Holy balls! Can you believe we're at game 40 already?! Much like the year, the first half of the season went fast.

We've mixed it up a little today and instead of a preview, we have the results of a fantastic Q&A session with the Miz over at Fight for Old D.C., Bloguin's one stop shops for your D.C. sports news of choice. You will find our responses by clicking either of the two links above.

So, without further ado....The Miz.

Your intrepid traveler returns from the land of sun and strip clubs (no, not Vegas), to bring you this gameday from the warm confines of her California based couch. It's a good thing the Sharks aren't flying anywhere today because the airports are nuts.

Where was I?

I was here! That picture comes courtesy of a vacation rental place, as my photos have yet to be downloaded.

Back to the pre game!

After a rousing 5-2 defeat of the Ducks, and a rather fantastic game against Chicago that saw the Sharks win 3-2, why am I still worried about Phoenix? Quite simply because they always give us trouble. And this season in particular they seem to be completely puzzling to the Sharks. The first game against them saw us lose 1-0 in the shoot out. The second game against them seemed to be heading in a similar direction for at least the first period, only to see the Sharks go down 2-1. This second game came at a time when the Sharks we're playing their best hockey, but it still leads me to question whether or not the Sharks have the Coyotes figured out.

I suppose I shouldn't question that because it's apparent that they do not. What I really wonder is why.

Hopefully tonight the clicking of things shall continue and the Sharks will be able to dominate the ice and the 'Yotes the way we all know they should.

Game starts @ 7:30pm and will be on CSN-CA as well as 98.5 KFOX.

Yay!  Sharks won!  Against the Ducks!  Now, I know that 2 points is 2 points - no matter who you beat but wins just feel better against the Ducks (and losses feel worse, but we don't have to worry about that tonight, do we?)

• Yay Patty!  Our beloved ex-captain scored his 300th & 301st goals tonight.  That's a lot of biscuits in the basket.  He's now tied w/Ovie for the number 2 spot in the NHL scoring race.  I guess that Thornton, Heatley, Marleau line's doing pretty well, eh? (Don't I sound Canadian!) 
• I got a little nervous when Anaheim started scoring, but luckily the score stayed 5-2 to end the game.  Once again, Boyle played a bazillion minutes and something that changed from last game was the amount of shots (per player and the amount of players shooting.)  Getzlaf got cut up a bit and is now day to day.  Although I hate the Ducks, I do wish him a speedy recovery - getting cut by a skate anywhere is super scary.
• When McGinn scores we win games (well he's scored in 6 different games and we've won all 6), so maybe we should give him the puck as much as possible?
• Rumor has it that Murray is on the Swedish Olympic team.  We here at couchtarts are big Murray fans (for his playing/hitting and because he's cute) and salute him.  For now.  Not sure if I'll feel the same way when he's hitting Thornton or Boyle or Pavelski...  We won't hear about the US or Canadian teams for a few more days but it looks like the Sharks will have a nice showing.  Yay Olympics!
• Thornton has been assisting like its his job.  Oh wait - it is his job.  I know Slappy said to give the puck to Joe when he's in front of the net, but damn if he's too busy assisting others on their goals.  He's been the point/assist leader in the NHL for awhile now.

Hopefully everyone's holidays went well and that you all enjoyed Boxing Day.

Go Sharks!

Be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or any of the many other holidays that likely exist this month that I am less familiar with, hope it was or is a good one.

I was inspired by a tree topper that had absolutely nothing to do with angels or the Sharks.

As many people do this time of year, I’ve decided to compile a list of things I am grateful for this year (2009.)  Obviously, I am thankful for my health, family, friends, blah, blah, etc. but this is a list that is specifically about hockey.  So here we go...

10.  Hockey – the sport.  Oh lord, how I love this game.  I’ve always appreciated hockey as a sport, but it wasn’t until @ 11 years ago that I fell completely head over heels in love with it.  Now there are still intricacies about it that confuse me, but I would watch a game featuring any team, at any level, any time.  It’s a sport that is a combination of skill, luck, strength, talent, randomness, violence, and fun – I mean, how can you beat that? 

9.  No drama on the Sharks.  In the past year some NHL teams have had their share of off-ice drama.  Whether it’s pictures of players drinking/smoking at college parties or rumours of players sleeping with other players’ wives, I’m thankful that the Sharks have not been involved (or at least have kept it in house where it should be.)  When I first heard that we were getting Heatley, I was nervous because of the potential drama.  I’ve studied quite a bit about group dynamics and I know it only takes one person to disrupt a well-working team.  But alas, my concerns were unrealized as Heatley not only appears to be a team-player, but he’s also scoring goals!

8.  Drew, Randy, Jamie & Dan.  Since falling in love with hockey, I have lived in 4 different hockey markets (DC –Caps, Miami – Panthers, Delaware – Philly & SF – Sharks), so I feel that I can honestly say that we have some of the best hockey commentators.  The witty repartee of Randy & Drew on the television and the history and hockey insights given to us by Jamie & Dan, always leave me feeling like I’m not only learning about the sport, but I'm also sitting with friends watching the game.

7.  Hockey players are actually nice guys.  I have come in contact with a couple of Sharks players since becoming a fan a few  years ago and they always seem like nice, normal guys.  This year, I’ve met them at player signings at the Sharks store (Hi JoePa!), at the Teal & White games or in the parking lot after the games.  Even just reading their blogs or twitter feeds makes me think that although they make a gazillion dollars playing the awesomest game ever, they are just like you and me.   

6.  Sharks fans.  Finding cool people to go to hockey games with is sometimes difficult, so I often go to games by myself.  Every single game, I meet awesome Sharks fans who are more than happy to talk Sharks hockey with me.  Whether it’s discussing who’s injured, what we think of the coach or what the play-offs will be like, I have always received nothing but kindness from my fellow fans.  This season I’ve even been offered shots of alcohol from their secret stash they smuggled in (this has occurred on 2 separate occasions.)

5.  Hockey players of color.  This year has been a good year for my fellow brown peeps.  Jarome Iginla has found his game, Mike Grier has found some happiness in Buffalo, there’s talk of Dustin Byfuglien making the US hockey Olympic team, and Evander Kane is making his mark in Atlanta. 

4.  Hockey Blogs.  My favourites being Puckdaddy, Working the Corners, & Justin Bourne’s blog, but there are thousands for you to choose from.  Whether you want to focus on the gossip, the stats, or the fights there’s a hockey blog for you.  I tend to visit them at least once a day and sometimes more depending on what’s going on in the hockey world.

3.  Doug Wilson.  Not only is this man super tan, but he’s super smart too.  Even though we all like to pretend we could be a GM and rosterbate quite often (sounds dirty, but it’s not – I swear), I for one know that Doug Wilson would out-GM me any day of the week.  In the past he’s worked some voodoo magic (Hi Joe Thornton!), but this year he’s again worked his mojo.  It was the big moves (welcome to SJ Mr. Heatley) and the smaller moves (Malhotra & Nichol) that has this team playing a more complete game than in years past.  And yes, as always the proof will be in the pudding this spring, but I can’t imagine what else Wilson could be doing to help the Sharks to their ultimate goal.  He’s given them the pieces, now it’s up the team.

2.  FTF.  This past year I discovered Fearthefin.com and it is now one of my favourite places to go for Sharks info.  Plank, TCY and Mr. K keep us fans very informed about all aspects of the game from the players, to the opponents, to the up and coming players in Worcester and much, much more.  And although the stats get a bit much for me, their brand of humour always has me smiling.  Plus, they’re actually cool guys in person!  They make everyone feel comfortable there and although there’s always a douche, it’s not as bad as other NHL websites/forums/blogs I’ve visited.  Even though I live in Canada now, I thoroughly enjoy watching the Sharks games online and engaging on the FTF gameday threads with my fellow fans who I now consider friends.

1.  My fellow CouchTarts.  What can I say about Mina and Gray?  They are two amazing chicks.  I still remember the moment I met Mina while we were both playing on the same team in a recreational womens ice hockey league.  We were in the dressing room (no it’s not that kind of story perverts) and she & I were talking and I thought to myself “maybe she’ll be my frend and go to a hockey game with me...”  Soon after that, she introduced me to her friend Gray and then a few years later (and many Sharks games later) I now consider them both my close friends.  It has been a dream come true for me to finally have girlfriends who I can talk about hockey with and also discuss non-hockey stuff with.   And now with the couchtarts blog, I feel like we’ll be connected for quite a while...   

Happy Holidays from AfroPuff!

First things first.  We won.  I know it wasn't always pretty but it's 2 points and I'll take 'em.  I really liked the way the Sharks played for most parts of the game.  One of the things I didn't like - the penalties.  Is there something fun about going to the penalty box that we don't know about?  At least it wasn't as bad as last night where we were shafted by the refs.  We definitely earned the penalties tonight.  Blurgh.  Just because we can kill penalties doesn't mean we should....all the time.  Okay, rant over.  Some of my other thoughts... 

• Brian Burke was on hand to watch JoePa and some Chicago players for the US Olympic team.  He did an interesting interview with Jamie Baker in the 2nd intermission where he gave JoePa some nice compliments.  Let's all keep our fingers crossed for JoePa!
• Dan Boyle was an animal tonight.  He played the most out of all the Sharks (24 minutes), leads the NHL in ice time and is on a 7 game point streak.  Oh, and he makes it easier for our players to score.  Thank you sir.
• Ummm - not sure if the Sharks know this, but in order to score you kind of have to shoot the puck.  At the net.  Or even towards the net.  Our shot total was 14.  For the whole game.  Chicago had 19 shots in one period (47 total.)  None of our players had more than 2 SOG and some of their players had 6 or 8 shots.  Pretty sure this isn't a good thing.
• Is anyone else watching every game just waiting for Murray to crankshaft someone (sounds dirty, but it's not.)?  It reminds me of how I used to watch/wait for Kyle's butt hits (again sounds dirty, but it's not.)  Especially loved the hit on Hossa - Murray will hit anybody.
• Nab-by, Nab-by, Nab-by - obviously he got the first star and deserved every bit of it.  He was our best player on the penalty kill and for most of the darn game.  I know some people wanted Greiss in net tonight (since Nabby played last night), but this guy seems to be better the more he plays.  I know at some point we have to give Greiss more time, especially with Nabby probably getting a lot of playing time for Russia in the Olympics, but do you really want to take him out when he's playing so well?  Me neither.
• Finally, I just wanted to give a shout-out to Brodeur.  As a former goalie (okay, it was only two seasons in a women's rec league), I can not even imagine the mental, physical and emotional strength a person has to have to play that position with such success.  It took 45 years for someone to break the shut-out record - wonder how long it will take for someone to break Brodeurs new record?  Not to mention that it looks like he's not close to being done being awesome.

We have a bit of a break before the next game and then we play Anaheim on Saturday.  And is there any better way to celebrate Kwanzaa and Boxing Day than another Sharks win?  Mina will be at the game for the FTF Sharks party, while Gray and I will be crying about the fact that neither of us can be there. 

Go Sharks!

Sharks Holiday Fun Times With Slappy!

h/t to Idunno over that FTF for finding this. It's bizarre, to say the least. If I can find a version to embed, I'll edit that in.

Can this not go to a shoot out please? By which I mean Sharks win in regulation. Tonight. Don't want to be ambiguous.

I think this drawing might be cursed. I'm going to have to change it. I mean, it's the Stars, guys. They aren't as good as they've been in recent seasons...

*sigh*

That's really no excuse. Look, this is heated division rivalry. Maybe it doesn't have the same awesome chants the one against the Ducks does, but it's older, deeper, more ingrained in the fans psyche. Plus, Dallas has Ott. That dude's annoying. I mean like really really annoying. Here's hoping he gets "crankshafted."

Game starts tonight @ 5:30. CSN-CA and radio will have you covered.

Opposition coverage can be found at The Other 6 Seconds.