Better

The Sharks returned to a modicum of respectability last night in winning 3-2. It was an all around better effort than Tuesday. Has anyone else noticed that Milan Michalek is jumping again? It seemed like he had made several power moves in the last few games, after being invisible for the better part of two months. If we can get that second line humming (hopefully Joe Pavelski will be back soon) we will be a lot more dangerous. Marleau playing with Joe makes the #1 more potent, but certainly answers the question as to which line the top D should play against. I think Pronger/Niedermayer were on the ice for every one of Patty's shifts.

Also, I should mention that even though the Sharks are 2-3 against this Ducks this year, they've been outscored 22-13. All the Sharks' victories have been close, and two of the Ducks' victories have been blowouts, amongst the worst the Sharks have had this season.

I must say, the circumstances of the next Ducks matchup don't exactly bode well for the Sharks. It's the first home game after a long road trip. The Sharks are 2-2 after road trips of 3 games and longer. And the Philly win shouldn't really count. I wish I had the data to easily crunch W/L records after long road trips, but I don't feel like poring over the schedules of all 30 teams by hand.