Sharks' Ace Falls Off the Table

Maybe I was up to late Monday night watching the Los Angeles Kings pound the San Jose Sharks. Did anybody see Dany Heatley? Seventeen minutes on the ice, two shots, a minus-1. How did he accomplish all that without been seen?

Look at the numbers (the box score is below in the scoreboard) and effort of Patrick Marleau, a player who takes a hit, right or wrong, whenever things go south with the Sharks. He showed up. So did Joe Pavelski. But Heatley's job is to put the Sharks over the top in big games. When you put your face cards down and its Joe Thornton, Marleau, Pavelski and Doug Murray, you need to see Heatley on the table as well or your chips will be moving to the other side of the table.

Last night, the Kings took the whole pot, the Sharks' chips and the foul-looking dip as well in a 6-2 victory. On bad nights, you need to fail despite the efforts of your best players. The support players, well, they didn't have it and that's why you lost.

The Sharks didn't have it, and neither did Heatley.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
At N.Y. Rangers 3, Boston 2
Los Angeles 6, San Jose 2
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Alaska 5, Victoria 3
The standings are here.

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
(at Saskatoon)
Relegation Round
At Czech Republic 5, Slovakia 2
Latvia 6, Austria 4
The relgation roundup is here.
Fifth Place
Finland 4, Russia 3
The standings and statistics are here.