Times wires
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
DETROIT — Kyle Wellwood and Ian White already had much in common before the playoffs.
Both Sharks were relatively unheralded February acquisitions who helped San Jose turn its season around. Wellwood's arrival let coach Todd McLellan establish well-defined forward lines. White immediately stabilized the defense.
But now, as the Sharks attempt to match last year's success and grab a 3-0 series lead over the Red Wings tonight at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, the two have even more in common.
Both have been strong in the postseason, chipping in key goals and competing well enough at each end of the ice to share the team's top plus-minus rating at plus-6.
And both are poised to add their names to the long-standing list of everyday skaters who elevate their game once the playoffs arrive, a Stanley Cup tradition.
"Special player," is McLellan's standard term for Wellwood. "Tremendous asset," is how the coach described White on Tuesday.
Wellwood has a goal and three assists in this postseason. That goal in the first round beat Kings goalie Jonathan Quick in San Jose's clinching Game 6 victory.
White, who missed one game with a head injury, has a goal, in a 2-1 victory over Detroit in Game 2, and five assists. His six points put him in a group of five defensemen tied for second in the postseason going into Tuesday.
"This is the only opportunity I've had so far to make a contribution in the postseason, and I've always known I had the game to succeed and help teams win," said White, who is in the playoffs for the first time in his fifth NHL season. "It's nice to finally get a chance."
Wellwood, who was born across the border from Detroit in Windsor, Ontario, and grew up a Red Wings fan, had 13 points in 22 playoff games with the Canucks. A small-framed athlete who plays a crafty game, he said his style might be better suited for the postseason rather than the 82 games that precede it.
"There's more strategy, there's more teamwork, there's more puck possession — and players that have those skill sets kind of have an easier time in playoffs," he said, suggesting that players who specialize in grind-it-out hockey might be slow to adjust.
White, 26, who started the season with Calgary before being traded in November to Carolina, took the more conventional route to San Jose when he was acquired Feb. 18 for a second-round draft pick.
Wellwood, 27, began the season in Russia. The Sharks claimed him on waivers required by the league after St. Louis signed him to a one-year contract when he wanted to return to the NHL.
McLellan praises Wellwood for his knack for holding onto pucks, great vision, defensive responsibilities and hockey smarts.
"That's what's kept me in the league, the ability to see the game and predict what's going to happen and stay in good position," Wellwood said.
As for White, he said he was probably a little eager entering the playoffs for the first time.
"But it didn't take long to get settled out there," he said. "You handle the puck a little bit and get a first shift in. There's so much electricity in the buildings that it's easy to feed on it."
COYOTES: The league has exercised its option to take $25 million from the city of Glendale, Ariz., to cover the team's losses this season.
The city had placed the money in escrow a year ago at the NHL's insistence to cover such losses if the sale of the team had not gone through by the end of this season.
The city said the NHL took the funds Monday. The league bought the team out of bankruptcy in September 2009 with the intent to find a buyer to keep the team in Arizona.