F You Ducks, and Thank You Stars

Although all the mystery was gone, the Ducks tried to do it up nice, and announced Scott Niedermayer is coming back. I was shocked. Shocked! The real question is, how long has this been planned? I wouldn't doubt this was the whole idea back before the season started. The Ducks save a bit on salary, Scott gets to miss some of the drudgery of the regular season, and they get to stage a nice dog and pony show once the Ducks struggle a bit. Amazingly, Nieds will be back just in time for the week when they play the Sharks three times. How about that.

In the meantime, the Sharks again housed the Stars in big D and won 3-2. Funny how we're 3-1 against the Stars, the division leader, but 1-2 against the Kings, the division goat. I refrained from writing a game recap post after the Colorado game, mostly because I was lazy, but also because I was pretty frustrated with the Sharks play in the second half of the game. I thought I was seeing things, because I saw quotes from Ron Wilson in the paper the next day about how the Sharks played better, and did a good job late. I couldn't disagree more.

The Sharks went into a shell once they gained the lead in the Avalanche game, and didn't come out for 30 minutes. They'd chip it out to center, barely forecheck, and wait for the Avs to gain the zone, where they would push them to the outside, and chip to center again after 45 seconds or so of nail-biting. They didn't even try generate scoring chances. Maybe that's the kind of hockey you're supposed to play on the road, but I thought the Sharks were playing with fire. They were leaving counterattack chances on the table, and giving Hejduk, Stasny, and company way to much time to create.

The opposite happened tonight with the Stars. The Sharks had a 2-1 lead going into the third period, and before the ink was dry from the columnists making notes on Modano's game-tying goal, the Sharks were skating hard again. I didn't even have time to bitch and complain about the Sharks playing for the tie. They drew penalties, kept the Stars deep, and Joe scored on a pretty Michalek feed to put the Sharks up 3-2. I braced myself again for the prevent defense, and I didn't see it. Instead of letting Zubov jump into the play, the Sharks pressed the pace, keeping the Stars' D honest. More scoring chances followed, and the Sharks won 3-2 going away.

Joe has now scored or assisted on 137% of the Sharks goals this season, his GAA is 1.02, his save percentage .989, and his plus-minus requires exponents. He's the early leader for the Hart, Vezina, Ross, Masterson, Calder, and Heisman trophies. I mean seriously, is there anything this crazy bastard can't do?

A Little Something Extra

There was a little extra spring in the Sharks' step last night en route to their win against Colorado. Joe again was "The Man"™ in scoring two goals and assisting on the third. I actually thought at first that the third goal went in off the defenseman's skate and not Grier's, which would have given Joe the hat trick.

It would be easy to launch into a lament here about the lack of secondary scoring and so on, but there were several encouraging things about the Sharks play last night:

• They actually carried the puck into the offensive zone most of the time on the power play. And pretty much every time they did that, they maintained control and set up. Imagine!
• Like the game against the Kings, they weren't afraid to stand in front of the net. Colorado's biggest defenseman is now Scott Hannan, who isn't quite big enough to bang with some of the bodies we got.
  
• Save the 30 seconds at the end of the second period where Colorado scored that power play goal, I'd say the Sharks played a complete game. Rarely were they pinned in their end, and they were able to keep the puck low and give the Avs fits by maintaining possession behind the net and in the corners.

Always great to see stuff like that, but the inevitable question is, can they keep it up? That's a question that won't be answered until Monday against the Avs or Wednesday against the Stars.

I did attend the "Ice Insights" thing last night at the Tank, open to season ticket holders. The four broadcasters for the Sharks fielded questions from the angry mob. And they did seem angry. Stuff like "why the F is Wilson juggling the lines so much", "who should be benched", and "who should be traded". The most interesting answer of the night was when Drew said the three players he would bench were Patty (no surprise), Cheech (<yawn>), and Mike Grier (hey now!). He didn't have time to elaborate on that, but it was surprising. I'm hoping our Grier might do a Real Grier Breakdown.

CALM DOWN EVERYONE!

Everyone needs to relax. Take a deep breath and calm down. Yes, the Sharks did lay a giant turd last night in Colorado. Yes, it was troubling to see them get outworked and not use their superior size, familiar criticism that plagued this team last year, but don't we all have bad days? Haven't you ever spilled coffee on your crotch, got a speeding ticket and stepped in shit while failing to clear the puck on a 5 on 3 power play. This was the Sharks day yesterday. You bounce back...and they will.

Here is the key - how will the Sharks respond in Chicago? I predict they will come out with a chip on their shoulder and a spring in their step. This team is eager to prove they are not the same club that folded last year in the face of adversity. When the Sharks win on Wednesday, they are coming home with five points on a difficult four game season opening road trip. A 2-1-1 record.

So, let's calm down everyone and wait for Chicago. The boys will respond. The top line might get broken up. Setoguchi might see his first action of the season. Patzold may even get the call in the pipes, but a win is coming.

This Made My Year

After the gigantic steaming turd the Sharks laid last night in Colorado, I needed something to cheer me up. Winning my hockey game last night was helpful, but not nearly on the same scale as this.

24/7 hockey on TV? I think I need to change my shorts.