GAMEDAY!!!!!

This thing kicks off TONIGHT! On Versus @ 7, but if I had to guess I'd say the VS will also be airing the pregame festivities as the Avs honor Joe Sakic for being, well, Joe Sakic. Come for the jersey retirement, stay for the game. It's gonna be good.

Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Hockey is back, baby! Strap yourselves in folks! It's going to be one helluva ride!

Post Game Recap:

Anderson is a beast!

Our D didn't show up. Don't know where they were but their less skilful, more inefficient clones showed up instead. "You idiots! These are not them! You've captured their stunt doubles!" So true.

Patty was the best looking player in white and teal on the ice tonight? Letters? Letters? Patty don't need no stinking letters!

It was discussed and decided that the Sharks were beaten by Sakic's right testicle, while the left had more valor than the word valor itself. Powerful stuff.

The 1st line needs some time to gel, that is for sure.

Heatley missed a shot that should have gone in with the most terrific whiff of the night. OY!

Did I mention how Anderson is a beast, cos he is.

Nabby didn't play well, but he didn't play badly, either. He had no help from his D and the Avs walked all over his net.

Pretty poor performance overall by the Sharks, BUT , Patty was great, Demers and Ferriero played well in their first NHL game.

I didn't even know Huskins was ON THE ICE until the VS guys mentioned him. Not sure if that's
good, bad, or entire inconsequential.

But despite the loss, hockey is back, and that make me happy.

GO SHARKS! And kick some Duck butt on Saturday!

Sharks V Avs, It's Way Too Early To Be Creative Edition

Tonight @ 7:30. Radio, Versus, Tank

The Avs blow into town on a day that's expected to be stormy. I have never been bothered by walking to and from games in the rain, unless it's that crazy sideways drench you rain that you can't stave off with an umbrella and sheer will. Wet jeans aren't fun.

It may be the Avs we face tonight, but the Sharks still need to come out hard. We have run into a few iffy moments with this team, (remember that goal go around early on in the season?), and I'm not one who buys the whole "easy" team thing. Well, maybe a little bit, but I'm convinced all 30 teams are dangerous at all times. Mostly because they are.

I don't care much about the Presidents' Trophy. That's a bonus end to a long regular season. The Sharks needs to go into the post season hot, or at least luke warm, if they want to advance. That's may concern right now and I'm hoping it's theirs as well.

Whoo, Go Sharks!

Post Game Recap:

That.took.way.too.long.

1st: Shots on goal say it all. 2 Shots? 2?! As Mina said at the game "the first was worse than I remember it being." No kidding.

2nd: I have no idea what happened in this period. It was a 20 minute blur of not much happening.

3rd: You've been BUDAJ'D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
*art for that tomorrow!

OT period: Did anyone tell the Sharks we had two power plays? Two chances with MORE MEN ON THE ICE?! Because it was hard to tell!

Shoot out: WHOO! SAVE! POO! SAVE. POO!! SAVE!!!!!!!!!!! WIN!

The gentleman next to us commented on the momentum shifting to the Avs after the two PPs in OT failed to do much of anything. My response was "What momentum?!" Most of the game was a strangling balance of no real momentum for either side. really it was 60minutes of nothing happening. Sure, there were a few good saves on both ends, some nice hits, and few penalties for both sides, and a lot of shots going 12 feet above the goalies and into the netting.

End result is two points which I would like to say is all that matters, but it would be nice to roll into the playoffs with a bit of a spark, no?

Your Mina Magic Number update for the evening:

For the West: 1

For the Presidents' Trophy: 2

This has been your Mina Magic Number update for the evening.

Sharks V Avs, Windy Silicon City Edition

Today at 5pm. Radio, TV, Tank. Assuming we don't all end up in OZ

The Avs picked a blustery day to roll in to town. If you see a witch riding her bike through a tornado, try not to look surprised. Wind won't affect the conditions inside the Tank however, as long as neither players nor fans get blown away on their way into the Tank. It's a distinct possibility. You could probably pull a Mary Poppins today if you were so inclined, but you might end up missing the game.

The Avs roll in mere hours after the Sharks blew (haha) Dallas out of the water with a 5-2 victory. The Avs are currently the worst team in the West with 64 points to their name. However, if the 'Yotes game taught us anything it's that facing a team with low standings don't necessarily mean an easy win. The Sharks will need to carry the momentum (and play) from last night's game over to make sure they stay on top and ahead of the Avs. They might not be playing for a playoff spot, but they will be playing for pride and a contract next year. Desperation comes in many forms. The Sharks will need to be on their toes on all game. Pedal to the metal, Sharks. Pedal to the metal.

Both Blake and Goc are expected to be out today.

Post Game Recap:

The first was...interesting. That 5 minute penalty and a game misconduct on Cheechoo was a little much. The hit definitely warranted a boarding call, no argument there, but 2-4 minutes seemed like all he'd get. As Drew and many others pointed out, injury often decides the penalty. And while the Avs player in question didn't return to the ice, I still don't think it was worth a misconduct. There was no obvious intent to injury by Cheechoo and the player who got his saw him coming and then chose to put himself in a terrible position. I'm not saying it's that guy's fault, I'm just saying I think the call was overkill. Especially when one keeps in mind that similar hits have been given lesser or no penalty at all. Consistency is apparently not the NHL's strong point.

Jaime Baker might have been right when he said one could spend half an hour if not more on this subject. But we're here to entertain, so we'll move on.

McGinn, who I have really fallen in like with got the Sharks first goal of the game, with some help from...Semenov! What? Yes!

Semenov was all over the place tonight, playing like a man determined. His assist on Michalek's goal was slick. Such a beautiful play. Such a beautiful goal. *Joy*

Seto finished off the Avs with an empty netter at the end of the third. Never mind that insurance goal if you can get it. It was 2-1 at the time and the Avs were threatening something crazy in the Sharks end. In fact, after a decently slow first full of Sharks PK, the Avs got some decent chances and looked quite deadly at times. They may be out of the playoffs, but they're not going to just sit back. It was nice to see that even with injuries and penalties taking a lot of guys out of the game, the Sharks were still able to play reasonably well. Was it the best game ever? No way, but they got the job done AND did it in regulation.

Nabby made some killer saves. he really kept the Sharks in the game when they were playing with a little less passion than they should have been.

Anyone catch the shaving cream pie in the face Roenick gave Semenov as he was doing a post game on ice interview? Hilarious!

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.

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