SAN JOSE, Calif. — The playoffs always require adjustments by both teams, but Sharks coach Todd McLellan wasn’t ready to describe the current series as a coaching duel between himself and Joe Sacco of the Avalanche.
“I don’t know. I don’t think we put the skates on and compete,” McLellan said after Thursday’s practice. “What we do, we give our team a plan, and they have to go out and execute it.”
McLellan didn’t tip his hand if he had any line changes in mind. At practice, he kept his big three forwards — Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley — together, even though none finished in the scoring column, but McLellan was noncommittal when asked whether he was thinking about separating them for tonight’s Game 2 at HP Pavilion.
“We’ll see,” he said.
One possible change could see rookie de- fenseman Jason Demers stick to his original position rather than take shifts on the fourth line as well. In practice, Jed Ortmeyer and Brad Staubitz shared the spot occupied by Demers in Game 1.
McLellan said adjustments are coming, but he didn’t think either team would be doing anything out of the ordinary or unexpected.
“It’s just a matter of who’s playing harder and who’s getting it done,” he said.
Rookie jitters.
At 20, center Logan Couture was the youngest of three Sharks playing in their first postseason game.
“I was definitely nervous,” he said. “Even trying to have a pregame nap was tough, thinking about playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was a huge thing.”
Once the game started, Couture added, the nervousness was gone.
McLellan said he thought the Sharks’ first- round pick in the 2007 draft “carried himself real well” for a first playoff game.
Other Sharks making their postseason debut were Demers and left wing Jamie McGinn.
Tough chance.
Left wing Devin Setoguchi led the Sharks with six shots on net in Game 1, but it was a scoring opportunity late in the first period that didn’t count as one of those six that probably was the closest he came to scoring.
With Colorado goalie Craig Anderson out of position, Setoguchi ended up just outside the crease when the puck headed his way. But he couldn’t corral it cleanly and his backhand shot went wide.
“Everyone keeps saying I missed a wide- open net, but I had to skate back to the puck and (Paul) Stastny made a good play,” Setoguchi said. “I couldn’t really put any better of a shot on. It was a chance, but they had good coverage.”
