There's really no such thing as a "good loss," silver linings be damned. That holds especially true when it comes to the playoffs of any sport, though at this time we're just talking about the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the San Jose Sharks' loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. What are the positives to take away from a 3-0 shutout that saw Marc-Edouard Vlasic score a goal in his own net trying to clear the puck after a botched Antti Niemi save?
What positive do you take from a game that saw the Sharks embarrassed in the final period and in the final seconds when they picked a couple fights and promptly lost them all? What is the best positive you can take from an outing like that?
You're going home with the series tied and the possibility of returning to St. Louis with a 3-1 series advantage. That's the positive to take from this.
Marty Havlat's heroics in overtime in game one gave the Sharks, a serious underdog at this point (looks as weird in print as it does out loud, no?), a huge lift in this uphill battle. After being outscored by the Blues 11-3 in the regular season, it was a big statement to go out and pick up a win. The fact that they lost in game two isn't the end of the world, because the Sharks will head to the HP Pavilion with the series tied and the knowledge that they can beat the Blues.
They'll just need to, you know, not score in their own goal. That would be a great starting point. Also, it wouldn't hurt to keep Joe Pavelski from fighting and Patrick Marleau from throwing things that are not entirely unlike punches. Game three is on Monday.