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One-man gang Nolan lead Sharks into second-round of playoffs
Posted: Tuesday May 09, 2000 12:53 AM
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The San Jose Sharks' postseason berth, and their first-round upset of St. Louis in the playoffs, was due mostly to one player. And when Owen Nolan was unable to play, the Sharks' season ended quickly. Nolan had a franchise-record 44 goals and 84 points during the regular season, finishing second in the league in goals and leading the NHL in power-play goals with 18. He led the Sharks in hits (209), shots (258) and ice time per game (21:07). Nolan accounted for nearly 20 percent of San Jose's regular-season goals. In the first round of the playoffs, he scored six of the Sharks' 20 goals as they shocked the Blues -- who had the best record in the NHL this season -- in seven games. But in the second-round elimination by the defending champion Dallas Stars, Nolan missed two games and was hobbled in a third. He scored in the two games in which he played, but the Sharks' offense struggled when he was sidelined. Sharks coach Darryl Sutter said the Stars' depth is a major reason why they were able to oust San Jose 4-1 in the second-round series. "I think we clearly deserved to win the first series and then we ran into a lot better team," Sutter said. "We learned that you need 25-30 players. The other team is an example of that." Nolan, who was sidelined against the Stars by a pulled lower abdominal muscle, said he was unable to play in the series finale Sunday at Dallas because he used up all his energy in the 5-4 loss at San Jose in Game 4 two nights earlier. "I played with a lot of pain the last game and pretty much emptied the tank there," Nolan said. Though the Sharks set a franchise record with 87 points this season, they again failed to finish .500. Their 35-37-10 record left them two wins short of becoming the first Sharks team to avoid a losing mark. San Jose started the season strong, winning seven of its first nine games and scoring 32 goals in those games. But the Sharks dipped below .500 in mid-January, and then went through a five-game losing streak beginning in late January. The Sharks point to the development of several young players, such as defenseman Brad Stuart. And goalie Steve Shields also improved, turning in several strong efforts after taking over the No. 1 job when Mike Vernon was traded to Florida in late December. The Sharks struggled to get into the playoffs, but then gave fans reason for optimism in coming years by ousting the Blues. Dave Lowry, who at 35 is one of the team's elder statesmen, said the playoff experience the Sharks got this spring should help them develop as a team and could pay off in future seasons. "This team is on the verge of being an elite team," he said after the finale in Dallas. "Every team that wants to get there has to go through something like this. To reach success, there has to be pain."
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