Sharks V Blackhawks

Tonight @ 7:30pm Radio, CSN+, Tank, Interwebs

If it wasn't for Campbell, would we still have the same feelings of "HULK SMASH" when the Blackhawks come to town? They're a decent team and each game against them has been hard fought, but I think, for the fans anyway, the idea of beating the Blackhawks is secondary to not letting Campbell win. Hell, I'm using Campbell's face to represent the team! This despite being so happy with Boyle that I feel like I should thank Campbell for leaving.
No, really.
Thanks for giving us a chance to get Dan Boyle (and Lukowich). He's awesome.

As always, should be a good one. Tune in.

Post Game During Game:

1st period


If it doesn't stop 39 seconds in, stop it there. It might only be three seconds but it sums the first up pretty well.

2nd period
I have decide to transcribe the thoughts of each team during this period based on the play.

Sharks: If we just step on the ice that counts as playing, right?

Blackhawks: Let's get some goals!!!!!!!!!

I would like to ask the Sharks to please remember that they have guys they need to watch and to do that. I am looking at you, Joe Pavelski.

GREAT second by the Blackhawks.

Way to get 45 good seconds in at the end there, Sharks!

I'd really like to see the Sharks step up and match the Blackhawks intensity. It would make this an awesome game. Instead it's the Hawks skating circles around tired apathetic looking Sharks.

3rd period:

Another great period for the Blackhawks. I really wish the Sharks had stepped up, not because it would have meant a win for them, but to just make the game a little more entertaining for everyone. I guess I get more disappointed when a team loses after not really trying than I do when they work hard and get beat.

But the Blackhawks were fun to watch, aside from the goals against the Sharks.

Milan did his best to jump start things by making it 4-2, but it was too little too late. You can't wake up with 5 minutes left and expect to win, unless you're playing Vancouver. At least that's what Jan. 20th taught me. Apparently taught the Sharks that too because they didn't seem to wake up until about 5 minutes were left in the third.

Blackhawks go to Vegas (yes, Vegas) with a well deserved win. The Sharks go into their next four days off with what I suspect will be a hell of a lecture from their coach.

Stat o' the Game - 33.3%
After improving their penalty kill over the last few games (6 for 6 against the Coyotes), the Sharks sure sucked on the pk against the Hawks. Sure, the effort for most of the game was pretty lackluster but these 2 goals really killed any chance the Sharks had in the game. Neither goal was particularly ugly but the Hawks PP made the Sharks look ordinary and not like an 86% pk team. I know that this will be one of the things that Teh Todd will have them working on before Thursday against the Hurricanes.

Word o' the Game - Out-Sharked
Drew used this word several times throughout the game and I think it's the scariest word out there. The Hawks played an awesome game that looked amazingly familair to Sharks fans. Their players were very active on the puck, they were confident in the neutral zone, their scorers made incredible shots and made Nabby look a little ordinary. In short, not only were the Hawks the better team tonight, they were playing like the best team in the league. And really Sharks fans, we all knew this was coming. Sooner or later, not only were teams going to figure out what they needed to do to beat the Sharks, but eventually teams were going to realize that playing the Sharks own game would be a solid way to beat them. The "Shark game" isn't going to work for every team, but Chicago is a very solid group and I'd love to see them make the playoffs (as long as they don't play the Sharks). Like Gray said, the Sharks have 4 days to figure out where to go from here. The boys have done well this year rising to meet a challenge and this is certainly a challenge.

Overheard At The Game, Canucks Version

click to slightly enlarge

Too many beers and this could be you.

Sharks v Coyotes

(Mina would like to remind people that she thinks it is unnecessary to play Phoenix...at least so she can avoid getting angry with hockey)

Tonight @ 7:30. Radio, TV, Tank, Interwebs

Why did I think this game was tomorrow?

Anyway, it's always a guessing game when the 'yotes come to town. In past years, they've been at the bottom of the barrel and still managed to embarrass the Sharks. This year the Coyotes are playoff contenders and currently sit in the 5th spot in the West. This could be quite the game. Be sure to tune in.

As an related aside, watching Shane Doan at the All-Star Game was great. He was so happy to be there and his giddiness was infectious. He was fun to watch.

Post Game Recap:

That game was exhausting to watch. Imagine playing in it.

Second straight shut out for Nabby. w00t 24 saves, some spectacular.

The post is sometimes your friend, but at the end of the third, it was the enemy. Seriously, how do two guy hit the post/crossbar? The odds of that...

Brzygalov got the second star of the night and deservedly so. He was fantastic all night.

The Coyotes looked good. If the Sharks see them in the playoffs, expect a challenge.

It looked like Ehrhoff's second period PP goal was going to be the only one all game, though the Coyotes threatened on a very late power play after Blake went off for a hooking call. (he didn't seem very pleased that)

The one goal lead was nerve wrecking.

Carcillo couldn't stay out of the box.

Randy Hahn's line of the night "It's fish versus mammal!"

The Clowe v Winnik fight was short and involved more jersey pulling than punching. Sometimes that's how it goes.

Marcel Goc was not denied by the empty net force field and got the (very late) insurance goal with 14.3 seconds left.

Semenov had a decent game. Don't you wish you went to say hello to him now?

The post game interviews were nearly all shirtless. Joe Thornton's shirt aversion is spreading. First Seto, now Clowe and Ehrhoff. Who's next?

Stars: (3) Ehrhoff, (2) Bryzgalov (3) Nabokov

Sad Times in the Land of Semenov

This was probably the second most depressing thing I read today. I'd mentioned the signing with Semenov the other day because I hoped a few folks would go. My fear was that no one would. Being slightly swamped, I knew I wouldn't be able to make it myself, but my hope was that fans would show up and make the guy feel welcome. No such luck.

Now, all we have is an account of someone who got to the store at 5:20pm. There may have been a small line of folks when the doors opened, and then traffic petered out quickly after. I don't know. What I do know is I feel like a jerk for not taking some time off from my work to go say hi to a guy who donated his time for fans and apparently had only a few show up.

Gray's Random Sketch File

So here's what I have so far for Fear the Fin's "My Sharks History", uhm, thing. I'm not too sure where to go with it from here, but I'm sure inspiration will strike.

Sharks V Avs

Tonight at 6pm. Radio, TV, Interwebs

(Mina would like to point out that her Avs Game Day graphic was far more awesome. Just sayin')

(But mine got you posting. Well...sort of. That's a win, right? -Gray)

---

The Sharks are back in action tonight, facing a team they haven't seen since November. The Avs aren't in a favorable position, sitting at the very bottom of the Northwest Division and 12th in the West, but as the last game before the break proved the Sharks can't sit back no matter who they're facing. A full 60 minutes is mandatory for every game.

Here's to a full 60 minutes from the Sharks tonight.

In somewhat related news, Alexei Semenov will be at the Sharks Store tomorrow, starting at 4:30. Word on the street is he's a super nice guy.

Post Game Recap:

Sorry this is running a tad late. Trying to get some work done. But enough non hockey talk, onto post game!

Tonight was the Milan Michalek show. All Milan, all the time. (Except for that empty net goal by Patty.) He had an awesome game. Just great.

Nabokov also had an amazing game. He stopped 31 shots to get the shut out. This despite being made into a Nabby Sandwich by an out of control Smyth and a net.

Despite a dominate score, the were a few times when the Sharks got sloppy and allowed Colorado to control the game. Also, too many men. Lucky for us Sharks fans, and for the Sharks, Colorado never managed to fully take advantage of those mistakes. They did have some excellent chances, but Nabby shut the door.

Semenov was a checking machine.

Douglas Murray was once again, a brick wall. He got into a fight after knocking around one of Colorado's recently healed players.

As I mentioned above, Patty got an empty net goal to seal the 3-0 deal near the end of the game.

The Sharks are doing a blood drive Thursday. If you're eligible and available, go do it. They really need some A- and O-. You'll get to watch the Sharks practice too!

Stat o' the Game - 100% Save Percentage
Nabby pitched another shut out for the season, bringing his season total to 3. It certainly wasn't a wimpy shutout as Nabby faced 31 shots. There were definitely points in the game where the Avs carried the game and Nabby kept the Sharks in the game. He made one save off Ryan Smyth that made your heart stop and looked like there was about to be a tie game. I was certain the puck had gone in (so did Smyth) and somehow Nabby kept the puck out. (Kudos to the refs for seeing the play well on the ice) A classic Nabby save and a solid Nabby performance. 1st star well earned.

Word o' the Game - Disciplined
After the game, Nabby was quoted as saying, "After five days off you don't know exactly where you will be, you don't know exactly what to expect from the home team. But we know what we expect from ourselves. Maybe it wasn't a perfect game, but it was a disciplined game and a smart game." I think that's the best way to describe the effort the Sharks put forward. The Avs controlled the game for much longer than one might prefer and there were certainly moments where the Sharks were playing poorly (A Too Many Men penalty? Seriously?) But overall the Sharks did what they needed to win and the effort was far better than the game against the Canucks. I have said this many times over the season, but the Sharks are finding very different ways to win and that is generally encouraging for the rest of the season.

NHL All-Star Game

I was unfortunately busy yesterday and only saw the 3rd period, OT and shootout of the ASG. At one point, shortly before the end of regulation, I was asked the following question: Why is the score so high?
I tried to explain that you have the biggest names, "best players", etc, playing in an exhibition game and they don't want to hurt each other so it's a different style of play than you'd normally see, blah blah blah, but they weren't buying it. Their assessment was they may have the best players on the ice, but the worst goalies in the league in the nets. How else could the score be that high?

I lold.

Superskills and YoungStars Weecap

Just some quick thoughts from yesterday's Superskills Competition & YoungStars game.

I wish it was longer.

What I like better than inane commentary is knowing who has the puck, Versus. Also, please to not be showing replays when there's a running clock. We missed goals. We didn't really care that much, but it's the principle of thing.

Ovechkin is the best showboater currently in the league. Period. That bit with the hat was hilarious. "I bet that was Malkin's hat!"

Streit, man, I am sorry that you will forever be that guy falling down at the All-Star Game.

Chara's shot was crazy. 105.4. A tip of the hat to Iafrate, who's record stood for 16 years.

The accuracy comp. is always impressive. Just wow. But McDonalds branded plates? feh.

Does anyone know how they picked people for the events? We were curious.

We enjoyed the elimination shootout way more than we should have.

How to fill the void between games

First things first, I owe you guys some cartoons. I've been ill and has that cut into my ability to work. I'll be doing my best to catch up on those between my other work during the All-Star Break and the coming weeks.

---

Wondering what to do during the All-Star break? Bored to tears because there's no games on? Wondering how you can pass the time? Well, fear not, I have a few suggestions for you.

Catch up on Battlestar Galatica. You have 4 season of frakking awesome show to watch. Go do it. New episode tonight, by the way.

Write your own "My Sharks History" entry over the Fear the Fin.

You could re-watch classic games and pretend they're new.

You could make paper dolls of the Sharks and whatever team you hate most, stage your own version of the Stanley Cup Finals, have the Sharks win, and post it on YouTube. (send us the link if you do this)

Watch every episode of Leafs Fan Reaction ever.

Come up with a new system for voting in the All-Star Game.

Did I mention Galatica?

Hopefully these suggestions will keep you occupied until tomorrow, when the skills competition begins. (and Young Stars too)

Thornton Gets The C

That's right ladies and gentlemen, our very own Joe Thornton has been named Captain of the Western All-Star team. Go Joe! Kovalev got the C for the Eastern All-Stars.

It's Official

Patty Marleau heads to Washington Montreal. He replaces the injured Datsyuk. One more Shark to cheer for during the All-Star Game.

Inauguration Day, Sharks V Canucks, Part Lemieux

Tonight @ 7:30, radio, tv, Tank, interwebs

New President, new teammate, new chance to renew the friendly rivalry between ourselves and our friend the Canucks fan. I really have no idea what Lemieux will bring to the ice tonight so I'm not even going to bother guessing. What I do know is that this should be a good game.

Loosk like Lemieux will be on the fourth line with Plihal and Shelley.

As an aside to reader Daniel, thanks for sending in the idea. If I can fit it in, I will.

Post Game Recap:

Not much to discuss about the first 59 minutes of last night's game. I was sitting next to our friend the Canucks fan and he was pretty unimpressed by both teams. It wasn't that Vancouver was out playing the Sharks, it's that the Sharks weren't playing at all. At times I felt like Luongo and Nabby were the only two guys who showed up ready to play.

Luongo played great all night. It felt like it was just a matter of time before a puck went in behind him, but he blocked everything.

The Canucks sat back after they got their goal and didn't really press to get a second. There was a point, I forget what period, when Sundin looked like he was about to score the tying goal. Nabby was down and for some reason, rather than lift the puck up, he shot it right at the sprawling Nabokov. That was pretty much the best chance the Canucks had all night to take the 2-0 lead and they blew it.

I guess someone on the team realized if they lost it would be only the second home game lost in regulation this season and that spooked them into showing up in the last minutes of the 3rd. With 39.5 seconds left Setoguchi scored. To say the Tank erupted would be to put it mildly. As we said at the time, it only took 6 guys and 59 minutes for the Sharks to get a goal.

OT started and the Canucks threatened a little. but then took a penalty. 4 on 3 worked out well for the Sharks as Patty got the game winner behind Luongo three minutes in. There was some discussion that they play should have been stopped before the goal went in. The refs didn't use their whistles much all night, so it's no surprise they didn't here.

Speaking of which, how do you not call someone for a trip when their stick is wedged into Joe Pa's skate? Seriously.

An almost fight broke out at the end of the game. I guess a Sedin ran into Nabby and Clowe took offense. There was a lot of pushing and shoving but nothing really came of it.

Sharks fans gave Lemieux a warm welcome. He nearly had a goal. Wouldn't that have been an awesome way to say hello to your new team?

Stat o' the Game - 59:15
That's how much hockey the Sharks wasted looking like a last place team before actually deciding to, um I don't know, play hockey. It was decently painful to watch in person. This is the second crappy game that I've taken my boyfriend to and I could understand if he never got interested in hockey based off these games. On the one hand, the Sharks showed how little hockey they actually had to play in order to win a game (a conservative estimate put that time at around 5 minutes). On the other hand, holy crap! What a terrible precedent to set! I know how excited we were to see them put together a 60 minute effort against the Redwings, but that does not excuse this outcome.

Word o' the Game - Sloppy
Is there a better word to describe the game other than sloppy? Most of the game was full of missed passes, missed assignments, and the Sharks just being enough out of position to be an issue. Fortunately for them, the Canucks played most of the game equally sloppy. There's not much else to say about the game other than the fact that the Sharks are going to have a very hard time beating any team playing like that.

As You Have All Heard By Now

Claude Lemieux is back.

So, here's how I see it: If Lemieux can play well enough that he can fill in for some injured guys, (Mitchell is hurt again), and he has the potentially to be a boost in the locker room, fine by me. It's not like the Sharks don't have other options if he doesn't work out. This is no time to panic, Sharks fans. Let's see what he can or can't do for us first. We can panic later.


By the way, Lukowich in on the IR.

We'll be at the game Tuesday for our nearly annual "take a Canucks fan to a game" game. Should be interesting.

Enough Frakking Nonsense, Sharks V Redwings Round 3

Tonight @ 7:30. Radio, TV, Tank, Interwebs

If you're going it's Chinese New Year Mystery Puck night. Gotta love Mystery Puck Night.

So, this game is important. Maybe you didn't realize the Wings were 1 point behind us for the lead in the West now, but they are. They had a bit better run, (10-1-2), since beating whomping the Sharks 6-0 at the Joe. The Sharks were only 7-2-2 (which isn't bad when you think about it, unless you have Detroit on your heels), causing them to lose ground on the lead for Best in the West.

The best way to bounce back from the first home loss of the season?
Beat Detroit.


Rob Blake Update courtesy of Working the Corners. He's out tonight and Tuesday.

Post Game Recap:

This was one of those games I wished I'd tivoed. Did you miss it? Kick yourself if you did because you missed a helluva a game. If it wasn't for the fact that I have no voice, I would have been alternating between cheering and screaming at my tv. This game was crazy good.

Talk about "playoff atmosphere" this game would be next to that phrase in the dictionary, in case you needed a visual definition.

Did you catch when Shelly pegged Staubitz in the head after Marleau's absolutely beautiful goal? Hilariously jazzed.

This game was a a possible coronary waiting to happen for those watching.
Allow me to show you the goals...

1st Period:
2:59 Boyle, EV, Sharks up 1-0
4:07 Filppula, EV, game tied 1-1
7:22 Joe Pa!, EV, Sharks up 2-1

2nd Period:
1:34 Hossa, PP, game tied 2-2
4:31 Franzen, EV, Wings take the lead 3-2
7:56 Ehrhoff, PP, Sharks tie 3-3
15:37 Zetterberg, EV, Wings up 4-3
18:55 Cheechoo, PP, game tied 4-4

3rd Period:
10:18 A beautiful goal by Michalek, EV, Sharks up 5-4
13:24 Another beautiful goal by Marleau, EV, Sharks up 6-4
18:04, Rafalski, EV, Sharks WIN 6-5

Is that or is that not insane?

Did anyone else lol at Vlasic getting 2 for roughing?

Big Joe offered to fight either Raflaski or someone else involved in the end of 2nd scrum. I believe there was a suggestion to go in the third. They almost went right then and there, but were directed off ice by the officials.

Lost of stepping up by the Sharks. That folks, though it included a few mistakes, was a solid 60 minutes of hockey.

How awesome is Ryane Clowe? 4 assists and was a +4 and four hits

The hits might have been even on the score sheets but the Sharks were throwing their weight around. Always nice to see.

Franzen was injured. No word on that.

San Jose pulls 3 points ahead of the Wings and regains the overall lead as well. Big game, big win.

Other cool stuff:

Seto and Clowe will be at the Sports Gallery doing signings tomorrow. I'd go, but I don't want to give them my uber cold. I suggest you healthy souls go and tell them how awesome this game was.

Minako's Stat o' the Game: 11 goals by 11 different players
Gray gave you a list of all the goals, but I think it is really important to note in this game there were no multiple goal scorers. That's not too weird except that there were 11 goals scored. This shows exactly why both teams are super dangerous: their depth. On the Sharks side, their amazing top line contributed 1 point tonight. Seriously, only Marleau's goal. Despite solid games by the whole line, Joe had no points and only one shot on goal and Seto was a -1 (!!!!). It is a comfort to see that when your top line is absent from the scoring your other players like Clowe (!!!!), Michalek (!!!), and Vlasic (roughing!!) step up. Especially when it is against one of the best teams in the league (Yes, Boston, we know you're pretty damn good too.)

Minako's Word o' the Game: OMFG!!1!
When Gray and I can watch games together, we chat over ICQ (Yes, people still use that). None of the chats would make any sense to people not watching the game or not us, but we find them damn entertaining. Last night OMFG, the o.O face, and a lot of undecipherable gibberish made strong showings in the chat log. It was really the kind of game that needed to be experienced to be understood, which makes me think it was criminal that it was not nationally broadcast. Like Drew said at the end of the game (I'm paraphrasing) "You should make a tape of this game and show it to anyone in order to get them interested in HOCKEY!!!" (The way he said hockey was priceless) That game made me proud to be a Sharks and hockey fan. Even if it did stop my heart on occasion.

This is Just for Sleek's Benefit

This has nothing to do with hockey at all. I normally wouldn't post about a tv show, but man...If you don't watch Battlestar Galatica, the rest of the post will be nerdy jibberish.

Begin nerdy jibberish:

I called it. I just want to say, here and now, that from day one of meeting the 5th Cylon, I had called them out for being that. I knew something was odd with that character from the moment we met them.

And seriously, holy frak Dee.

End of nerdy jibberish.

Sharks v Flames

tonight @ 7:30 radio, tv, tank, interwebs

Black armor night tonight. Let's hope that's what the Sharks need to extinguish the Flames.

Don't forget to check out Fear the Fin's live thread-a-palooza tonight. I will be there, and likely on cold meds. Should be a good time.

Post game recap:

Joe had a good night. Clowe had a good night. Nabby did too, for the most part. The rest of the Sharks, well...

Ok, so it wasn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but the Sharks weren't firing on all cylinders all game.

The Flames had a good night as a team.

The dreaded home regulation loss had to happen sometime.

Rob Blake was hit in the head by a puck. Not sure how he's doing at this time.

Will potentially add more later. No, I'm not sad, I'm just sick.

Minako's Stat o' the Game: 0 for 5
The Sharks failed to convert on the power play, including some 5 on 3 time. It was part Kipprusoff, part well played defense, and part the Sharks inability to be on the same page. (see more later) Meanwhile, the Flames converted on only 1 of their 5 opportunities that but seemed to make all the difference. In a game where both teams are playing well, small mistakes and missteps are going to cost you and they cost the Sharks big.

Minako's Word of the Game: "self-inflicted"
Drew said it. The one of the coaches said it (though I can't remember which one right now). The problems that the Sharks had were self-inflicted. They seemed to be on different pages all night. Passes weren't connecting, players missed assignments, and those mistakes bit the Sharks hard. It's hard to put a finger on what caused the missteps, but it shouldn't have been a line up issue as Shelley was the only addition and Semenov was the only subtraction. Certainly losing Blake was a big deal, but the Sharks will have to learn to overcome those issues especially against the good teams in the league. Tonight was less about the Flames beating the Sharks and more about the Sharks beating themselves.

From the Newsroom

I'm a bit behind on this but hey, better late news than no news, right?

Torrey Mitchell sent down on conditioning assignment.

Last night was a points bonanza for the Sharks.

Sunday's practice will be at Sharks Ice in Fremont. Still starts at 11am. If you're in the southern neck of the East Bay and looking for something to do Sunday morning, watching the Sharks practice is now an option.

Torrey Mitchell has a new blog post up.

Sharks V Lightning

Tonight at 7:30, radio, tv, tank,

Mina will be at the game with her, "Stamkos will lead the Lightning to the promised land" brother. You know, he might have been right if it wasn't for that whole crazy management trading players left and right thing. (or wanting to. No job security anywhere nowdays)

Unlike the last time the Sharks saw the Lightning, which was the big return for Dan Boyle, this game IS on tv. Fancy that. The Lightning come into this on the verge of the CA sweep. Let's send them packing with just 2 outta 3, eh boys?

Other things:
I forgot, Lukowich is out due to sports hernia surgery.

Post game recap:

Um, wow.

Just wow.

Sharks win 7-1.

This game was great for Sharks fans and terrible for Lightning fans. Also pretty bad for a couple of the guys on the Lightning. Important life lesson: in hockey, as in baseball, it's a bad idea to run your mouth off to the guys who can boot you.

I'm a bit under the weather, so I'm going to leave the recap at at that. Mina can add on if she wants to later.

"Let's go Grier!"

Ask not what Couch Tarts can do for you.....

I have a halfway mark Sharks evaluation in the works (which will get posted sometime before the 42nd game Wednesday). What I'm looking for from people is 3 Sharks that you are impressed with so far and 3 you are less than impressed with. You can give reasons if you have 'em and I will include them in the piece. Thanks!

Edit: Sorry kids. It's the end of the semester and there are a bazillion things I am supposed to be doing and this mid-season report is lower on the list. I should be able to finish it in time to be up before Saturday's game. Thanks for the patience.

Sharks V Canucks

Tonight at 7pm. Radio for me, CSN+ for some, internet for all

Fin is still freaky.

We'll get our first look at what may have been an annoyingly good (if not pricey) acquisition for the Cancuks tonight. I am sure you've heard of him. He goes by the name of Mats Sundin.

I never really watched Mats, so I don't know what to expect. I know he's a good player and he's been in a bunch of All-Star Games, but aside from that, I've not paid too much attention to him. Until very recently, I really didn't have to.

The Canucks have certainly been scoring goals with him on the ice. Could be interesting, but as always, should be fun.

As requested:

Boucher gets a helping hand

Star Wars is all yours Mr. Lucas.

The back story: I spent all last game drawing and I hadn't done as much this game. Thinking perhaps there was a correlation, however small, between my drawing and the Sharks performance, I asked for suggestion of what to draw over at Fear the Fin. The above images are the end result of two of those suggestions.

Post Game Recap:

What a back and forth game. I think the Sharks spent most of the first two periods on cruise control. Maybes they were napping, I don't know. Whatever they were up to, it was not their best effort. It was enough to get two points, but just.

The Canucks looked MUCH better than the last time the Sharks saw them. Mats was apparently what the doctor ordered.

Following the grand tradition the Sharks seem to have started this season, Mats got his first goal of the season tonight. Is there an award for giving up the most first goals in a season?

Patty once again got two goals for the Sharks. He can keep doing that all season if he wants to.

Boucher made some crazy good saves. Crazy good.

Sharks goals: Blake (PP), Grier, Patty (PP), Patty

Canucks goals: Sundin (PP), D. Sedin

3 stars: (1) Blake (2) Marleau (3) Sundin

Sharks V Oilers

Tonight at 6pm radio, tv, interwebs

Wondering why there's no game day preview post?

I was nearly carried off by ginormous butterflies today. Fending them off seriously cut into my writing time.

For real.

true story

Post Game Recap:

That's more like it! A full 60 minutes, minus a few sloppy penalties and the Sharks get the win over the dreaded Oilers 4-1.

Other cool things that happened:

Blake got his 500th assist. Way to go Blake!

Staubitz got his first NHL goal! Way to go, kid!

Nabby made some HUGE saves. HUGE.

Todd McLellan became the second rookie coach in NHL history to become the head coach for the All-Star Game.

Patty had two goals.

Semenov and Strudwick had one the slowest fights ever. They actually got five for fighting this time, instead of two for roughing. No joke call this time.

Two PP and two even strength goals for the Sharks.

I can't believe I nearly forgot this but Douglas Murray got his first assist of the season tonight putting him on pace for two points. Congrats on getting that first assist, Douglas!

Other Things:

There were a lot of "what huh?" moments in this game.

The Oilers got hit by the injury bug during the game, which was unfortunate.

Stortini hit his head but hurt his knee fighting with Staubitz.

Speaking of Staubitz, kid had some penalty minutes tonight.

Roloson was chased after the 1st. The Sharks managed 3 goals on 10 shots. Big difference from the last time the Sharks saw him, when he had his magic force field up and could have potentially stopped the Hockey Gods themselves.

Garon let in 1 on 21 shots.

The Sharks overall looked better and played better than they have tin the past few games. It was a marked improvement from the downright embarrassing performance in Calgary earlier this week. Let's hope they can keep the improvement streak rolling tomorow night in Vancouver and beyond.

Sharks goals by: seto, Staubitz, Marleau, Marleau

Oilers goal by: Grebeshkov

3 Stars: (1) Marleau (2) Seto (3) Nabby

Seto was named to the Young Stars team today. The vote for Seto campaign didn't fully succeed, but it got him this far. I'd say that's mostly a success.

Go Sharks!

My Search Fu Needs Your Help

Ahoy there internet denizens. You may have noticed a lack of Overheard at the Game posts lately. We didn't hear anything at the Islanders game worth illustrating (209 is best experienced in person. There is no way to capture it. 208 was too awesome to make fun of) and while we did hear something very much worth repeating at the Sharks v Rangers game on Dec 20th, I need your help to share it.

If you were at the game, and stayed in your seats during one of the intermissions you may have seen a bit on the jumbotron where several Sharks were asked what they'd bring if they were stranded on a desert island. Originally I had wanted to do my own illsutrated version of JR's answer (which was amazingly hilarious) and then post the video. Just one problem, I can't find the video. I don't have the best search fu, but I have done my best to scour YouTube and the Sharks site and as of a few days ago, this gem does not exist online. So I am asking anyone who may have recorded it, or knows someone who did, to YouTube it and send us the link. It was one of the funniest videos I have seen them do during intermission and it's a shame it can't be shared.

Cheer Up, Charlie

There is some good news. Dan Boyle will be attending his first All Star Game this month and Joe will be attending his 80th* While I sadly see no mention of Seto or Marleau, at least the Sharks will have someone on the ice to balance out the Ducks.

Much like the baseball All Star Game, I generally only care about the skills competition and not the actual game itself. It's fun to see these guys do what they do best, without restrictions or the pressure of game time. Maybe this year some people will bust out some crazy stuff for the Breakaway Challenge like Ovechkin did last year. (video of the entire challenge is here in case you haven't see it.) Stuff like that is fun to watch. Since the game itself has no baring on the season, aside from adding travel and a day of work to a player's schedule, and it somewhat requires me to root for players I don't normally like, I have a harder time getting into it. Same goes for baseball. (root for the Angels? GAH!)


*number of All Star Games attended may be slightly inflated

Sharks v Flames

7pm radio, tv, interwebs

Fear the Fin will have the stream it. They will hopefully have a good comments thread too.

The Flames and Sharks both sit atop their respective divisions. If there was ever a time to play for a full 60 minutes it's tonight. The Flames will not be pushovers. Whatever isn't clicking for the Sharks needs to start clicking tonight.

Staubitz is back up. Go Staubitz!

Post Game Recap:

Well, that wasn't a full 60 minutes was it?

So here's the deal. I could talk about the few pluses in this game, and there were some, or I could talk about all the minuses, and there were a lot, or I could not do either. We all know what went right and what went wrong, (and if you don't both teams will have official and unofficial recaps nowish-tomorrow) and instead explain it in a way that might make everyone feel less like hitting the booze hard tonight.

At my school we had this saying; everyone has so many bad drawings in them an the only way to get them all out is to draw all the time. Draw early and often, if you will. It's a clever way of saying "keep drawing and you'll get better."

Same goes for hockey. Keep working and you'll play better. The hope is that the Sharks get all these bad games out now so they have that many more good games come playoff time. It might be a stretch but it's a good way to keep the season in perspective on night when you're feeling a little down (angry, frustrated, miffed, saddened, etc) about how the game went.

That's the end of my pep talk for tonight.

Go Sharks!

Totally Irrelevant Post

This is Marcel Goc.

care of the sharks team roster page

This is Marcel from season 2 of Top Chef

care of msnbc and half a dozen other places on the web

They don't really look alike.


For some reason when I think Marcel Goc I picture Marcel from Top Chef even though I know they're totally different people.


I don't get it either.

Sharks V Islanders

Were you expecting a Long Island iced tea?

7:30pm, radio, tv, Tank, interwebs.

We'll be at the game. Mina has a thing for goalies named Rick DiPietro. She bought the tickets before he broke for half a season. Should be a fun game.

Islanders fans will probably come out of the woodwork for this one. Who wouldn't?

Post Game Recap:

Semenov fought an Islander in the first. Let me repeat that. SEMENOV fought someone.

Know who else got in a fight? Ehrhoff.

I think the first level of hell just froze over.

Anyway...

The game started out with an awkward picture ceremony and delivery of a fake to check to Joe Thornton. Joe is Seagate "Player of the Month" for Dec. Go Joe!

The first was a pretty good period for the Sharks. I felt like every time I looked down at my Chinese Chicken Salad the Sharks had a shot on net. Clowe and Grier (Grier!) both got goals, with Grier's coming right at the very end of the period. Whoo.

Semenov's aforementioned fight was also in the first. Again, I was looking down into the abyss that was my salad and missed what started it.

Anyone notice Semenov was playing forward? Took Mina most of the game. I'd read about him possibly playing forward before the game and wasn't surprised.

Ehrhoff also fought in the first. Apparently he punched Streit and Weight took offense. I didn't see the punch as I was once again lost in a sea of lettuce.

Penalties were hard to find in the second. Mina suggested that the refs thought that $2100 up for grabs if the Sharks got a PP goal in the second was coming out of their pockets.

AT one point my lettuce too offense to a non call and attacked Mina. She survived but was a bit surprised by the attack.

The third saw a lot more time in the Sharks end as they sat back and let the Islanders try to win the game. Ryane Clowe gave up the puck that ended up behind Nabby for either Islander goal 2 or 3. Either way, less of that please. A full 60 minutes would be awesome.

The elderly gentleman who ended up sharing part of my walk home said he thought Nabby was dreaming when Islander goal 3 went in. (that was the one that might have been off a high stick, but didn't.)

Empty net goal in the final moments of the third sure took some effort, but it finally went in the give the Sharks a 5-3 win over the Islanders.

Wondering how the kid (Joslin. We refer to all the rookies as "kid") did? He got on the score sheet with a roughing penalty in the third.

Cheecho got three assists. Go Cheech!

Three stars were MacDonald (makes sense), Cheechoo and Grier.

And now, some love for section 208.

208 is an amazing section. We've sat in 209 before and that was an experience not for the faint of heart or inclined to lean. 208 was full of awesome and we'd love to sit there again. Our regular section kind of blows. It was refreshing to sit around a good group of folks instead of next to grumble mc grumbleson who yells at us for talking and then leaves after the 1st. So to the folks at the end of rows 15, 17 and next to us in 16, you rule. Thank you for being so awesome.

New Year's Day