My Internet Hockey Boyfriend

(Apologies to my actual boyfriend who is on the internet but not into hockey. Also Steve Dangle has no idea who I am. I just admire from a far. He's a little young for me.)

Have you seen Leafs Fan Reaction lately? You really should. No, seriously. Go now. I'll wait...

Isn't he fantastic? OK maybe I find him funnier than most other people, but I find him both smart about hockey and able to make fun of his team while still showing the love. Below are some of my favorite videos to give you a taste.

Greatest Hits
Getting Brodeur'd - Some of my favorite bits are the ones involving the player figurines. Nothing beats Brodeur. "Blocker side? More like NO GOAL SIDE!!"
Sundin's Hamlet - Just watch. Shakespeare + hockey = Win
Nuh nuh....nuh nuh nuh nuh.... - I'm biased. I love having seen the Sharks beat the Leafs twice in the last 2 seasons. But I also love watching the carnivorous Joe Thornton card.

There are more, but it's late and I should sleep. I suppose he's easier to like cause I don't often care about the Leafs and the Sharks only face them once a year. Give the kid a chance and at least you'll have a good chance of being amused.

Shark V Oilers

see what we did there?

7:30pm tonight, Radio, CSN+, Tank, or interwebs. (Our friends at Fear the Fin usually have the link)

Post Game:

Sharks lose 3-2 in OT. I'm not doing much of a recap for this one as I was either out or working for most of the game.

Roloson was the deciding factor in this game. He kept his team in it and helped them get the win. Shades of Ellis keeping the Preds to win in OT in it a few weeks back. The Sharks win streak ends at nine, but they have still yet to lose at home in regulation.

Sharks V Blue Jackets

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

We'll be there.

Post Game:

Let's get straight to the point, shall we? The team that deserved to win tonight was Columbus. The team that won, however, was the Sharks. 3-2. This despite being out shot, outplayed and outworked in all areas, except maybe in goal where Nabokov stole the show. Don't get me wrong here, Mason was solid in net all night and should have had a star (in my opinion and Mina's, anyway) But seriously, watch the highlight reel. Nabby=Gold. He kept the game from being a blow out in Columbus' favor.

The Sharks looked slow, tired and downright crappy for the first. I could go into detail but basically, they played like crap and it showed. Also, lots of sticks broke.
Columbus took the lead into the dressing room at the end of the first thanks to a goal by Nash. Screen city. Sharks fans began to worry.

The second was better, but not until about half way through. The Sharks started to finally get some life and started connecting. Still lots of weird bounces, breaking sticks and just bad playing from the Sharks. Somehow, the Sharks, despite their best efforts through two periods, managed NOT to shoot themselves in the foot and tied the game on the power play. Sharks fans felt slightly better.

That better feeling rebounded to joyful proportions when, 44 seconds into the third, on the power play, the Sharks took the lead. Not only that, but it was JR goal. O frabjous day! Joyfulness was short lived as Columbus tied it back up about 3 minutes later. Tensions mounted. The guys near by us started to boo. We're not sure, but they seemed to be booing Ehrhoff. Why? We have no idea. They were Sharks fans, but apparently they were a little more disgruntled than the rest of our section. They became more incensed when the Sharks got a 5 on 3 and failed to do much of anything. Columbus did a good gob of being in the way.

Things had started picking up for the Sharks in the third, passes were connecting, things were happening, less craptasticness overall. The boo birds were still busy, but thankfully, somehow, Joe Thornton batted in a goal and gave the Sharks the lead. Callooh! Callay!
It was a lead they'd hold, despite some scary good chances by Columbus. Sharks fans rejoice.

Tonight's win gives the Sharks 45 points in 26 games. We're trying really hard not to get too excited by that record. There's obviously still work to be done.

Miscellanous:

Adversity, Dan Rusanowsky, they had it.

Ryane Clowe owes me a goal.

I, Gray, coined the term "Ehrhoffian" tonight.

Empty nets seem to have a magic force field that turns on only when Marleau shoots a puck at them.

Sharks promotions folks saw fit to sling shirts with this ridiculous image on them into the crowd. Unflattering doesn't cover it.

Tonight's win gives the Sharks 45 points in 26 games. We're trying really hard not to get too excited by that record. There's obviously still work to be done.

And remember...

And Now, A PSA From Devin Setoguchi*

*Ok, so it's not really from him. But, vote Seto anyway.

Post Toronto Mini Facts

Last night was Joe Thornton's third anniversary as a Shark. He celebrated by getting a goal and three assists. Not a bad way to party.

Douglas Murray, aka that brick wall people keep trying to knock over and end up bouncing off of, is also celebrating three years in teal.

There was a tribute to RW and crew last night on the jumbo-tron. RW claims to have missed it. They didn't show it on TV, so we missed it too.

Sean Avery, Drama Llama

Sean Avery runs mouth, gets suspended

Awesome Drama Llama idea cannot be attributed to me, alas! Too good to pass up though.

Way to show a serious lack of respect and class for yourself, the game and your fellow players. Not to mention your ex. It's a stupid and entirely avoidable reason for getting suspended. Say something on the ice if you have to, but keep it about the game, not life off the ice. Or, keep it clean on camera. Don't be stupid.

I'm not sure what he said was worth a suspension. A fine, for sure. I figure the suspension is Bettman covering himself. You could make an argument for him trying to make the league look good too, by letting guys know not to run their mouths. You could also make the argument that he did it to protect Avery from on ice retaliation, though, I'm pretty sure Avery would have welcomed it. Talking is what he does. So, maybe not. Who he is likely played a roll in the decision to suspend.

I usually find Avery's antics mildly amusing, if only because, as one of Mina's friends said, it's impressive to watch a guy who really doesn't care. Even here, I laughed when I saw the headline. Avery, suspended. Not a surprise. Still, I think it lacks class. I'm not saying guys can't say how they feel, or take digs at other players, but talking about someone else's love life on camera is a bit too whatever for me.

Sharks v Leafs

I tried to capture RW in his natural state: exasperation.

These two aren't facing each other for a reason. I don't think we need to rehash the communication problems RW and Marleau, (arguable RW and the entire Sharks team), appeared to be having last season. The story line of tonight's game will be whether or not Ron Wilson's Leafs can defeat Todd McLellan's Sharks. Or, if you prefer, can Todd McLellan's Sharks defeat Ron Wilson's Leafs.

Who has to more effective style? Can the Sharks play against a version of themselves from past seasons? Nabby vs Toskala. Toronto media vs whatever the outcome is. RW vs Toronto media. It's a night of battles, and the most colorful will likely take place off the ice. Tune in because it should be a good game. You can read about the media frenzy tomorrow.

I wish I had tickets.

7:30 pm, Tank, TV, radio, and potentially here too.

---

Shameless self promotion again. I still have shark covered holiday cards , and other assorted items of awesome for sale. If you think the economy is tough right now, try running a business in it.
Again, these are my own creations and not in any way related to the San Jose Sharks.

---

Post Game:
Sharks Win! 5-2

Four of those five goals were scored in the first. Early pizza night in the Tank. Om nom nom

Sharks goals by: Seto, Joe, Boyle, Vlasic (PPG), Joe Pa (SHG)
Leafs goals by: Kulemin & Hagman

Killer first. Not so good second. Decent third. Good game overall.

Vesa, I <3 you, I do, but, I wanted to see the Sharks win. Sorry.

I really wanted Armstrong to get his first NHL goal. So did Armstrong. It almost worked out too. He managed to get on the score sheet, but it was a 2 min. penalty for hooking. Next time, Riley!

The Sharks tied the NHL record for points through the first 25 games with 43. If you didn't watch them game, then you didn't hear how they mentioned that possibility over and over and over.

Mina lets us know that last season, it took until Dec. 26th for the Sharks to hit 43 points.

The Sharls are also the only remaining team to not have a home loss in regulation this season. I'd like that to continue on Thursday, when I am at the game. Just saying.

Ron Wilson travels with his own Leafs background for press stuff. Awesome.