Measuring Stick #2: Detroit

The big story today seems to be the whole Todd McLellan vs. Mike Babcock sub-plot (I was going to do an Obi-Wan/Darth Vader Photoshop of the two with the "When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master," line but I ran out of time) but that whole thing doesn't really mean that much to me. I mean, these guys are professionals and they knew that some day this was probably going to happen.

My bigger focus is on seeing how the Sharks compare as a whole to the Wings. Like it or not, the god damn Red Wings have been the measuring stick for the league since the mid-90s (give or take a few seasons), and the emphasis is even higher now that they're defending champs. Holding Sidney Crosby and company to just a handful of shots showed that the Sharks were ready to put forth a strong defensive effort against an elite opponent, but I got the sense that the Penguins were off their game on Tuesday. I doubt I'm the only one who thought that the whole game was pretty darn boring.

So, what to expect tonight? The Sharks certainly are playing their own version of the Wings attack style, but I see San Jose as more based on speed and the Wings based more on passing/possession. The idea isn't to necessarily outshine Detroit at their own game; instead, it's all about bringing the necessary effort to make the Sharks' own system the superior one.

A few more random notes:

-Joe Thornton's groin injury seems more obvious with each game. He simply doesn't use his legs or lower body to protect the puck the way that he normally does, and assuming he didn't just revert into a craptacular player over the off-season, I'm assuming this is the lingering effects of his injury. Since I'm not a doctor (and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night), I don't know if this is one of those injuries where you can't rest it, you just have to work through it. I'm doubting that, though, since it seems like any sort of leg/abdomen injury would heal better with resting rather than playing at elite-level competition. Plus the team is scoring by committee right now, and I'd rather have 100% Thornton later than 75% Thornton for the bulk of the season (since these things linger forever).

-For all you King fans...um...well, I see what you were complaining about with Rob Blake. Those first two games kinda seem like an abberation now, don't they?

-The Sharks power play started using a slightly different look with one guy in the crease and another guy in the high slot. The strategy here seems to have the low guy providing a screen while the high player looks to deflect a shot in. Jonathan Cheechoo had a few dandy deflections against the Penguins and it's nice to get some refreshing special teams strategy after the Ron Wilson days.

San Jose Sharks vs Pittsburgh Penguins photos

Underwhelmed to put it mildly with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at the tank. Thornton and Marleau turned in a dominant performance defensively as well as offensively, and Marleau and Setoguchi were really exploding on the back check to chase down plays. More photos and notes from the game here. Detroit returns tonight.

This Concerns Me

(Said in my best Tim Gunn voice)

Many goals. Not so many games. That's not good.

While I still feel like there are a number of things to feel really good about with the Sharks, some of the more significant problems are coming to the forefront. Only one of them is a carryover from the Ron Wilson Sharks (which is kinda strange when you think about it considering the makeup of the team); fortunately, they're all kinks that can be worked on if both the coaches and the players are smart about it.

1) Penalty kill: Get the puck out of the zone. Please. Sweet jebus. Didn't we see this enough from Ron's Sharks, especially in the playoffs? Maybe Todd McLellan needs to have an entire practice session focused on effectively clearing the puck using the glass rather than dumping it right to the freakin' point man.

2) Odd-man breakdowns: Ok, I get that we're all trigger happy now with this active defense system. That's good stuff, but please, people, how about we take it one step at a time rather than have every blueliner on the team suddenly think they're Bobby Orr. I'm not sure if it's just bad luck (blocked shots kicking out for odd-man breakdowns), if the responsible forward isn't paying attention when a defenseman pinches in, or if the D aren't properly communicating out there. In any case, Nabby facing two-on-ones all the time isn't a good game plan.

3) Joe Thornton: Joe's "lower-body injury" from the preseason is a groin issue but we don't know how bad it might be -- or how much it's affecting his game. I'm guessing that having him play differently from his "Joe commands the half-boards" position takes some getting used to but I'm also guessing he doesn't have full strength in his legs to protect the puck like he can. If he's hurting, I'd sit him out in at least one of the two Florida (the state, not the team) games. You don't want those lingering groin injuries to carry forward into the season.

(Turning back on the Tim Gunn voice) Make it work, people!

On a different note, I got a sneak peak at what the scrapped BlackArmor (TM) third-jersey ideas are. They're posted over here at my Kukla blog.

Positivity!

Oh, wait! This team is only "mostly dead".
Wow. What a fucking game! Who would have guessed that I could attend a Ducks/Sharks game where Joe Thornton fought but Jody Shelley wouldn't? Great work by Steve Montador and Brad May in each instance.

Add in a Giguere shutout and a Pahlsson out-of-the-box breakaway goal (plus I didn't lose my wallet), and guess what I'm feeling? Some goddamn positivity!

Go Ducks.

Sharks vs Columbus Blue Jackets photos

Only had a few minutes in the third period to take photos, but here are a couple shots from the game. A few more notes and photos from Tuesday night are here.

Random Pacific Questions: Which Team Do You Hate Most?

It's kind of weird being a Kings' fan these days because we don't really have a rival right now. I guess the Kings' biggest rival is either AEG or one another. Still, that doesn't mean I don't hate other teams in the Pacific: there's the Ducks and Corey Perry, the Stars and their triple axis of tools (Morrow, Ott, Avery), and the Coyotes and Olli Jokinen's baby head. But I was watching the Sharks-Ducks game last night and I came away thinking 2 things: one, the Sharks looked pretty good, and two, I hate them more than I hate the Ducks. As someone who has hated the Ducks most since they came into the league, this shocked me.

I... don't like you?

I've always either ignored or privately admired the Sharks for their plucky can-do attitude, but this new incarnation sickens me. There are the obvious reasons: Rob Blake and Jeremy Roenick are dicks, Jonathan Cheechoo is a huge douche bag*, Milan Michalek is a little bitch, etc. but I think it goes deeper than that for me. I think the biggest difference can be seen in the trades for Joe Thornton and Brian Campbell. When Thornton arrived in San Jose the fans showered him with praise and gave him a safe haven from the constant haranguing he was getting from idiotic Boston fans. It was nice and everyone felt great for Joe, myself included. This last season when Brian Campbell arrived, the cheers were different; sure, they were loud and gregarious, but they seemed kind of pathetic, a desperate plea for Campbell to stay with the Sharks and lead them to a Cup. It was a weird change in attitude for the once lighthearted San Jose crowd and it made me uncomfortable. San Jose fans have gone from some of the best supportive fans in the league to... Boston fans. Fans that once cheered Joe Thornton's Hart Trophy now whined when Evgeni Nabokov rightfully lost the Vezina to Martin Brodeur. Fans that once gave Joe Thornton peace from a crazy fanbase are now doing the same thing to Patrick Marleau. It's weird.

*Cheechoo reminds me of the little guy playing pick-up basketball that talks trash while his partner (the 2-year starter at Vandy before his knee blew out 5 years ago) spends the entire game covering for the little guy's mistakes.

Raise your hand if you're a douche bag.

I think the past few post-season blunders ('05-06 standing front and center) have turned both the Sharks front office and their fans kind of insane. They so desperately want a Cup that they're sacrificing what made them fun in the first place to get it. They're not creating a system and then letting it create a Cup for them, they're throwing whatever they can at the wall in a desperate attempt to salvage Joe Thornton and Evgeni Nabokov's best years. It reminds me of the Lakers in '03 when they signed Gary Payton and Karl Malone. I'm a Lakers fan and even I hated that team. I'm not saying that's wrong or even stupid, but it makes them much less likable to an outsider's eyes. So good luck this season, San Jose, and I hope you find that championship that has eluded you; just know that you had to become less likable than the Anaheim Ducks to do it.

Not-So-Bold Sharks Predictions

Opening night is just around the corner and I find myself much more cautiously optimistic this season than last. Perhaps it's the coaching change or perhaps it's because last season felt like a genuine "lesson learned" type of thing that you have to fight through in order to achieve greatness (at least to me); whatever it is, my gut tells me that the inconsistencies and brain-fart moments won't be as commonplace for the Sharks this year.

That being said, here's my collection of random not-so-bold predictions about certain players. I like to think they're educated guesses, and if you're cautiously optimistic like me, you're probably predicting similar things.

Joe Thornton will break the 30-goal barrier. Hell, his coach already called him out on driving the net more and we've seen that he can score goals when Joe puts his mind to it. Also, he'll eclipse 90 assists again simply because he'll get more offensive help from the blueline on the power play. Joe's final point total: 32 goals, 94 assists.

Patrick Marleau will have a good year. I've said it several times here at BoC but I truly believe that Marleau turned a corner back in February. For those of you that missed the oft-repeated story, in a listless defeat against New Jersey, Marleau stood up in the locker room and told his teammates that he simply had to be better and that he should be held accountable. To me, that's the mark of a mature player and a leader and give Marleau credit for living up to it by playing with more consistent grit and fire than we'd ever seen. Patty's final point total: 35 goals, 50 assists.

Jonathan Cheechoo will rebound...somewhat. Coach Todd McLellan stated that the Cheechoo/Joe Pavelski/Milan Michalek line was his best during the preseason. Well, it's not because of Cheechoo and his whopping two assists in five games -- pretty bad for a noted goal scorer. Still, Cheech has shown before that he could score 25+ goals with a grinder like Mike Ricci as his center, and he's also been extremely streaky. With McLellan's emphasis on shooting and driving the net, I think Cheech will find his groove again and perform to the level that we saw late last year when he was finally healthy. Cheech's final point total: 40 goals, 23 assists.

Dan Boyle will be awesome...eventually. As much as I love Dan Boyle (I'm a super-fan from his Tampa Bay days), I'm guessing we won't see his true capabilities until about 10-15 games into the season when he gets really comfortable with his new teammates. He won't provide those crazy Brian Campbell spin-o-ramas but he'll still be the best defenseman the Sharks ever had. Boyle's final point total: 16 goals, 42 assists.

(Short aside: Want to know how to irritate Dan Boyle? Find a bunch of his old superhero-themed bobbleheads from Tampa Bay and send them to him. At the Teal & White game, I brought my bobblehead for him to sign, thinking I'd be the only fan with a cool rare piece of memorabilia. When I handed it to him, he grimaced and said, "Oh god. Those things were awful. I hated them." Whoops.)

Ryane Clowe will be ok but not great. There's a lot of media hype about Clowe since he had a relatively strong playoff and his numbers were decent in the games that he actually played. Still, we've never seen a full season from Clowe and I haven't seen anything to make me think he'll be the second coming of John Leclair. Instead, I see Clowe as more a poor man's Ryan Malone: a gritty, in-your-face winger who can score during critical times. Clowe's final point total: 17 goals, 24 assists.

Rob Blake will be good for his age. I don't think anyone's expecting 1998 Rob Blake to be showing up here. If he's reasonable defensively, provides some physical player and locker room leadership, and helps out on the power play, that's all we can ask of the guy. He's overpaid but it's a one-year deal, so there aren't any real long-term consequences. Blake's a Stanley Cup mercenary and that's fine by me. Blake's final point total: 12 goals, 30 assists.

Christian Ehrhoff will finally get it. Ehrhoff's got all the components to be a great two-way defenseman -- fast skater, big shot, improving defensive sensibilities. He's just never put it together consistently. Last year, assistant coach Rob Zettler told Ehrhoff to focus on the defensive side of his game and it worked; as the season went on, Ehrhoff became increasingly reliable in all situations. His monster shot, however, remained wildly inaccurate and if he could have just gotten some more of those on net, the power play might have been different. This season, my gut tells me that both Blake and Boyle will help Ehrhoff fine-tune his game so that he can be a complete player. Ehrhoff's final point total: 14 goals, 28 assists.

As for how the team will do in the end, I'm not going to make any prognostications because so many things rely on unpredictable factors such as injuries and breakout rookies. I will say this, though: I get the feeling that unlike last season, I won't be embarrassed by the team's wildly inconsistent and head-scratching play. I know, that's not exactly the most telling of statements but if you've been through the ups and downs of the last two Ron Wilson seasons, you'll recognize that that's a significant step forward.

Photos of informal Sharks scrimmage in San Jose

Here are a few photos from the informal Captain's Ice scrimmages players are holding to gear up for the official start of training camp on Saturday, September 20th. A few more photos are posted here.

Sharks All-Time Players: Mike's Take, Part 1

Gee, that subject is kinda grand in a Star Wars: Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back kind of way.

I'm taking RudyKelly's challenge of coming up with a "Best Of" team (plus, there's not much to talk about right now and my own blog and business are waiting for server repair). I'm doing something slightly different, mostly because so many Sharks players have had up-and-down seasons, so I'm going to pick a single season to represent each player.

Also, you'll notice that the centers and right wings far outweigh the left wings. There really haven't been too many spectacular left wings in Sharks history (Ray Whitney became a great player after the Sharks dumped him). Perhaps Milan Michalek can change that some day.

1st Line:
C-Joe Thornton 05-06
MVP, league's leading scorer, and catalyst for turning a stuck-in-neutral San Jose Sharks into a league powerhouse, Joe Thornton will probably go down in history as one of, if not the most talented forward in Sharks history. From day one, Thornton was an absolute monster, and his first season in teal provided so many memorable "holy crap" moments -- from his booming slapshot off the post in his first shift in Buffalo to his total undressing of Washington's defense and Olaf Kolzig -- that the memory of Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, and Wayne Primeau faded pretty darn fast.

RW-Jonathan Cheechoo 05-06
In 2005-06, you couldn't tab Thornton without mentioning Cheechoo. As Thornton's triggerman, a fully healthy Cheechoo (something that hasn't happened much over the past two seasons) fired off so many spot-on one-timers fed from Thornton that an early goal had you thinking, "Maybe he'll get another hat trick." But Cheechoo wasn't a one-trick pony that year; while groin issues have prevented Cheechoo from being able to be as scrappy as he could be, a good chunk of his goals in 05-06 came from being persistent all around the net for rebounds, second chances, and "hit it till the damn thing goes in" goals.

LW-Jeff Friesen 97-98
Ten years ago, Friesen was the projected franchise and future captain; seemingly on the upswing, Friesen broke 30 goals for the only time in his career. In that season, Friesen used his speed, hands, and wrist shot to become the Sharks' most dangerous weapon. He'll never recapture that, but we'll always have our memories of #39 speeding down the wing past opposing defenders.

By the way, did you hear Freeze is back in San Jose on a tryout?

2nd Line:
C-Patrick Marleau 05-06
While Marleau became captain and the go-to guy in 03-04, it wasn't until after the lockout when Marleau put it all together. Before the Thornton trade, Marleau was seemingly the only Sharks player that was effective that season; after the Thornton trade, Marleau became even more deadly with defensive pressure split between the two centers. while Thornton had Cheechoo on his wing, Marleau wound up with rookies Milan Michalek and Steve Bernier -- and even then, he propelled them to one of the best lines in the Western Conference that season.

RW-Owen Nolan 99-00
By the time 2000 rolled around, Owen Nolan was a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate. While ultimately potting 44 goals, Nolan was a force in all aspects -- special teams, hitting hard along the boards, and scoring goals through sheer force of will. That year, Nolan finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting and solidified Darryl Sutter's hunch in making him the captain.

LW-Milan Michalek 06-07
Michalek's sophomore campaign had him working up to star-player status, notching 26 goals and 40 assists, mostly on a line with Joe Thornton. This, much more so than in his rookie year, showed Sharks fans how devastating Michalek's speed could be. In fact, even on a team with Patrick Marleau, Michalek's bursts up the wing made him appear to be the fastest player on the team.

To be continued... (though PJ and Cheechew are welcome to make up their own list).

This Is It

Alright, man. You've had all the regular season success, the praise, the accolades. Now it's time to buck up and show your worth when the stakes are higher. Put your team on your back and control this game. You're the inspirational leader to this team. You're the one who decides whether or not you win this game. Now, I know you've got a history of coming up short in the post-season, but I believe you can come through in this game. The people need you to be great, they want you to be great, but they need you to give them a reason to anoint you. Likewise, some want you to fail so they can label you soft or a choker, but you can shut them up forever today. You ultimately write your own story, Kevin Garnett; what's it going to be?

(Who'd you think I was talking about?)

We Just Did This

Guess how I feel about this article.

Summoning the power of AquaJoe

Sleek, now that the Sharks sit at the same point the Ducks did after two games with the Stars, how did you cope with the disappointment?

Simple. Just think about last year's cup. That eases the pain.

Seriously, though, I don't know myself what to make of these Sharks; I'm as stunned as anybody that the same things that plagued the Ducks (inability to kill power plays or crappy play when trailing) seem to have afflicted the Sharks too. San Jose has definitely played better than Anaheim through two (they've led in each game), but that's hollow -- at the end of two they're still in the same hole.

Now the Ducks did take game three by scoring on four of their first eight shots, but that seems like an unrepeatable feat, especially against a Stars squad that will be determined not to make the same mistakes again. Still, if the Sharks want to advance they'll need to win four of five, and that means it's time for Jumbo Joe to summon his Aquaman powers and wordlessly command these Sharks.

Or something like that. He'll need to outshine the trio of Stars centers (Ribiero, Modano, and Richards), and force the Stars to refocus their game on his shifts. If he can do that, then I think the rest of the Sharks forwards benefit and this can become a series again. Here's the simple key: offense. The Ducks managed two wins by putting four pucks past Turco; when the number is two or less goals-against and the Stars have won six times.

One way or another, we'll probably be talking about Joe Thornton tomorrow. If it's in a glowing light, then maybe the Sharks have a chance. If not, well, the unfortunate "choker" labeling will continue, and die-hard Shark fans will have a fairly sleepless summer.

There's just no honor online

It'd be nice to have a Stars-Sharks preview up, but I got off work at 10 p.m. and am unable to put together a steady stream of thoughts (so instead I'll direct my energy to things I don't need to think about: Joe Thornton and NHL 08).

For the record, I'm half-drunk.

Now that we have that out of the way, a few things I need to say:

• After spending a week or so on X-Box Live with NHL '08 I have a lot of complaints, but let me keep it simple. I'm a Pittsburgh Penguins fan at heart, but seriously, there are just under 30 teams in the NHL. Does every fucking person have to use the Penguins? Seriously. It's getting fucking old. *That being said, playing online is the video game version of discovering fire. So, really, this is a minor complaint.*
  

• Of all the things I've ever posted on the BoC, calling Joe Thornton an underachiever is easily the last thing I ever thought would be received with ridicule/hatred. Especially since the same people who threw a shitfit over this flippant comment are the same people who make fun of Marty Turco for imploding in the playoffs after he posted three shutouts in a single series.
  

According to NHL.com, Joe Thornton managed a totally respectable and in no way questionable 45 points in 64 career playoff games with a -11. In other words, you can fill at least three 7-game series with the games where he didn't score a single point. Not to mention the fact that he barely ever hits anyone anymore, even though he's fucking huge. Do those stats deny the fact that he's great? No, but it sure doesn't fucking say he's awesome (in the playoffs, at least).

Still, it's pretty unfair to place such unreasonable expectations on a Hart Trophy winner who is paid more than $7 million per year.

Whatever.

• Oddly enough, the interesting thing about the Stars-Sharks series is that I can't see Dallas shutting Big Bird down. Expect at least some sort of preview tomorrow, although a fuller, thicker version might have to wait until the weekend...
  

Sharks-Flames Game 7 photos

Here are a few photos from the Sharks 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames in game 7 for Battle of California, a few more are up here.

First photo is fourth line center Marcel Goc skating out of the Sharks head pre-game. It was his first start of the series, and he played very well. 4-for-5 on faceoffs, 7:04 of ice time, head coach Ron Wilson complimented the line after the game for bringing much needed energy on several shifts. Second photo Nabokov, Flames only put 22 shots on goal in game 7. Third photo is Jeremy Roenick's power play goal. He followed his initial shot and then hammered home a rebound up high on a sharp angle. Fourth photo, not very sharp but noticed that every player was using the same stick. Fifth photo you can see Joe Thornton celebrating his first period goal. In the front row is local radio host Ralph Barbieri celebrating with his Shark-hat wearing son.

The Difference Between Us

You know how you guys felt all today? That's how I feel all the time.

Seriously, fuck you guys.

Also, Joe Thornton having a goal and an assist tonight doesn't prove that he's not clutch. It proves what he's proven in over 700 games; he's a really good hockey player.

Sharks Gameday: Joe Thornton= Alex Rodriguez

SJ Sharks @ Calgary Flames

7 PM PST

Calgary leads, 2-1

The biggest crime a player can commit is to not care. Guy gets a DUI? Beats his wife? Gets in a bar fight? That's okay with fans as long as he yells, "Fuck!" when the other team scores a goal. It shows he cares. Guys like Joe Thornton or Alex Rodriguez, who have pretty much the same look on their face no matter what? They are lazy, or cowards, or just indifferent to their sport in general. It doesn't matter how many assists they compile or how many home runs they hit, they'll never be fully accepted into the Pantheon of Sports Gods. It doesn't even have to be great players: people seriously wanted Ladislav Nagy (26 points in 38 games) benched for John Zeiler (1 point in 36 games) because Zeiler "looked like he cared out there."

Joe Thornton scored 96 points this season while the next highest Shark amounted 55 points. He was the 2nd biggest reason (besides Nabokov) the Sharks secured the 2nd seed in the Western Conference. Then the Sharks played 3 games and lost 2, obviously because of a fatal flaw in Thornton's character. Nevermind the fact that Milan Michalek has yet to tally a point and Johnathan Cheechoo has 1 assist. Nevermind that Brian Campbell has played his worst hockey since joining the Sharks and Evgeni Nabokov has looked surprisingly normal. Nope, the real problem is the guy averaging a point a game while the opposing team is gearing their entire system around him. Yep, let's blame that guy.



In contrast, look at Jason Arnott. He's the captain of the Nashville Predators as well as their leading scorer. He was pointless until last night (when he scored a goal), but he has yet to receive any real criticism. Why? Because he does things like curse out loud and break his stick and (when he finally scored) jump into the glass and twist his ankle. Oh, and he wasn't drafted first overall so he didn't have unreasonable expectations placed on him. (He was drafted 7th overall, by the way.)

Joe, if you're reading this (and I can't imagine why you wouldn't be), let me give you some advice: try to break your stick tonight. Wait until you make a beautiful pass and Cheechoo mucks it up and just slam your stick into the ice. You don't have to change the way you play* or give some big dramatic speech to your teammates or anything like that; all you have to do is break your stick. You can do what you have been doing (you know, creating goals) but all you're going to hear is how you couldn't carry your team on your back when the game was on the line. And honestly, I bet that's really fucking annoying.

Prediction: Sharks win, 4-1. Thornton assists on all 4 goals and is criticized for passing off responsibility.

*Also, a common criticism I've heard about Joe is that he's not shooting enough. You know why he doesn't shoot, right? Because his shot sucks. I'm pretty sure Marty Turco has a better shot than Joe Thornton. His goals are set up because the goaltender is expecting him to pass. He's like Steve Nash in a way: you take away his passing lanes and make him beat you himself. It's effective because the goalie knows he can't pass and can concentrate on his shot, making him incredibly unlikely to score. That's why he doesn't shoot.

Popcorn chicken sized hockey thoughts

• I have surprisingly little to say about the Stars-Ducks series so far. Part of that, naturally, is because I am in the same “completely missed game 1” boat as Sleek.

But I think it’s based mainly on the fact that my mind cannot compute what’s happening.

It is sort of like when you have a girlfriend everyone hates, but for once she’s smiling and cracking jokes and not being a femme Godzilla. And it’s sort of nice…but you keep waiting for the inevitable blowup to happen.

Honestly, the Ducks’ second period comeback seemed like a “glaring at your friend for making a harmless joke” type moment. Until, somehow, the Stars just destroyed the Ducks in the third period. With all due respect to the Ambassador of Fun and Friends, I didn't see this coming.

• The worst thing for the Ducks might be that the Stars are the last team in the league to sit on a 2 game lead. Brendan Morrow might take a human life if they don’t win a playoff series this year.

• With all the success Mike Ribeiro is having so far, it has to make Joe Thornton look even worse. It seems like playoff softees are shedding that label one-by-one each year (first it was Alf in Ottawa now Ribeiro) but yet Thornton underachieves again and again.

• Patrick Marleau is redeeming himself with some solid play this year, but I think he scores more cool points simply for bleeding profusely twice in the same game. It brought me to a question for atypical stat heads: what’s the (un)official record for a player who bled the most times in one game?
  

(Please, no Cammi Granato jokes.)

• That being said, the Sharks have to blow this thing up if they lose in the first round. Both of their losses are real groin kicks. Then again, they've done everything the hard way this year...
  

• Should Elisha Cuthbert be embarrassed because she slept with Sean Avery? Tagging her would be an outstanding revenge plot for Brodeur (we might have to convince him that Cuthbert’s his sister in law, though).

I’m trying to think of the best analogy for the Brodeur – Avery feud and the first thing that pops into my head is Seinfeld vs. Newman. (Avery, obviously, is Newman).

• My first '08 playoffs submission to the Single Period of Hockey I’d Show to Someone to Prove the Sport’s Superiority would probably be the third period of game two in the Wild – Avs series. Just beautiful, hyper speed high octane playoff hockey. If that didn't impress you, you’re a waste of carbon.

Game 2 post-game photos

A few locker room photos after the Sharks 2-0 win over the Calgary Flames to even up the WCQF series. The media coverage in San Jose has increased ten-fold with the influx of Canadian Press, and the number of local television stations sending camera crews to the tank. They came in two waves, with the local media and television crew getting their questions and footage first, followed by the Canadian press after their time in the Calgary locker room.

Evgeni Nabokov mentioned that the Sharks needed a big win because they could not head to Calgary down 2-0, it would put a serious hurdle in front of them against a very good team. In the post-game press conference, long time SJ Mercury News opinion columnist Mark Purdy asked San Jose Sharks head coach Ron Wilson if he ever has to say anything to Nabokov before a game. Wilson said no, Nabokov is the expert on goaltending. With a few minor exceptions, he self motivates and battles hard from start to finish (as seen in the skills competion and 2nd shutout period of the ASG).

Joe Thornton noted the Sharks intensity from the drop of the puck, something that did not happen in game 1. The Sharks still looked tentative with the puck at times, even with 7 second period penalties by Calgary, but overall they moved the puck well out of their own zone. The addition of Matt Carle in place of Alexei Semenov, and a hard charging Brian Campbell initiated the offense and contributed to the Sharks dominating time of possession with the puck. After the game when asked about a physical checking series, Ron Wilson said you can not hit someone when you have the puck. The more you have puck possession, the less hits a team will register.

Joe Pavelski's line, with Patrick Marleau and Ryane Clowe, did the bulk of the damage for San Jose. Pavelski opened the scoring with a critical second period goal, the Sharks were 38-13 in the regular season when scoring first. Pavelski also mentioned that he wanted to take full advantage of postseason opportunities given to him after he was a scratch for several playoff games last year.

Sharks vs Edmonton Oilers photos

Here are a few photos from the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 OT shootout win over the Sharks on Sunday, sorry for the poles in one photo but I thought it would be a different look at the shootout. More photos here.

Had a long discussion with an usher about Dwayne Roloson's style of play in the first period vs his play against the Sharks in the playoffs, and about Edmonton's chances of leapfrogging Phoenix, Nashville and Vancouver. We were directly behind Matheiu Garon, who was banished to the island where visiting goaltenders watch the game. I should have added that the Kings failure to sign Garon was a Pacific Division mistake second only to Anaheim's early Christmas present to Phoenix in Ilya Bryzgalomite.

The Sharks first period against Edmonton was an impressive one, 19 shots on goal and several quality scoring chances. The second period I was at ice level and San Jose came out flying. Within a minute there was a pile of bodies around the Edmonton crease, and an Oiler defenseman tried to push the net off its moorings to regain their composure. The power play unit of Marleau-Thornton-Cheechoo-Campbell-Pavelski could possibly be the best 5-man unit the Sharks have ever iced. Quick, hard passes down low by the forwards, and great puck movement up top by the defenseman created a lot of room for players to get open, but there were not enough point shots on net. More point shots will create more rebounds and more havoc, and the Sharks will start putting up the power play numbers again.

The Edmonton penalty kill was a force in the third period. Three horrible penalties taken in the latter half of the period, a tripping call on Gilbert, a hooking call on Stoll, and a delay of game call on Roloson. A determined effort from a very quick Edmonton penalty kill unit deserves credit for keeping the Sharks off the board. Roloson stoned Joe Thornton on a 2-on-0 in overtime, and then quickly hugged the post to shut down a hard shot from Brian Campbell, who tossed his stick after the play.

Fernando Pisani scored the decisive shootout goal for the Oilers, he froze Nabokov on his forehand, and then took it backhand and lifted it over Nabokov's stick 5-hole. The Edmonton Oilers announcers called the move before he took the shot. Graphic on Versus said that the Oilers are 15-3 in the shootout this year. Tale of tape on this game is about as close as it gets, both teams were only able to score on 5-on-3 power plays, and 3 rounds of the shootout were not enough to decide a winner.

The 11-game winning streak is over for the Sharks, but the points streak is alive and well at 12 games. Prediction tomorrow against Los Angeles: Sharks general manager announces the surprise signing of 68-year old former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka Tuesday morning, and the Ditka-Sharks shut out the Kings 24-0.