Reply #6: The Sharks should have won this game easily

[Upton]

Hiller is just playing out of this world. I wouldn't have given 10 cents for the Sharks chances of winning the game after they allowed Anaheim to come back and tie it up. In between the third and OT, I just knew the Ducks were going to win ...thankfully Thornton and Marleau came through and proved my hunch wrong.

Marleau's goal gave him 10 winning playoff goals since 2002, more than anyone else in the league...yet before last night's game I was hearing the usual calls for him and Thornton to be traded. Calls that will surely get louder and more intense should the Sharks fail to win this series.

The problem in the series isn't all Thornton or Marleau, though as leaders of the team they understandably are held accountable... it's very simply that Nabby is getting outplayed thoroughly by Hiller. After last night's game, the Sharks have a 5 game shot total of 193, of which Hiller has stopped 184... for a save percentage of .953. Nabokov, on the other hand, has seen 123 shots, stopped 110.. for a save percentage of .894.

I believe my math is correct, but even if it's slightly off...you get my drift. For the Sharks to win this series Nabokov has to step up and match Hiller, if not the Sharks will be going home. To win a Stanley Cup you need a goaltender who's playing great, though Nabby is one of my favorites he as yet to prove to me that he's capable of lifting his game to those heights.