Vesa Toskala and beat him with a backhand deke to give the Oilers their first lead.
"I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time," Smith said. "I only get about one breakaway a year. Most of the time I just would have gone in and shot, but he came out at me and I happened to have my head up and I got lucky."
Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday in San Jose, with Game 6 back in Edmonton on Wednesday night.
Oilers coach Craig MacTavish says both teams made mistakes, "but we were good when we had to be."
He added the dynamics of the series have changed.
"It gets them flying to San Jose feeling the same way that we did flying to Edmonton and realizing how important that next game is. It will be the first time in that game in San Jose we've had any opportunity in the series to take hold of it."
Toskala was stellar the first three games, stopping 94 of 99 shots.
That changed in the second when Ethan Moreau's shot hit the end boards and took a funny bounce back to Peca, who launched a desperation shot from the side of the net that managed to squeeze under Toskala's pads.
Less than 3 minutes later, the Oilers killed off a penalty on Samsonov by lofting the puck down the ice toward Toskala, and Samsonov raced out of the penalty box after the puck. Toskala scrambled out to meet him halfway, tried to sweep the puck away but instead it bounced off Samsonov and the speedy Russian simply backhanded the puck into the empty net to tie the score.
The Sharks never recovered and in the third period their defense collapsed. After Smith's go-ahead goal, forward Ryan Smyth raced down the left side and fired a pass through the slot for an easy tip-in by Ales Hemsky at 8:19. "Everybody makes mistakes. It's a new game on Sunday," said Toskala, who was replaced by Evgeni Nabokov after Hemsky's goal. "I have been playing good for three or four months. I will not let one mistake at the blue line destroy my confidence."
Jarret Stoll finished the scoring on a power-play, sending a slap shot past a screened Nabokov at 14:00.
Shawn Horcoff, who got the game-winner in the third overtime of Game 3 on Wednesday night, also scored for Edmonton.
The Sharks opened the scoring less than 4 minutes into the game. A blocked shot at the Sharks blue line led to an odd-man rush that ended when Nils Ekman waltzed around a sprawling Jaroslav Spacek and passed over to Joe Thornton at the side of the net for an easy one-timer past Dwayne Roloson at 3:47.
Ekman made it 2-0 at 6:40, taking a back-handed pass from Patrick Marleau and one-timing it past Roloson low to the stickside.
The Oilers got their first goal at 12:55, when Horcoff tipped Smith's slap shot between Toskala's legs.
The Sharks went up 3-1 after Oilers defenseman Chris Pronger committed a rare giveaway in his own zone. Thornton jumped on it, raced past Pronger, swooped around the net and shoveled the puck to Cheechoo, who put it between Roloson's legs.
Just over 3 minutes later, Peca started the comeback.
San Jose 2, Edmonton 3
Patrick: 4 shots, plus 1, 1 goal, 2min interference penalty
10 May 2006
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The Edmonton Oilers forced the San Jose Sharks to play the longest game in their history Wednesday night, and then Shawn Horcoff broke their hearts.
Horcoff scored his second playoff goal 2:24 into triple overtime, lifting the Oilers to a 3-2 win. The Oilers cut the Sharks' lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
Game 4 is Friday night.
Horcoff scored after he picked up a backhand pass from Ryan Smyth behind the Sharks' net and tapped it past goaltender Vesa Toskala.
"We really needed that game," said Horcoff. "It's a big lift for us right now."
He said the Oilers didn't get down even after they dominated the first period only to find themselves behind 2-1 after just six Sharks shots on net in the second period.
"I was really impressed with the composure we had in the locker room," he said. "We just don't know how to quit."
Sharks coach Ron Wilson said his team was too tentative.
"We didn't drive to the net at all. We played on the perimeter," he said.
"We'll bounce back. We've been a resilient team all along."
The previous longest game for the Sharks was in 1995, when San Jose beat Calgary in just under 22 total minutes of overtime.
It was the third-longest game in Oilers history. Their record stands at 57:34 of overtime play in a 3-2 loss to Dallas in 1999.
The Oilers also set a team record for most shots in a game with 58. The old record was 54, set in regulation time in 1984 by the high-flying Oilers of the Wayne Gretzky-Mark Messier era.
It was the first triple overtime of this year's playoffs.
"It's just an unbelievable feeling, triple overtime, it's a dream come true a goal like that," Horcoff said. "I thought we came out extremely hard; that's the type of hockey we need to play to be successful."
Toskala made 55 saves for San Jose, while Dwayne Roloson made 32 for Edmonton.
The Oilers opened the scoring on a power play midway through the first period.
Raffi Torres took the puck in the corner and passed to defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron in the high slot. He blasted a low slap shot that beat Toskala to the stick side.
Patrick Marleau got the Sharks back in the game just over a minute into the second period when he picked up the rebound from Josh Gorges' point shot that Roloson blocked but let fall in front of him. Marleau easily outmuscled Oilers defenseman Jaroslav Spacek and on his backhand flicked the puck into the yawning net for his ninth goal of the playoffs.
San Jose went ahead 2-1 halfway through the second period when Joe Thornton made a perfect pass from behind the net to a streaking Patrick Rissmiller in the slot. He shot the puck under defenseman Jason Smith and past Roloson.
It was just the Sharks' sixth shot of the game.
With just under seven minutes left in the third period, the Oilers tied it. Chris Pronger, starting from behind his net, passed to Jarret Stoll, who fired the puck through the neutral zone to Torres. He wristed a shot right faceoff dot over Toskala's glove and into the top corner of the net.
The game, like its two predecessors, featured hard skating and vicious hits.
The Oilers' Georges Laraque took a five-minute major and a game misconduct in the second period for ramming Jonathan Cheechoo's head into the glass in front of the penalty box.
The Sharks played without winger Milan Michalek, who was scratched. The 21-year-old Czech rookie had three assists in the first two games on the second line with Marleau and Steve Bernier. But he had neural network damage in Game 2 when he took an open-ice hit to the head from Torres.
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San Jose 2, Edmonton 1
Patrick: 5 shots, plus 1, 1 assist
7 May 2006
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If the San Jose Sharks can survive while essentially playing 5-on-1 hockey, there's no telling how far they can go in the postseason.
Joe Thornton scored the go-ahead goal moments after San Jose improbably killed a two-man disadvantage while two Sharks broke their sticks Monday night, and the Sharks rolled to their second straight 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in about 30 hours to open their second-round playoff series.
Tom Preissing also scored for the Sharks, who moved halfway to their second straight berth in the Western Conference finals with two tough wins over the Oilers, who must win four of the next five games to make their first semifinal appearance since 1992.
But afterward, everybody was still stunned by the effort of goalie Vesa Toskala, Scott Hannan, Mark Smith and Kyle McLaren, who managed to kill 101 seconds of a 5-on-3 disadvantage -- even while Hannan and Smith broke their sticks in the process.
"That was the Black Knight from 'Monty Python (and the Holy Grail)'," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said, referring to the movie villain who won't stop fighting, even when all his limbs are comically severed. "Guys dropping, sticks breaking, pieces flying off. It was an unbelievable effort. I've never heard a crowd that loud."
Game 3 is in Edmonton on Wednesday night.
Sergei Samsonov scored for Edmonton moments later, but Thornton put San Jose back ahead with a power-play goal, adeptly catching a missed shot and scoring in one fluid motion. Toskala made it stand up with 25 saves in the Sharks' sixth consecutive playoff victory.
"That's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen on the ice," Toskala said. "I saw like four pieces of sticks there, and that didn't help the situation. But we got the kill. I guess we got a little lucky."
Thornton's goal stood up through a gritty third period, and the Sharks will be headed for Canada with a chance to take firm control of the series.
"We're paying the price and producing the effort to win," Thornton said. "I knew it was just a matter of time before I put one of my scoring chances in, but that penalty-kill was a big factor in this game."
Dwayne Roloson stopped 36 shots for the eighth-seeded Oilers, but his teammates couldn't bury any of their offensive chances for the second straight night. Edmonton's frustrations stood out most on the 5-on-3 failure, of course.
"You should be able to get a tap-in when you get two guys with broken sticks like that," Oilers defenseman Chris Pronger said. "They played it pretty well, and we had some great chances point-blank. We needed a bit more patience."
Toskala made a handful of outstanding saves while the Sharks mostly succeeded in their efforts to keep Edmonton's scorers away from the middle of the ice. He hasn't lost since the first-round series opener in Nashville.
"By no means do we think we're out of it," Edmonton's Shawn Horcoff said. "We thought we played a game that was deserving of a win. We felt like the tide turned a little bit."
Preissing scored after a goal-mouth scramble in the first period, with rookie Milan Michalek picking up his third assist of the series. Both clubs traded hits and checks with more urgency and speed than in Game 1, but San Jose failed to score during a 39-second 5-on-3 advantage.
But just a few seconds after San Jose's remarkable 5-on-3 survival, Samsonov found the puck outside a scrum in front of San Jose's net and popped it over Toskala for his second goal of the postseason.
The Russian forward's goal diluted all the momentum -- but Thornton, Samsonov's longtime teammate in Boston, seemed to be waiting for just such a moment.
With Steve Staios off for interference about 2 minutes after Samsonov's goal, Thornton caught Jonathan Cheechoo's wide shot, dropped it to the ice and snapped it home before Roloson and Pronger could cover the net.
"We killed off a number of penalty-kills in the first (period) and then in the second," Pronger said. "Eventually, it's going to bite you. ... We had a number of chances, but their goalie played well, and they played well defensively in keeping it to the outside."
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San Jose 2, Edmonton 1
Patrick: 3 shots, plus 2, 1 goal and 1 assist
Patrick: 2nd star of the game
7 May 2006
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Ville Nieminen started it with one zealous check after another. The rest of the San Jose Sharks followed, and the crowd roared to a crescendo with every white jersey falling to the ice.
Everybody knew the Sharks had speed. In their series-opening win over Edmonton, Team Teal showed plenty of bite as well.
Captain Patrick Marleau scored his eighth goal of the postseason and added an assist on Christian Ehrhoff's go-ahead goal, leading the hard-hitting Sharks to a 2-1 victory over the Oilers on Sunday night in Game 1 of the second-round series.
Marleau's latest offensive gem was an afterthought when the Sharks showed off their aggressive side in the final two periods. San Jose's forechecking did much of the work in holding the Oilers to two shots in the one-sided second period -- and the pesky Nieminen played an inspired game that included several big checks.
"I like whatever brings the meat loaf to the table," he said with a grin when asked if he preferred hitting to scoring. "We noticed earlier in the playoffs that teams who had a little layoff looked flat, so the first thing in our minds was getting our legs moving. It was one of those games where you could do some hitting."
Rookie Milan Michalek had two assists and Vesa Toskala stopped 15 shots in his fifth consecutive victory for the Sharks, who took control of the series opener with a one-sided second period featuring Ehrhoff's first career playoff goal.
San Jose then hung on against another late-game surge by the eighth-seeded Oilers, who thrived on the road and in tight games in their first-round upset of Detroit, capped by their four-goal third period in the clincher.
"They made it difficult the last couple of minutes," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "We managed to weather the storm, and I'm happy with our effort. ... We just wanted to establish a forecheck. (Hitting) got contagious, the way our crowd was responding to every hit, and we just built off that."
The clubs won't have much time to dwell on this one: They're back in action for Game 2 on Monday night in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is in Edmonton on Wednesday night.
Dwayne Roloson made 28 saves for the Oilers, who went scoreless in the final 57:27 after Jaroslav Spacek's early power-play goal. Edmonton twice grazed the post behind Toskala, but was held to fewer than two goals for the first time in the postseason.
"We were standing still at the blue line a lot," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said. "I don't know whether it was tough for our team to change the mentality (from the first round). I was really happy with our start, but they took it to us physically in the second period."
San Jose knocked off the fourth-seeded Nashville Predators in the first round, while the Oilers upset the Presidents' Trophy-winning Red Wings. With four upsets in the Western Conference's topsy-turvy playoff openers, the Sharks were handed home ice for the second round and the conference finals, if they can repeat their 2004 appearance.
These clubs were evenly matched in the regular season, with their young rosters and speed-based styles making for entertaining hockey. The opener was just such a game -- but the Sharks' 30-16 shot advantage and aggressive play turned it into San Jose's 13th victory in its last 15 games.
But Spacek scored a power-play goal just 2 1/2 minutes in, and Edmonton's team speed quickly caught the Sharks' attention. San Jose tied it 5 minutes later on a blast from the slot by Marleau, who had a hat trick while scoring seven goals in the five-game first round.
Marleau also reclaimed the playoff goal lead from Ottawa's Martin Havlat.
The Sharks completely dominated the second period, holding Edmonton without a shot in the first 11:52 while keeping the puck in the Oilers' end for minutes at a time.
"You could tell in the second period, we're on our heels," center Michael Peca said. "We didn't really accomplish much. We weren't aggressive in our game. They forecheck so much."
Ehrhoff scored his first career playoff goal on a needle-threading shot from the boards at the blue line, somehow finding the net's top corner off a pass from Marleau.
The Oilers failed to get a shot in the first 6 minutes of the third period, then couldn't score on a power play when Joe Thornton was sent off for tripping Roloson. Edmonton pulled Roloson for the final 90 seconds, but got just one good chance.
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Rookie Steve Bernier says living with Patrick Marleau feeds his confidence
Slam Sports
5 May 2006
SAN JOSE, Calif. (CP) - Maybe it was because he saw a lot of himself in the quiet rookie battling to find a home in the NHL.
Maybe it was because Patrick Marleau wanted to return a favour from years ago. Or maybe it was simply practice for when his wife delivers their first child.
What ever the reason, Marleau has become a lot more than the team captain and a linemate for Steve Bernier of the San Jose Sharks. The 21-year-old rookie from Quebec City also lives with Marleau and his wife, Christina.
"He took me into his house, showed me the San Jose area," Bernier said Friday after the Sharks practice. "He makes sure I have confidence on the ice.
"He takes care of me on the ice and off the ice. It's amazing."
Whether it's home cooking or the family atmosphere, Bernier has blossomed into another potent weapon the Sharks will use against the Edmonton Oilers when the teams open their Western Conference semifinal Sunday in San Jose. The second game in the best-of-seven series will be Monday.
When the playoffs began, most of the attention was on the Sharks lethal line of centre Joe Thornton, who led the league with 125 points, 56-goal scorer Jonathan Cheechoo and left-winger Nils Ekman, who had 57 points.
But the Sharks quickly showed their second line of Marleau, Bernier and rookie Milan Michalek also had a lot of bite.
San Jose needed just five games to oust the Nashville Predators in first-round playoff action. Marleau notched a playoff-leading seven goals. Bernier had two goals and two assists while Michalek had two assists.
"Our first line is so good people always use their two best defenceman against them most of the time," said Bernier. "It's an advantage for us that we play after them.
"Maybe the defence is going to be tired."
Marleau doubted his line will catch the Oilers by surprise.
"They are going to play us hard, all our lines," said the Aneroid, Sask., native, who quietly had 34 goals and 86 points during the regular season. "They are going to be coming at us for sure."
Marleau, who had just turned 18 during his first year season in San Jose in 1997, said his decision to ask Bernier to move in with him was a way to pay back goaltender Kelly Hrudey, who finished his career playing for the Sharks.
"I was fortunate enough Kelly took me in," said Marleau, 26. "I was able to stay with him and his family.
"All he wanted in return was for me to do the same for another young guy coming in."
There's an NHL tradition of veterans looking after youngsters.
Sidney Crosby, the first player taken in last year's draft, lived with Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh this year. As a 20-year-old rookie in 1986, Luc Robitaille stayed in a spare room in the house of L.A. King teammate Marcel Dionne.
Bernier started the season with Sharks, playing five games before being sent to San Jose's AHL farm team in Cleveland. He was recalled just before the Olympic break and quickly produced 14 goals and 13 assists.
At six-foot-two and 230 pounds, Bernier combines size and speed. He became a fan favourite in March after scoring a highlight-reel goal against St. Louis.
With a defenceman draped over him, Bernier slid the puck between his own legs, then spun around and fired a shot into the net.
Bernier said Marleau is a quiet teacher.
"On the ice, he doesn't have to talk," he said. "Just practising with him I improve every day.
"He told me 'Keep confident and everything is going to be good. Don't try to do too much, just try to do your job.' "
Off the ice, Marleau made Bernier's life easier. It was small things, like showing him the quickest route from home to the arena so he wouldn't be late for practice.
"It's the little details," said Bernier. "It becomes so much easier."
Sharks coach Ron Wilson said Marleau took Bernier under his wing on his own initiative.
"I had no idea that was going on until somebody told me," Wilson said. "I think that says a lot about Patrick.
"He sees a lot of himself in Bernie. He's a quiet guy from a small town who doesn't say much. Patrick decided he would probably function better in a family atmosphere and he has."
Like Thornton, Bernier is a player the Sharks snatched from the Boston Bruins.
The Sharks traded their 21st, 66th and 107th picks in the 2003 draft to Boston so they could take Bernier 16th overall.
How much longer Bernier lives with Marleau could depend on the Sharks playoff run. Marleau's wife is also expecting the couple's first baby.
"They have this big baby already to take care of," Wilson joked. "Hopefully Bernie catches the hint and moves out on his own at some point."
HERO -- PATRICK MARLEAU
ESPN.com
4 May 2006
Gee, do you think? All the San Jose captain did was score two game-winning goals in the Sharks' first-round victory over the fourth-seeded Nashville Predators and add five more to lead the playoffs in goal scoring with seven.
With the Predators doing their best to keep NHL scoring champ Joe Thornton off the scoresheet (he finished the series with four assists), Marleau did what all clutch players do: he answered the bell. Along with the two game winners, Marleau, 26, chipped in four power-play goals as the Sharks' first-round series turned on special teams play.
The second overall pick in 1997 after -- you guessed it -- Thornton, Marleau is no stranger to playoff heroics. During the Sharks' run to the conference finals in 2004, Marleau had eight goals in 17 games, including two winners.
Quiet and unassuming, Marleau has seen an already low profile sink even further with the arrival of Thornton and the subsequent emergence of Thornton's linemate Jonathan Cheechoo as a scoring machine. That seems to fit Marleau's personality perfectly.
One of the most underappreciated two-way hockey players in the game, Marleau brings stability and balance to a team many believe may be the best in the conference. They'll be tested by an upstart Edmonton team that dispatched the NHL's best regular-season team in Detroit, but it seems as though the Sharks' captain is more than ready for the challenge.
Congratulations Patrick on your nomination for the 2006 Lady Byng
Memorial Trophy
NHL.com
4 May 2006
The NHL announced today the nominees for eight annual awards.
The winners will be announced Thursday, June 22 during the 2006 NHL Awards Television Special in Vancouver (CBC, 8 p.m., ET).
All voting is conducted at the conclusion of the regular season. The Professional Hockey Writers' Association votes for five trophies (Hart, Norris, Selke, Calder and Lady Byng). The NHL General Managers vote for the Vezina Trophy. Members of the National Hockey League Players' Association select the Lester B. Pearson Award winner and the NHL Broadcasters' Association votes on the Jack Adams Award. Results are tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young.
The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is awarded annually "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability," as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.
Following are the finalists for The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
PAVEL DATSYUK - Center, Detroit Red Wings
- Named a Lady Byng Trophy finalist for the first time.
- Led the Red Wings in scoring with a career-high 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists).
- Appeared in 75 games, assessed 22 minutes in penalties.
PATRICK MARLEAU - Center, San Jose Sharks
- Named a Lady Byng Trophy finalist for the first time.
- Ranked third on the Sharks in scoring with a career-high 86 points (34 goals, 52 assists).
- The Sharks captain played in all 82 games, received 26 minutes in penalties.
BRAD RICHARDS - Center, Tampa Bay Lightning
- A Lady Byng finalist for the second consecutive season; captured the award in 2004.
- Vying to become the first repeat winner of the Lady Byng since Paul Kariya in 1996 and 1997.
- Led the Lightning in scoring with a career-high 91 points (23 goals, 68 assists).
- Played in all 82 games, assessed 32 minutes in penalties.
“He was named for a reason,” said Cheechoo. “He has embraced his role as the captain and leader of this team. Plus, he keeps getting better statistically. We are a young club and he knows the young guys watch him. They respect him. He speaks up more now and he didn’t do that in past years.”