They call him Jumbo Joe in San Jose and during the Sharks' Western Conference semifinal series win over the Detroit Red Wings, centre Joe Thornton certainly lived up to the billing.
Saturday at HP Pavilion, Thornton scored one goal and set up Patrick Marleau for the eventual series winner as the Sharks downed the Wings 2-1 to take the best-of-seven set 4-1.
Already having equaled his playoff career high with three goals, Thornton is also exorcizing the ghosts of playoff failures past as he reaches the conference final round for the first time of his 12-season National Hockey League career.
"They said blow up this team, but look where we are," said Thornton, who extended his scoring streak to six games.
He and Marleau also combined for San Jose's overtime winner in Game 3. Along with linemate Dany Heatley, they combined to score seven of the Sharks' 15 goals during the series.
"We had some individuals that heading into the playoffs had to answer some questions, and to this point, they've done it," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said
Above average Joe
McLellan thinks people who judge Thornton merely on his point totals are missing the point, noting that Thornton delivered three hits and won 10-of-14 faceoffs in Game 5.
"You have to be around Joe 24/7 to know the impact he has on this team," McLellan said. "He makes mistakes for sure. There are going to be times during the game where he turns the puck over. We allow him some of that freedom because he's a creative player, but if you watch his commitment to back-checking and blocking shots, he's very committed in that area, more so than he's ever been.
"You have to really study the game to appreciate it and I'm not sure the outside world really studies it that much, other than the results. San Jose won, San Jose lost, then they turn to Joe and see what he did. I really believe you can have an impact on the game if you're a star player like Joe without even having to score. Joe has found a way to do this for us in this playoff run so far."
Shedding demons
The Sharks felt the win over the Wings should finally silence criticism that they can't get it done in the playoffs.
"This is a very big win for our organization, for a lot of different reasons," McLellan said. "One, obviously, for the opportunity to continue playing in this playoff year. Two, to shed some of that reputation that we have supposedly earned in the past.
"The fact that it was a team that had been to the Stanley Cup finals the last couple of years, a team that, quite frankly, has had our number over the last little bit, there was a lot of things to overcome and we did it."
Franzen ties Mr. Hockey
Detroit forward Johan Franzen, who assisted on Brian Rafalski's goal, extended his point streak to 12 games, tying the franchise mark of Red Wings legend Gordie Howe, who set the standard in 1964.
Nick mark
Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom tied Patrick Roy (247 games) for second place on the Stanley Cup all-time games played list. Former Wing Chris Chelios (266) is No. 1.
That seemed immaterial as Lidstrom analyzed a season-ending setback.
"It's takes a few weeks to get this out of your system," Lidstrom said. "Especially right now, it feels like it's going to take forever."
Lidstrom, 40, whose contract with the Wings is up, had no timetable set to determine his hockey future.
"I haven't decided anything yet," he said. "I'll sit down with [Wings GM] Kenny [Holland] when everything settles down and we'll go from there."
Olympic boost
Thornton credited Wings coach Mike Babcock, his coach with the gold medal-winning Canadian Olympic team in Vancouver, for helping to boost his confidence and calmness as a player.
Now that it's come back to bite him, Babcock has no regrets.
"You like to think that anybody that you've coached, you contributed a little bit to helping them along the way," Babcock said. "None of us want to give the gold medal back, but we all want to win the Stanley Cup."
Rolling seven
Both teams opted to suit up seven defencemen in Game 5.
The Wings did so because of an injury to Brad Stuart, while the Sharks added veteran Niclas Wallin, who's been recovering from injury himself, to the mix.
"Stewie has a sprained MCL," Babcock said. "Stewie's as tough as they come, but we were scared to end up with five D after five shifts.
"We wouldn't have played him normally, but we were up against it. He'll be a sore lad [Sunday]."
No carryover
The Sharks vowed that their 7-1 loss in Game 4 was gone and forgotten and proved that to be true with their strong effort in Game 5.
"It's all about the present," San Jose forward Ryane Clowe said. "You really re-focus and you're always ready for the next game.
"I think that's the difference between playoffs and regular season. You don't carry anything with you."
