After a disappointing Game One loss to the Colorado Avalanche, many Sharks fans thought that this season was going to be a repeat of last year’s playoffs and playoff appearances prior. One of their major issues was that the Sharks could not handle the Avalanche’s neutral zone trap in Game One. Our own Mike Chen from From The Rink, and noted Sharks fans, had even written a piece on how to neutralize the trap.
McLellan’s Coaching Changes Led To Sharks Game Two Victory
The Sharks made some changes though in Game Two and those changes were the main reason that the Sharks won. The writers at our Sharks site, Fear The Fin, agree with those sentiments:
There was a marked difference on the ice, and it started with the coach. After being foiled by the trap in the first game, McLellan quickly made significant adjustments to his strategy. In the Anaheim series last year, the coach had difficulty adjusting his tactics against a unexpectedly difficult foe. A year older, and a year wiser, he did not wait long to implement a new system tailored for a specific opponent. Instead of reiterating the company line of “playing our own game” the Sharks adjusted to Colorado. This not only helped to defeat the Av’s neutral zone trap, but also put almost three times as many shots on Craig Anderson as Evgeni Nabokov.
Will the Sharks can continue to defeat the trap or will the Avalanche adjust and make changes of their own is yet to be seen. Should make for an entertaining Game Three on Sunday though.
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