For Those Of You Experiencing Center Ice Issues

We got an email earlier today alerting us to the fact that Comcast is apparently only offering it's customers 10 channels of Center Ice, instead of the proper 12-20 channels. Neither Mina or I have Center Ice, so we can't personally confirm the issue, however a google search will reveal problems with Comcast's Center Ice package. They appear to be wide spread and not limited to the Bay Area.

There is a thread about it here.

Some good Youtubage about the issue.

Commenters on Working the Corners blog have stated they've been able to negotiate a partial refund due to the discrepancy between promised channels and actual channels. Check the link and scroll to the comments for more info.

Might I suggest idunno723's best discovery ever? http://atdhe.net/
I did have issues with it for the Stars game, but it worked wonderfully for the Phoenix game. I can't guarantee it will work perfectly for all games, this IS teh interweb afterall, but, it's a free alternative to Center Ice.

If you have more info on the Center Ice issue, let us know. We'd like to keep the info as accurate as possible.

Sharks V Coyotes

Last time the Sharks faced the desert dogs, they got the lead and proceeded to give it away, along with the win. No emotion, no drive to win the game. Hopefully they've learned from that mistake (and all the times they did the same thing with other teams in the seasons prior) and don't repeat the loss.

Possible factors tonight:
Jokinen, is out for at least two weeks.
Cheechoo left the game in the third last night and didn't return.
Tellqvist is hot hot hot and might start in net. Career wise against the Sharks he's 0-3-0.
The 'yotes have won back to back games coming into tonight.
Preview here.

Game time is 6pm, radio only.

Post game:

Well...that was...quite the game, wasn't it?

Anyone know what Rob Blake got 2 for unsportsmanlike conduct, 10 min misconduct and a game misconduct for at the end? Jamie Baker thought it was for chatting with the refs in a less than friendly manner. He guessed that, perhaps, due to the lack of calls for anything, Blake might have been expressing some discontent.

Bryzgalov was chased very early on, after allowing 2 goals on the 2 shots he faced. Tellqvist proved to be more solid for the Coyotes and helped keep the game tied until the third when Joe Pa put home the game winner. Go JoePa! Two goals in one game. Rob Blake also had a goal. Nabokov allowed two goals within the first five and a half minutes, but remained solid for the rest of the night.

Phoenix goals by Morris and Turris. Gotta hand it to Phoenix, they kept the Sharks in check most of the night. It seems like the Sharks are still trying to figure out how to play their game when they can't play the way they want to. Without a lucky shot by Joe Pavelski, these two teams might have gone to OT. OT is anyone's game. Thankfully, The Sharks found yet another way to win and took home 2 points in regulation.

Shark V Stars

The Stars on are the verge of total collapse. They'll either go nova on the ice tonight, or continue to experience a resurgence in activity before run away fusion destroys them all in a giant supernova.

image care of Mr. Tyson' facebook page

Don't relegate them to the cosmic trash bin just yet. The Stars won their last game against Minnesota and the Sharks victory over Chicago was sloppy. This game has the potential to be flat out weird.

The game will be on CSN plus for those of you with digital cable, radio and, care of one of Mr. Plank's readers over at Fear the Fin, here as well. Big thanks to Mr. Plank and idunno723 for the live stream link.

Post Game:


Sharks win 6-2

Sharks had 6 goals on 30 shots while Dallas was held to 2 on 27. Cheechoo didn't play in the third, not sure what happen. Lots of Sharks fans at the game from the sound of things. Neither Mina nor I could get the stream to work, so we listened to the game.

Turco was pulled and the Star's backup Tobais Stephan played the 3rd, allowing 1 goal on 11 shots.

Boyle got 2 goals. I know I wasn't the only one hoping he'd get a hat trick.

Pavelski got his first penalty in 39 games. He also got a goal.

SJ had 2 PP goals.

Clowe was assist city.

Milan and Plihal also had goals.

3 Stars: Jumbo (3), Blake(2), Boyle(1) Clowe gets an honorable mention.

I'm really not too sure what to say about the Stars. They're falling apart at the seams and no one seems to know why. That has to be amazing frustrating for the players and coaching staff. You see problems, but you can't solve them.

Meanwhile, the Sharks are on a roll. Here's hoping the roll over the 'Yotes tomorrow.

Try Not To Stuff Yourself

Sharks V Blackhawks

Don't forget to check out Fear the Fin's open thread during the game. Always amusing.

So, apparently, Campbell is worthy of Pronger level boos. Seriously? I'm really over him. He is representing the Blackhawks in the vs image above, but that's partly me trying to be witty and partly not knowing what else to do for the Blackhawks.
Dan Boyle is a better fit and arguably the better player. Still, it is kinda funny to listen to.

Post Game, mid game:
Strong first for the Sharks, strong second for the Hawks. Rob Blake scored at the end of the first to take the 1-0 lead into the second.

Toews capitalized on a hideous breakdown by the Sharks in the second to tie the game at 1-1. Is it me or are there a lot more 5 hole goals this season?

The Sharks may have controlled the punk all first period, but the second was all Hawks. The Sharks spent so much time in their own zone, I wasn't sure the other half of the ice still existed.

Grier got 5 minutes for boarding and a game misconduct. The hit was high and in the numbers. I'm not sure he meant for that or if he was trying to hit on the side, but either way, it was what it was.

Dan Boyle saves the day with an amazing save while flying into the net on his side. We seriously need to find a video of his save. Just wow.

The Sharks got a break from the 5 minute PK when Chicago took a hooking penalty.

Patty nearly scored on a out of position Khabibulin, but was stopped by a Hawks at the last second. Somewhere in the mass of insanity that proceeded Patty's chance, Khabibulin got hurt. The replay didn't make it clear how or what, but I suspect they'll give us updates as the game goes on.

Huet comes in and on the first shot, by Goc, the puck nearly trickles in. A Hawk was watching the puck and caught it before it rolled passed the red line. Marcel, seriously, keep an eye on that thing!

Sharks take a late penalty to go into the 3rd two men down.

I don't know how to describe the 3rd. Crazy, perhaps, is the best word for it. At times it definitely looked like the Sharks were more focused on gravy and stuffing tomorrow, not hockey. Other times, they seemed on the brink of regaining control, but couldn't quite get a handle on the Hawks. Their passes looked overly fancy but they were just sloppy. Nothing was connecting and it was clear the Sharks were struggling.

Toews scores his second of the night early in the 3rd, to put the Hawks up 2-1. It looked like it went of Blake's leg to beat Nabby.

JR had his own take on the spin-o-rama. It didn't go in, but it did look good.

Patty, after working hard in Hawks zone, ties it at 2-2.

Campbell was booed religiously all game.

The Hawks threatened many times before the final 20 minutes of regulation came to a close.

Overtime:
The Sharks won the face off, then things got a tad iffy. It looked like it might get real interesting when the Hawks turned the puck over to Jumbo Joe, who got it to Clowe. Clowe made a sweet pass back to Joe who slammed it behind Huet for the win less than a minute into OT. To say Joe had a look of Joy when he skated to Clowe after the game winner would be putting it mildly. To say I calmly celebrated would be a lie. I think you could hear me a cross town.

We thought the 1st star should have been Joe Thornton, as did Randy and Drew. 1st was Patty, who was still deserving, 2nd was Toews, who totally deserved it, and 3rd was Thornton. Boyle get my honorary 4th star for that amazing save.

Nabby looked pretty good. Toews beat him easily, but lucky no one else could. He did say he needed to find his legs, but he looked pretty sharp. He had some high praise for Khabibulin after the game, adding he was worried about him after he got hurt.

Chicago adjusted very well to the Sharks after the first. Credit where credit is due. It was Chicago's game to win, and for most of the last 40 minutes it looked like they would. Somehow, the Sharks managed to get the win though, and the stuff to be thankful for lines just keep on coming.

What a crazy game!

Sharks v Dallas on Friday on CSN plus.

Leave speculation on Grier's chances for suspension below. Goons seem to get off easy, regular guys, not so much. Grier claims to have not been going for a hit in them numbers, and he didn't intend to hurt anyone. Having watched him for a while now, I buy that. He really isn't a dirty player. That's not just me being a homer. Jamie Baker had a theory on why it was a 5 min major and so does Mina. Remenda disagrees with both their theories. Doesn't matter either way. The League will do what the League wants. There's really no rhyme or reason to it. Never want to see a guy get hurt from a hit. Looked like his arm. Hopefully he'll be back sooner rather than later.

huhwat?

We don't get it either.
David Pollak clears up a few things for the confused among us here.

Next Train Out of Montreal, Please.

How upset with yourself are you if you're O'Byrne right now?



We've all seen this happen to a guy on our own team. They forget the goalie isn't there, (Craig Rivet. OK, so his mistake didn't go in the net but it came very close), it goes in off you as you try to block it, bad pass in front of the net (Semenov and lots of other guys), you swat it in trying to make a save for your goalie who is out of position...yeah, it happens. Even when it benefits your team, it kinda sucks to watch. (Ok, ok, so I enjoyed Turco swatting a puck in at the Dallas v Sharks game, but that has more to do with last season's second round loss than anything else. I also thought Patty had put it in and didn't find out until I got home that it was actually Turco that scored the goal and I did feel a tad badly for him. I digress.)

I can hear Habs fans calling for his head right now. This is the guy that lost the game for their team, he's not going to be very popular. How do you even go on the ice next game after something like this? I'd be mortified. How these guys get back up and go play, and manage to come off as focused and ready to go after such a spectacularly booched play is beyond me.

I remember when Patrick Rissmiller made a mistake that caused a playoff game against the Preds to go into overtime. To say we were displeased with his performance would be putting it mildly. He somehow got his focus back, came back on and got the game winning goal in OT. That totally made up for his mistake. O'Byrne didn't get a chance at redemption.

That totally sucks.

"He Just Toe Picked It"

So I had a comic I was planning to post, but it turned out terribly. Until I have confirmation of its suckage or lack thereof It totally sucks; I'm posting this gem instead. It's a few years old but still hilarious.




Edited: THIS JUST IN!
Thornton's teeth have been found. We repeat, Joe Thornton's teeth have been found. Question 10 has the scoop.

Sharks V Caps

They should have designed the Capitol Building with non architectually inclined artists in mind. That sucker is hard to draw.

Sharks win 7-2! A sound defeat of Ovechkin and crew. 2 goals by Clowe. That's what I call a good night.

Mina had the good fortune of being at this game, but she's on vacation so you get my short recap instead. I was fighting zombies and cultists during part of the game, but I wasn't so distracted that I didn't notice the Sharks slow start, or when they took their foot off the gas and let the Caps get some momentum. Luckily, the Sharks were able to regroup and took themselves to a 7-2 victory over the Caps. Morrison accidentally put on in the net for the Sharks in a scramble to keep the puck out of the net. It was a goal that likely would have gone in regardless, but you feel bad for for a guy anytime that happens. Nothing like getting bit by doing the right thing.

Shelley and Brashear fought, as we all thought they would. Brashear won the bout, but his showing off angered Shelley enough to get him a stick tapping and some words in the box. Brashear ended up getting himself a 10 min miscounduct in the second, I think for running his mouth. (I missed the replay due to zombie hoardes)

Sharks goals by: Patty, Clowe, Seto, Thornton (PPG), Vlasic, Clowe(PPG), Grier.

Grier seemed to be having an off night. I was glad to seem him get a goal.

Caps goals by Poti and Fleischmann(PPG. Nice one too, if I remember it correctly).

Black Armor

Thoughts on this later today as well. Until then, enjoy this video revealing the new third jersey.

I was very thrown off by the fact that the narrator kinda sorta sounds like Randy Hahn, but isn't. Maybe I wanted it to be Randy Hahn. Weird.

Gray's Take:
**yes, I know they're called sweaters not jerseys, but what can I say? Old habits die hard.

Simple and sleek, this is a pretty good looking third jersey. The teal contrasts nicely with the black and the throw back laces are a nice touch. The only thing I don't like are the shoulder SJ patches. Those just don't do it for me, but they aren't a deal breaker. The real selling point is that JR, the Master of the Universe himself, would buy the jersey. If I had the money and they had an authentic jersey in my size, I'd buy one too.

News

Nabby returns?

Nabby's back! This is great news, but, I'm reserving my excitement for just a little bit longer. Nabokov's been out for long enough that I am not sure he's totally ready to start against the Caps tomorrow night. If you've ever been injured, you know how long it can take to get back to peak form in your chosen sport. Nabokov does have access to the great trainers and rehab, so, it's not for want to quality care that I think he needs a few more days. A goalie needs great focus, and getting back into game form after 2.5 weeks off is not something one can do in a day or two. I trust McLeallan's judgement, but I think I'd be a tad more comfortable seeing Boucher get one more start, just to give Nabokov a few more days to get back into form. Nabokov is more than welcome to prove me wrong though. I'd have no issues with him coming out and making my concerns look silly.

Staubitz Sent Down

Rookie go round strikes again.

Shark v Preds, Take 2

Here we are again. Facing the ever annoying Predators. Last game the Sharks took their foot off the gas and let the Preds take home a win. It was also the Sharks first home loss this season. Going into this game, the Sharks have a power play that's finally coming online, scoring coming from everywhere, and the desire to beat the Preds in front of their home crowd.
Mmmmmmmmmm possible payback.

Could this be Greiss' fist start in goal?

Will Ellis let ANYTHING into his net?

Will Arnott once again remind us that's he's annoyingly good, especially against the Sharks?

Tune in at 5pm to find out!

---

No one ever wants to see a player get injured. We might not like Arnott on the ice, but we respect him and hope he's alright.

I was a bit miffed at the VERY FEW Nashville fans who booed as most of the Sharks left the ice. You've got a man down, now is not the time to boo the other guys.

In case your wondering, the hit wasn't intentional. Joe and Arnott were flying hard toward the net, and Joe Pa, off balance, nailed Arnott, who was also off balance who sailed over Boucher and into the bottom of the net, head first. Never good no matter how it happens. No need to call for Joe Pa's head though. It wasn't malicious, it was just a terrible series of events. I'd see it the same if it was the other way around.

***UPDATE***
Fear the Fin lets us know that Arnott is alright. Thanks to FTF and On The Forecheck for that news.

POST GAME RECAP: The Minako version

(Gray has a Everest sized pile of laundry to deal with tonight (me, I just ignore my laundry until I run out of clean clothes))

Well my oh my, that was a game wasn't it. It definitely played much closer than one would think a 4-1 game would. It was nice to see the Sharks continue to play hard for most of the game (certainly more of the game than they did in Chicago) minus those few minutes halfway into the 3rd. Nashville certainly played as hard as was expected, but in playing physical they made a lot of mistakes that landed them in the penalty box. There were 3.5 fights which is something Sharks fans are growing to expect from Nashville games.

The power play was still a little sketch after being amazing against the Flames (4 for 9) and very, very good against the Blackhawks (4 for 6). It will be interesting to see which power play is the real Sharks power play: the one of those 2 games or the 16% or so that they had been going at before playing out of their minds. I'm hoping those two games were a sign of good things to come and that this game was an aboration. But I'm probably wrong.

Sharks are off until Saturday when they will unveil their snazy new black third jersey. I will be there with my brother (Ovechkin is pretty much his favorite player so this is an early Christmas present) and since I have the next week off, I should be able to get pictures up soon(er).

Yay Sharks!

Sharks V Blackhawks

That's right. We went there.

Post Game:

This game was so all over the place, we don't even know where to begin. The last two minutes were beyond insanity when it come to suspense and chances for the Blackhawks to tie it. So, for now, we'll leave it as it ended, with the Sharks winning 6-5.

This game was ones of those you watched and realized that if the Sharks of last year were playing it, they would have lost. The ice was kinda bad, the calls were going against them at times, and then against the Hawks, bad plays on both sides, weird back and forth play and two goalies who really needed a beer after the game. Last season's Sharks would have let the circumstances of the game defeat them, but these Sharks persevered. Barely. It certainly wasn't a pretty win, but they stuck with it and got the job done.

A game like this is good for the Sharks. They need to learn how to respond early to teams that don;t let them play their game. To prolonged pressure in their zone, and to the many odd circumstances and calls that can turn the momentum against a team. They've only had a few of those games so far this season. Let's hope they're learning from the experience.

I think they are, but time will tell. Tonight may be a good test.

Sharks Goals: Michalek, (42 seconds in!), Thornton (PP goal), Boyle (PP goal), Roenick (JR! Off the schneid!), Boyle again, (on the PP again!), and Seto (PP goal and the game winner)

I was very happy when Seto scored but then it was another 4ish minutes of nail biting suspense until the game ended.

Hawks Goals:
Versteegm (short handed), Campbell, Versteeg (dude had Boucher's number all night), Barker (PP gola), Kane (PP goal)

This Just In

Original Image Credit: Chris O'Meara, USA Today

Barry Melrose, head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, has been fired.

16 games.

They gave him 16 games and fired him. Fired him and replaced him with Tocchet.

It's not that I didn't see Mr. Melrose's pink slip as inevitable, (esp. with the current Lightning owenership), I just didn't think they'd fire him after 16 games. Though, considering the Lightning have been trading players like candy, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.

But how do you not give a guy a real chance to get things going?

Good luck Lightning, I think you're going to need it.

Overheard At The Game: Dallas Stars Edition

Let's not spread this around teh interwebs, folks.

I decided to mix it up a little on this one. Our friend in the chair was done with a brush (ox hair for those taking notes), and the rest was done with a zebra pen. I forget what fonts I used, they were in a huge batch I bought awhile ago.

Sharks v Flames

This is not a game I'll be able to keep my normal objectivity for. To put it simply, I don't like the Flames. Last year's seven game round one extravaganza was a nail biter of epic proportions. Not having to face them again for a season or so would have been fine by me.

Every time Calgary comes to town, people start talking about the Kiprusoff trade. As Mina so eloquently puts it, "He couldn't win a starting job. He went to Canada and came back a different man." That's pretty much all there is to it. Considering it's 2008 and that trade happened in 2003, the statue of limitations on freaking out about it has expired. Time to let it go.



Well, that was...awesome!

Sharks win 6-1. It was a pizza night for all at the Tank!

Milan Michalek tried his best to get a hat trick, but was held to two goals.

Joe Pavelski also had two goals. (Joe Pa!)

Patty and Big Joe joined in on the goal scoring party.

Sharks got four of their 6 goals on the power play. Hello effectiveness!

Ehrhoff and Blake both had three assists.

The Sharks D was on fire!

Boosh was fanatastic. I'm so glad we picked him up last season.

Sharks v Preds

Yes, that is a Predator. Why do you ask?

What is it about the Preds that makes Sharks fan cringe? Is it those two post season match ups? The fact that they have played a tad dirty against the Sharks in the past? Is it that fact that their goalies always seemed to have some anti Shark force field around their nets? I'm not sure what it is, but what I am certain of is that there is a bit of a rivalry going on with these team and that tends to lead to interesting hockey games.

The Preds are coming in at 6-7-1, which doesn't really mean anything. Compare that to Dallas at 5-7-2 and then think about how the Sharks played Saturday night. The Coyotes are 7-6-0 for reference. As I said, the stats don't mean much other than each team has won and lost games, albeit at different rates.

Always a show when the Preds come to town, be sure to tune in.

If you didn't catch them yesterday, be sure to read the announcements in the post below.

---

Boyle is out tonight. He and his wife welcomed their daughter to the world this morning. Congrats to the Boyles. And the Shelley's who also recently had a baby.

Everyone has poppies on tonight. I'm assuming that's for Veteran's Day. (Armistice or Remembrance Day to our non US based friends) In the US, poppies are more commonly seen around Memorial Day, so, forgive us if we seem a tad confused by their presence.

Seto gets the first goal after 19 shots for the Sharks. They did have a goal waved off earlier in the period after the ref lost sight of it.

There was a 4 on 3 for a bit (which is when the above mentioned puck went in after the whistle) that was kind of awesome.

Ehrhoff was nailed in the faced by a puck, but appears to be ok.

Patty has been doing all he can to get a puck in the net, but Ellis is doing all he can to stop him. He's very effective at his job. He stops 21 shots to end the first.

2nd
Shots are 43-18, but it's a 2-1 game. Math fail.

Blake got the second tally for the Sharks towards the end of the period while on the power play. His goal was answered by shortly after by Arnott, one of my least favorite players, because he's a Shark killer. (nothing personal, sir, you're just annoyingly good against the Sharks) Boucher made a rare bobble while trying to adjust and Arnott was able to get the shot in. Randy Hahn said 5 hole. I'll go with that.

You can tell how much the Sharks are missing Boyle on the power play.

That was a weird second. There was a Sharks power play, 4-4 and Preds power play, all within the same 3.5 minutes.

Someone tried to check Douglas Murray. Hope they had fun with that.

Obviously a lot of good chances for the Sharks, but Ellis has that anti Shark force field going on.

My cat just tried to publish a post. Maybe I should let him handle the third period summary.

3rd

o hai! i gray's kitteh. i r doig dis parte.

preditours skor but was off teh sides by mile. refs no cal it. i dun no y.

tasty sharks skor rite aftr. Seto gets 2nd goal of game.

den, i fights wif mai broddur and miss sum of game.

pucks look nomable but iz not. dis make me hungy. i go take nom break.

den preditours go on teh powa play and skor. booshay try to save but fal down and it go in off rebownd. I no blames him. he no has cat like reflckses.

tasty sharks go on powa play but not dos much. spend 2 much timez in der zones.

bad turn ovar by bigger joe. preditours almost skors but doez notz

tootoo tried to hit teh duglas murry. he fals on tasty shark bench. mebe shuld have ben penaltees.

dis gamez going to overtimez. wil be late night 4 kittehs.

overtimez

tasty sharks has gud chance but preditorus skor to winz game. I nao go nom on piece of papers i foundz. has gud nite!

Gray chimes back in: preds win 4-3 in OT.
Now, here's an animated blast from your past that is sort of Veteran's Day topicalish.
Hopefully, unlike me, you'll be able to actually watch it instead of being distracted by how off model Linus looks at times and the utter simplicity of the mouths. There is also linkage to part 1 if you feel like reliving the entire half hour special.

Announcements of the Semi Hockey Related Variety

Just in case you can't get enough of us, we're excited to announce that, pending any supreme disasters that render this announcement null, void and full of fail, we'll be HLOGging it, on top of Couch Tarting, in the near future. We'd like the thank the fine ladies at HLOG for the opportunity. (in case of fail, this half of the post will be deleted and we'll deny it ever existed.)

---

If you've ever though to yourself, "I love those little sharks Gray draws and I wish they came in greeting card form, so I could share them with my friends and relatives this upcoming holiday season," do I have some news for you! I'm selling greeting cards featuring a shark, (not in anyway related to the San Jose Sharks. These are my creations), and goldfish in my store. They come in sets of 6, but if you must have more, contact me through my store and I can make some magic happen.

If you find the listing sold out, don't worry, you can still buy the cards. I relist them once they sell out. If you find them totally sold out, just ping me through etsy and I'll get you more right away.

edited for clarification

Public Service Announcement: Get out and Vote!!

Thanks to BoC and Jonny W (and Will) for the image

There comes a time in a hockey season when the NHL asks you to vote for who you, the fan, think are the greatest and most deserving players in the league. Yes, kids, beginning Wednesday you can vote for the 2009 NHL All-Star Team. And while I know that I am making it a personal mission for Dan Boyle to make the team (3 goals and 7 assists in 15 games with a +7. How sexy is that!), I am making another plea for you to spend one of your votes writing in Devin Setoguchi. Just as "Vote for the Gooch" says, young Devin is no Rory Fitzpartick (though I did vote for Rory...more than once). He has 7 goals and 7 assists in 15 games through the game in Phoenix (*sob*) and has a +5. While that's difficult pace to keep up, he's a young kid and has been a solid player in the time he's been with the Sharks. I believe in him and so should you. Besides, who wants to see the same old players year in and year out at the All-Star game. Vote for Seto and he might bring you a milkshake instead of ice cream because it's exactly what you wanted.

Sharks v Coyotes

Post Game Recap: By Mina (who did not watch or listen to this game at all)

WHY MUST WE PLAY GAMES IN PHOENIX??!?!?!??!?!?!

The End.

Gray's Take, or Point, Counter Point. (yes, I've watched a lot of SNL reuns)
I was only able to listen to the first. It was slightly surprising for it to end 2-2, but I have learned to never count out Phoenix. The Sharks two goals were scored on the power play, by Boyle and Clowe.

I try to save my panic mode for the playoffs. The way I see it, no team can go 82-0. Every game has the potential for a loss, and every game has the potential for a win. Since sports is supposed to be something I watch to relax, I do my best to not needlessly worry. I'm not on the ice, nor am I a member of the coaching staff. I don't know all of what contributes to a loss, but I do know the players like it even less than we fans do. They work hard to correct mistakes, and it's a good thing for them, and their coaches, to experience the downside of things every now and then. (though, not too often, I hope ;) )
It's disappointing when your team loses but, losses happen.

But hey, 2 power plays goals! Silver lining, right?

Mina's Take II: The Revenge

BUT...BUT...WHY MUST WE PLAY GAMES IN PHOENIX???!?!?!ONE!!!

(Hey, this is kinda fun. I should do it more often.)

Sharks v Stars

Second round rematch!

Well, not really. The Sharks are no longer under the command of Ron Wilson, so it's hard to call this a rematch. These aren't the same two teams who met in round two last season. The Stars are coming in off a win last night in Anaheim, though they haven't had the best start to their season. It's hard to say how this match up will go, as the Stars had been missing some key players until last night and that obvious affected their game play. I'm certainly not looking at this game with the same level of trepidation I had for the opener, but anytime you face a team that knocked you out of the playoffs for the first time in a new season, the stress level for fans creeps up a little higher.

---

Post Game:

First things first:
To the douchebag with the beer in the suit coat sitting behind and to the left of me: If I could have found the usher, I would have had you thrown out. You were nothing but an exceptionally annoying distraction for all of 228, parts of 227 and likely parts of 201. Believe me, people would have cheered.

To his high pitched friend: It's fine to cheer for your goalie, in this case Marty Turco, but when the puck is down at the other end of the ice, I really don't think he's had much to do with the play. Also, when cheering for Ott, please make sure he's on the ice.

Onto the game!

This was not the best game the Sharks have played. It was probably one of the worst. They were sloppy all game, never really kept control of the puck, and had a few very scary plays in front of their own net. Thankfully Boucher was up to the task, giving away only one goal. I trust Boucher in goal, far more than I trusted Greiss or Patzold last season. If the Sharks had gotten a loss, it would not have had to do with his play. He was solid all night.

I heard from the friend I was with who had teh portable interwebs with her that Drew was commenting on how quiet it was. It was very quiet, this is true. I have to believe it was because the Sharks were playing slower than usual most of the night. If they'd been playing like they had against the Pens or Detroit, they'd have mopped the floor with the Stars. Tonight was, for the most part, a rather lackluster affair. It had moments of excitment though, and the crowd would get back into it and start cheering.

That boarding penalty against Thornton was total BS. They showed the replay at the game, he wasn't doing anything illegal. Turco tripping him? Totally real, totally in front of a ref, totally not called. Ehrhoff's high stick was also not so much. Lost of questionable non calls going on. I'm not sure what game the refs were watching, but it was obviously different than the one I was at.

Marleau's goal, however, was a thing of happiness, and not just because it shut up the annoying high pitched Stars fan behind us. (he was annoying ALL GAME) Having only slept two hours the night before, I was not in the mood for overtime. Especially not overtime when the Sharks are having an off night. Mina put it best when she said that the Sharks are finding way to win games, sloppy or not.

Turco apparently though his crease was a porch because he wasted a good minute of game time sweeping ice out of it. He held up a face off to do this. This elicited a "YEA MARTY!" from squeaky boy behind us. I feel sorry for the Dallas fans he sits next to at home games.

Oh, I guess I should mention Avery. He was trying to be an annoyance, but when he kept ending up in the box because the sharks weren't biting he seemed to disappear. I'm pretty sure he was still playing, he just wasn't in anyone's face.

Clowe+fight = good stuff.

Goals by Boyle (who was fantastic all night) and Marleau

Dallas goal by Eriksson

The Case of the Missing Post

There was no game day post yesterday. We missed the game due to a scheduling conflict. We were invited to a party. One of those parties where someone says they started partying the night before and haven't stopped. A "I got two non-consecutive hours of sleep," party. We did have the good sense to check the score throughout the night, and were happy to see the Sharks win. What the scores didn't tell us was that Nabby apparently got hurt. Not good. Like the rest of you, we'll be waiting with some anxiety to see how bad his injury is.

Clowe apparently went nuts last night. I'm sort of sorry I missed that.

According to this Nabby is currently listed as day-to-day and Greiss has been called back up. Infer what you will.

Sharks v Wild, Part 2

We eventually got around to the game last night, in time for most of the third. I only saw about 15-20 solid minutes of the game total, but in those 15 minutes I saw Clowe complete a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Nice.

That Ehrhoff save was sick.

Having seen it go 1-0 Wild and then 1-1, I wasn't sure where the game would be in the third. Nice to see the Sharks at 3-1 to win it. Congrats to McGinn, getting his second NHL goal in four games. Maybe McLellan will keep giving you more ice time now, eh? Mike Grier (Mike Grier!) also scored, helping vault the Sharks to an 11-2-0 record and giving them the best record in the NHL. The Sharks are also unbeaten at home this season, a complete 180 from last year when they couldn't seem to win at home to save their lives at times.

So far, I'm liking the start McLellan era. As Jamie Baker says, not planning the parade yet, though. It's just two games into November, but I'm pleased with the trends I am seeing. The Sharks are finally looking like the team we all knew they could be. The team they should be. There are still kinks to work out, and there will be rough patches, (welcome to sports), but so far so good.

Game Day: Sharks v Wild Election Day Special

Go do it.

The Wild are off to a great start this season. They're currently sitting on top of the Northwest, with a record of 7-2-1. Should be a pretty solid Wild team that comes into SJ tonight. Look for them to provide the Sharks with quite a challenge. Go vote then come home and watch the game.

Like a lot of other people, we'll be glued to election returns, but we'll do our best to keep that to between periods during the game.


Edit: Some things trump games. Tonight does. No matter what side you're on, the returns and speeches tonight are way more important than hockey. We're watching those instead of the game.

Post Game Recap, Sharks v Avs

Mina's game day post was solid. Loved the pictures she chose too. Expect to see her cover a few more times until I get used to juggling my online store* and updates here. Because she did that, I'm handling the recap. I'm going to keep it pretty simple.

This was a decent game, despite it's problems. (Boy did it ever have problems.) It wasn't the most well played game by the Sharks, but it was one of the most entertaining in this young season. Colorado seemed dangerous to us going in. As Mina said, they can be streaky and you never know where it their next win or loss streak you're going to hit them. I have to admit I was thinking the Sharks were at risk of losing this one. At times in the thrid, the Sharks seemed keen on giving the game away, Luckily for them, and for us Sharks fans, they won.

Because you've all been patient with the lack of cartoons, here's your second one. Two in one day! WAT!

Yes. That is an evil snowman in a hockey helmet.

Special Election Day cartoon in tomorrow's game day post. I suggest checking in here AFTER you vote.

*If you're interested in seeing what's in my etsy store, shoot us an email, I'll send you the url

Overheard At The Game, Pens Game 10/28/08

Sharks v Avalanche

(This is what you get when Gray is busy and I get put in charge of game previews. Sorry.)

The Sharks are in Colorado tonight looking to go 10-2. I never thought at the beginning of the season that the Sharks would be this successful this early. Cause, seriously, this is nuts. Amazingly they are tied for 5th in the league in GFA with 3.27 and 4th in GAA with 2.27. This Todd McLellan thing is really starting to work out. Seeing the Sharks beat the two teams from last year's Stanley Cup Finals was very encouraging, particularly watching how they beat them. The Sharks handled both teams fairly well, out shooting them 67-38 (to be fair to Detroit, the Pens only managed 11 shots in their game). In fact the Sharks are 2nd in the league with 36.9 shots per game and 1st in the league with 23.4 shots against. Their shot differential of 13.5 per game is almost 5 shots better than the next team (Detroit). As the team that was known more for passing than shooting last year (averaging 29.6 shots per game last year), this is a refreshing change.

I would feel better if the thing the McLellan was supposed to improve, the power play, was better than 18.7%. They have had a huge number of opportunities to get goals but only have 70 goals in 375 opportunities. The penalty kill jumped up during the week now at 86% and #1 in the league (from 82.4% before the Pens game). By contrast, Colorado is in the middle of the league in both GFA and GAA (2.63 and 2.73) and 28th in power play efficiency at 14.6% (ouch!) and 20th with a 81.4% penalty kill.

Colorado is last in the ever competitive Northwest Division with a 5-5 record and 10 points. They appear to be a streaky team, opening with 3 losses, winning 5 in a row, and losing the last 2 games. From that point, it looks like the Sharks are catching the Avs at the right time as opposed to last week when they had won 5 in a row. Still the Avs have Milan Hejduk (whose name I pronounce differently from Milan Michalek) and Master of the Universe Paul Stastny and the ability to shut down teams with Peter Budaj (BUDAJ!). And of course, Joe Sakic, Darcy Tucker, Adam Foote, and old Shark Scott Hannan.

Prediction: (Yes, I'm back to predictions) I suck at guessing scores and always seem to jinx stuff when I do. I do foresee Shelley vs. Foote/Tucker round 1 and Ryane Clowe making a case to take the title of Master of the Universe from Stastny.

Go Sharks!