KNOWN COLOR PREFERENCES: Burgundy, Steel Blue, Black, Silver, White
STRENGHTS: Ability to breath well in thin air. May fling snowy poo. Have a pretty good goaltender and a young team. Came out of nowhere to be one of the best teams in the first half of the regular season. Speed. Dangerous on the transition. Have been known to annoy the hell out of the Sharks blueline.
WEAKNESSES: Warm weather. Youth could also be a potential negative factor. Their starter, while good, is a backup by trade and may be pretty worn out after a grueling regular season run. Too much water. Sustained exposure to direct sunlight.
KEY INJURIES:
Jones: Likely out of line up for game 1. Knee.
Mueller: Suffering from a concussion. Return date questionable.
SITES THAT CHRONICLE THE BEAST: (Your First round enemies! Know them well)
Local Coverage TBD. Games will likely be on a CSN channel of some sort for local residents. They have been the first two rounds that past couple post seasons. All Sharks v Avs games on VS will be JIP (joined in progress).
So the night started out with this find in Firehouse #1 downtown.
Ok, so I took a blurry picture, but I was trying to be stealthy and also wanted to avoid getting the heads of the people at the table next to me in the shot. The jersey says goofunov.
I was expecting pouring rain so I had an umbrella all ready to go in my bag. I really wasn't just happy to see you.
Best way to make a man panic and take a sip of his drink is to dare him to guess your weight. I suspect asking one to guess your age might do the same.
The game was fun, even if the play was a little sloppy. Some surprising uncalled penalties on each side. One goal was waved off for the Sharks due to unintentional goaltender interference. The crowd was less that pleased.
Sharks came out pretty strong in the first, not so much in the second, but much like that guy who was turned into a newt once, they got better. The third was back and forth. Oddly, Phoenix was able to score both of their goals right at the start of the second and third periods respectively. It was like clockwork. Weird, eerie clockwork. The Sharks scored in the middle of the first and second. There were way too many turnovers on both sides, and some rather amazing giveaways that lead to some scary scoring chances. Thankfully Nabby was on. There were some longer moments of sustained pressure in the Sharks zone where I swear dumb luck was all that saved us from going down a goal. Well, ok, dumb luck and an alert Nabby.
I really really really was not eager to go to OT against the 'Yotes. The looming possibility of the shootout tested the ice in my veins.Of course, having made the mistake of voicing a portion of this concern, thus dooming us to an OT game. The OT period was a nail biter, but thankfully, no one scored. To the shoot out we went. The last of this regular season. Now there's a happy thought!
Every soul in teal was standing for the Sharks shooters. Every time they scored it was like they'd won the game. Sharks shooters were JoePa, Clowe, Boyle and Couture iirc. Clowe fell down and still managed to score. That was pretty fantastic. The minute the Sharks won the place erupted. It was a great was to end the regular season.
The last time the Sharks won a fan appreciation night game was 2004. One could argue that such a record shows a general lack of appreciation for fans, but that's a fairly bitter hearts approach. I won't forget JR skating around giving a speech after the game last year, and I have to say, his speech beat the hell out of Blake's. Blake said he hoped the fans would bring it to the next level during the playoffs, because the team would. The entirety of fans left in the arena at that point all shared the same collective "You damn well better." thought at his statement. You have home ice (for at least a round), now use it!
When I drew that coyote at the beginning of the season I was just being flippant. I figured it's be out dated in about a week. Amazingly we're still talking about their ownerships issues 82 games and one hell of a successful season later.
It's finally here, the last game of the regular season. We've been through ups and downs, highs and lows, skies falling and the sun shining bright. Injuries, controversy, The Olympics, gold medals, silver medals, a pre season Douglas Murray hat trick, and Steve Ott hat-I'm-going-to-be-sick. The Ducks, the Wings, the Kings, Gray and Mina attempting to sing, the fans and media saying silly things. (He's got HUGE HANDS!) In short we've been through pretty much everything. We thank you for continuing to read our ramblings here, through thick and thin.
It's fan appreciation night at the Tank. I hear the giveaway will be hats. My brain box tingles at the thought. It is a very thoughtful choice indeed considering rain is somewhat likely.
If you can't appreciate the appreciate night hats, I'm sure you can appreciate this:
1st Period Vancouver holding – 2 min 10:40, M. Pettinger Vancouver holding – 2 min 19:21, A. Edler 2nd Period Vancouver fighting – 5 min 7:13, A. Rome San Jose fighting – 5 min 7:13, R. Clowe Vancouver cross check – 2 min 9:00, A. Edler San Jose too many men on the ice – 2 min 11:34, Bench served by D. Setoguchi Vancouver hooking – 2 min 13:58, M. Pettinger 3rd Period San Jose interference – 2 min 6:24, J. McGinn San Jose holding the stick – 2 min 6:59, M. Vlasic San Jose cross check – 2 min 7:21, S. Nichol San Jose misconduct – 10 min 8:28, J. McGinn Vancouver roughing – 2 min 9:08, M. Samuelsson San Jose roughing – 2 min 9:08, R. Blake San Jose cross check – 2 min 9:08, R. Blake Vancouver slashing – 2 min 9:08, M. Samuelsson Vancouver interference – 2 min 9:28, A. Burrows Vancouver slashing – 2 min 9:28, A. Burrows served by K. Wellwood San Jose roughing – 2 min 9:28, J. Thornton Vancouver fighting – 5 min 9:46, R. Kesler San Jose fighting – 5 min 9:46, N. Wallin San Jose roughing – 2 min 9:46, N. Wallin served by D. Setoguchi San Jose misconduct – 10 min 9:46, R. Clowe Vancouver misconduct – 10 min 9:46, R. Kesler San Jose misconduct – 10 min 9:46, N. Wallin Vancouver roughing – 2 min 18:29, A. Burrows San Jose broken stick – 2 min 19:42, J. Demers
That's the penalty summary from the last game. Funniest thing you'll read all day.
Rumor has it this game will be simulcast on Versus. Don'tcha love the end of the season?
With all the talk about 1st round match ups, I find myself more focused on just seeing the Sharks get through their next two games. They need wins to avoid playing a game of "Hot or Not" heading into the post season. A full 60 minute effort tonight would go a long way to helping the team's overall confidence (and swagger) heading into the 1st round. The fact that they're playing the Canucks tonight is even better.
For reasons that I don't think any of us understand, the Sharks HATE the Canucks, and the feelings appear to be reciprocated. Games against the Canucks are usually rough, chippy, heated, and occasionally involve Joe Thornton and a bloody nose. Tonight is the perfect night to kick in those afterburners and start playing at another level.
A few technical notes on today's game before we get started:
First: For those of you who have satellite tv the game has been shuffled to a second plus channel thanks to some confluence of basketball, baseball, and the moon in the third house. Details here. Those of us with cable in the Bay Area can still find the game on CSNCA, channel 41. (or some fancy channel, 721, if you have HD) Those of you in the Sacramento/Central Valley area should hit channel 104.
Second: If you need an excuse to go out this Tuesday night, (and really, who doesn't?), there's a viewing party at Stanley's. One of those "coolest game of the [insert relevant time period here]" deals. Stanley's can be a fun place to watch a game, (as long as you don't mind not being able to hear it) but I suggest eating ahead of time or sneaking in your own food because they are way overworked when the house gets packed.
The Avs guy is the first character i drew for this season, oh so many moons ago. He's also one of my favorites.
Four games.
Four games left in the 09-10 regular season.
How did we get here so fast? Oct-Dec is always a blur of games and emotions. Suddenly we're in Jan and we have no idea how the first part of the season went by so fast. They we hit the Olympic Break and experienced 2 amazing weeks of nearly non stop hockey (and bitching about NBC not knowing wtf they're doing). Then post Olympic slumps, then rebounds, and slumps again. Now we're in April and the season is nearly over. Part of you wishes you had just a little bit more time left, maybe a chance to go back and revisit the earlier parts of the season. Games that seem so long ago now. But those days are gone. We stand at the end of the regular season, the only known factor in this season. The Sharks will be heading to the post season, but beyond these next few games lies the great unknown. You best be ready for it.
Clowe and Vlasic should be back in tonight, which will hopefully provide a much need jump in the offensive and defensive departments. We love ya kid, but let us never ever speak of the defensive paring of Walin and Demers again.
Joe is skating. The world did not end. He probably won't play tonight, but a season ender his injury was not.
A win tonight gets us one step closer to winning the division. A loss gets us zero points in the race to stay ahead the Coyotes and probably a few more Chicken Littles (so wittle ittle). What a nail biter! On the plus side Minnesota is where the Sharks broke out of their 6 game losing streak. On the downside, I just mentioned that and in doing so doomed them all to failure. Curses! The hockey gods are fickle with their love.
In other news, baseball is starting. Mina is our resident Giants fan, while Gray is the resident A's fan. Afro is the resident non baseball fan. I would say I'm looking forward to an exciting season but, it's baseball. It's never that exciting until the last few weeks. Good grub though.
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics.
Advertisers
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
Bloggers Wanted
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!
RSS Feed 
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 