Hard to Be Patient

So I watched the Detroit game this morning, and (thanks to Center Ice) the Columbus game this afternoon. Both were disappointing, and for different reasons.

The Detroit game was a bummer mostly because it's clear that Detroit is much better than the Sharks right now. Their breakout is crisper, the cycle steadier, and the scoring chances quicker. They spring a winger almost every single breakout, always with enough speed and skill to make a play even on an able defenseman. The Sharks played ok in the first two periods- the first two goals were off the post- but both goals came on bad turnovers, now officially an epidemic. Then the third the Wings opened it up and made the Sharks look stupid.

The Columbus game was even worse, because the Sharks played listlessly and sloppily the entire time. They took a lot of penalties (and probably should have gotten more called), had very few long possessions, and again committed idiotic turnovers in their own zone. They had every excuse in the world to lose- back to back away games less than 24 hours apart, against a solid home team. But excuses don't fly at the highest level of sports.

It's so hard not to be impatient at times like this, and start calling for the coach's head, for top players to be benched or traded away. Especially since the illness is one of effort and work ethic and not of talent. It's hard not to think that Ron Wilson is no longer getting through. The fact that he still juggles the lines continuously, once seemingly the work of an eccentric hockey genius, now seems pointless and desperate.

I grit my teeth and try to remember that other than the Devils, no team in the NHL has played fewer home games up to this point. Still, we don't have a homestand longer than two games until late November. I hope the Sharks can find a way to staunch the bleeding by then, or they'll have to work their way out of a big hole come the new year.

Statement Game

DETROIT @ SAN JOSE - Tomorrow Night!!
This game has been circled on the Sharks schedule from the beginning of training camp. Red Wings. At the Tank. This is the Sharks chance to show their fans, the Red Wings and the rest of the NHL that they haven't forgotten their Round Two collapse and that the 2007-08 Sharks are going to be different. The Killer Instinct. The chance to flex their muscles and bury the dreaded Dead Things on home ice.

I'm predicting a big Sharks win tomorrow night. The emotion of the opening night that never was on Saturday. That disappointment will be long forgotten with a strong showing against Detroit. This is the first Statement Game of the young season.

Prediction:
Sharks 5 Red Wings 2