For the final time this year we’ll be bringing you NHL Extra and this time it’s from the west coast. It’s Game 4 between San Jose and Vancouver from the HP Pavilion in California and the Sharks are on a mission to knot things up at two games apiece (3 p.m. ET on NBC).
San Jose will be looking to captain Joe Thornton to do his thing to set up guys like Patrick Marleau while both guys seek to shake off labels of being chokers in the past. The Sharks will also be hoping to see the Canucks commit more foolish penalties so their power play can get back out there. San Jose has converted 6 out of 13 power play opportunities against Vancouver good for a 46% power play conversion rate. That’ll win you more games than not usually. The way things were trending in Game 3 for the Sharks they’ll be hoping to see a few of those things continue today.
Vancouver will be hoping to stay out of the box all while having to deal with a sudden outbreak of injuries along the blue line as Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome will both be out of today’s game. The Canucks have dealt with injuries all year long with their defense but having to fill holes in the playoffs makes for a sudden and dangerous change, especially with Andrew Alberts and Keith Ballard likely going out there. They’re not exactly the sorts of guys that shy away from the penalty box.
You can see how it all plays out this afternoon starting at 3 p.m. ET with us at NHL Extra. There you can watch the game online with us while we comment on the happenings in the game and answer your questions about what’s going on in the game and around the league.
Will we see the Canucks strike back and put the Sharks on the brink of elimination or does San Jose tie things up with another outstanding effort? You can find out with us at NHL Extra kicking off at 3 p.m. ET.
