We have returned from Vegas and will give a full update on this weeks upcoming podcast. Many good stories and we met many great hockey fans from around the league in various sportsbooks.

I’m sitting here on Easter Sunday doing what any good hockey fan should be doing after church. Watching NHL Center Ice. The game of interest of course is the Blue/Avs, and I’m losing hope that the Avs can pull off a miracle. So, it’s meant to be. The first California playoff series since 1969 (Oakland Seals/LA Kings) will be upon us starting next week – I’m guess Wednesday and Friday are the home games since the brilliant and rarely funny Jeff Dunham is playing The Tank on Saturday night. My head says this is a terrible draw for the Sharks, the toughest that could have come their way….but my heart feels different. This is going to be some good hockey.

The Sharks will never overcome the stigma of being playoff losers unless they can make a deep run and beat the best along the way, so why not start with out biggest rival from down south, the Ducks. It is a fitting way to march to the Cup – and what scenario would make Sharks fans more proud than to make it to the Finals by beating the Ducks, Flames and Red Wings? That is the fantasy draw, the three teams we love to hate and to knock them all off on the way to our first championship would be extremely sweet…..but also extremely dangerous. Now, I think there’s little shot of us getting one part of this scenario because the Flames are severely beat up and the Blackhawks have owned them this year – but sub in the Hawks and that is still a thrill ride that would be fun to watch.

I’m not going to get into how we match up with the Ducks, playoff predictions, etc, because there are still two periods to play in Colorado and stranger things have happened this weekend…but it sure looks like West Coast hockey fans are in for a treat next week.

Listen to ChompTalk for a special playoff edition featuring both Mike and I tonight at 9pm on AM 1220. You can stream the show at http://1220kdow.com.

Here’s the podcast for this week.

The Sharks control their own destiny, like several other teams as the regular season is winding down. A win at home, in fact even an overtime loss that nets San Jose one stinking point is good enough to secure home ice against Detroit. A win tonight clinches the President’s Trophy and home ice against any and all comers in the Stanley Cup derby. I’m more stoked about this than others – and I think it could be the key to whacking the Red Wings and forcing Boston to watch one more screening of Paul Blart, Mall Cop on the charter before Game 7.

Mike and I are headed to Vegas for the final weekend of NHL action and my first bet will be to take the St. Louis Blues against Columbus tomorrow night. First, the Blues have dominated this series, winning four out of five this year. Second, the Blue Jackets had their emotional high last night when they clinched their first playoff birth EVER – so they are bound to have a natural let down. Pick number one: St. Louis Blues. Thank you Vegas.

So, there’s still tons of drama to play out before the season is over and the Sharks could play anyone from the Ducks, Blues, Preds and even the Blue Jackets, if they lose their final two. Mike and I will be monitoring and gambling on every bit of it.

I’m excited to be joining Mike on Chomp Talk for a “Dudes on Hockey” special episode where we will tag team Chetan like the Bushwackers, WWF style. Tune in to AM 1220 on April 12 from 9-10pm Pacific time. You can stream the show at http://1220kdow.com.

New podcast here.

The Sharks certainly have the inside track to the President’s Cup, given each year to the team with the most points.  They are 5 points up on Boston and 6 points up on Detroit, though they both have a game in hand.  And the Sharks didn’t particularly play last night like they were fixated on the lesser Cup.  They played one of the more listless games I’ve seen this year in a real snooze-a-rama game against the Avalanche, where a good 50% of the roster was barely known to me.

Of course it’s not a game to be thrilled about as a Sharks fan.  Perhaps I’m seeing the world through 1st place, rose-colored glasses, but it doesn’t particularly bother me that the Sharks couldn’t get their blood going against a last place team in a mostly meaningless game.  The important part is the Sharks being healthy and ready for the playoffs.  With Grier and Lemieux coming back last night, and Marleau and Clowe reportedly coming back on Thursday, great progress is being shown in that department.

I hate stupid sports cliches, and the one about teams not being able to switching intensity on and off is one of the more tiresome ones.  And like most, it has some truth to it.  But you can’t tell me the Sharks are approaching Thursday against Phoenix the exact same way, and with the same internal focus, as they would with a Game 1 against the Ducks.  It’s just not going to happen.  I don’t want the Sharks to just dial it in, but at the same time, I want them to keep their eyes on the real prize- the receptacle you get your name engraved on, not the trophy everyone forgets about a couple years after it’s awarded.

The dudes break down the previous games and look ahead to the playoffs, but this week, the show is dominated by listener emails. All manner of questions are asked and answered, and there’s even some extra listener-supplied content. Also, we forgot to mention it,but we will both be on ChompTalk on AM 1220 on April 12 from 9-10pm Pacific time. You can stream the show at http://1220kdow.com.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

From the Sharks website, via Fear the Fin.  Don’t know what the Masterton is?  Money quote:

The Masterton Trophy is awarded each season under the trusteeship of the PHWA to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Two out of three ain’t bad.

“This is where we have to learn to knuckle down and play the game we’re supposed to play,” forward Jeremey Roenick said. “We’ve got one week left until (the) playoffs and we can’t have games like this. It’s unacceptable.”

That about sums it up, J.R.

Last night was a chance for the Sharks to completely bury the Red Wings, to pull eight points ahead making it impossible for Detroit to grab home ice. Instead, we saw the Ryan Getzlaf show. The Sharks could not stop the Ducks top line of Ryan, Getzlaf and Perry – they were dominant and capitalized on every scoring chance presented. I honestly didn’t think the Sharks played that poorly in the first two periods, even when the Ducks went ahead two goals in the 2nd. The Sharks couldn’t finish while the Ducks buried every good scoring chance they had. It just wasn’t the Sharks night. No excuses. No blaming it on “no Marleau and Clowe”. San Jose should have wanted the win as much as the playoff starved Ducks did. As J.R. said, “It’s unacceptable.”

I fully expect the Sharks to respond tonight by getting at least a point in a hard fought battle. I think we’ll see some fights, we’ll see some big hits and we’ll see if the Sharks can make a statement. Now, one might say: What do the Sharks need to prove, they are the #1 seed. They have to prove to themselves and everyone in the league that this is not going to be the same old late season nose-dive. The Sharks need to respond tonight.

A few other thoughts from the game:

Here I go again, but if any Sharks fan reading this blog feels the need to boo this team, a team that has dropped only four regulation games at home this year, a team that has been the most entertaining squad in hockey for most of the year – then you should move to Colorado. That team and franchise deserves to be booed. It is unreal to me to hear Sharks fans booing the team at the end of the game or when a power play goes wrong. Shame, shame, shame – you don’t deserve this teams success.

Christian Ehrhoff was up to his old tricks again last night. When things went wrong (out of position, not able to hold the zone on the power play, poor passes across the crease in his own end) Ehrhoff seemed to be the guilty party. He wasn’t alone in being a -2, but his was the most noticable to me.

When Grier, Marleau and Clowe get healthy, who are the three Sharks that are going to sit? Staubitz is a lock to grab some pine, but after that it gets a little cloudy. I think Jamie McGinn is making it extremely difficult on Coach McLellan to remove him as a regular. He finishes every check and his line with Moen and Goc was the best San Jose line last night. I think Shelley and Plihal could be the healthy scratches…

The Worcester Sharks have won four in a row and recently got back Kyle McLaren, who scored a goal and was a +2 in last nights win over the LA Kings AHL team, Manchester. They received an injection of skill and youth when Logan Couture’s junior team, the Ottawa 67’s, lost a Game Seven heartbreaker and Couture has joined Worcester for the stretch drive. He had a fight in his first game (huh?) and hasn’t registered a point yet, but it’s not for lack of trying – he has eight shots in two games. I’m telling you, this kid is a gamer. Congrats to Worcester and hopefully they can hang on and make a run for the Calder Cup.

New podcast is right here.

The San Jose Sharks are so close I can smell it like Madonna smells another orphan in need. They are getting healthy – Blake and Goc were leaned upon for over 36 minutes of ice time tonight as the Oilers threw everything they had at the Sharks for the final 22 minutes after Gagne’s goal and they still couldn’t beat the Sharks. The NHL season is a stretch of hot and cold and the Sharks have experienced both – and now they are getting hot again at just the right time.

What else could go right?

Well, 1900 miles away the Red Wings lost their third straight at home to a St. Louis team that is busting its ass and playing way over its head right now. I was rooting for those darn’ Blues the whole way. I even made myself a Dan Hinote jersey out of garbage bags, duct tape and the body of Paul Kariya. Thanks to my new uni and the Blues determination, tonight the Sharks are six points ahead of Detroit with five games to go.

What else could go right? How about a storybook ending.

The Sharks could make it nearly impossible on the Red Wings by beating the Ducks at the Tank on Saturday night. Its a perfect way for San Jose to a) bury the Wings, b) show the Ducks who is boss in case they do battle in round one, c) for Shelley to hold down Parros while Staubitz shaves that porn-stache with a Man Groomer…..okay, maybe Option A is a little out of the question, but the others are very doable.

The Tank is going to be exploding with playoff atmosphere on Saturday night, especially since this could actually be a first round couple. So…what else could go right? How about beating the Ducks, demoralizing the Wings all while getting Patrick Marleau back.

All I need is a beer and this dream night is complete.

The puck drops in about three hours against Edmonton, and with the return of Goc and Blake, I hope the Sharks have an extra spring in their step.  Another plus is the Oilers are reeling after we thought they’d be in good position to make the playoffs.  Losing 5 our of their last 6, the last two at home, have essentially eliminated them from contention, unless they win out.  With games to come against us, Vancouver, and Calgary twice?  Not bloody likely.  As far at tonight goes, sometimes eliminated teams will play fast and loose, like the Leafs did last night against Philly.  However, I think the media storm up there in Alberta has pretty much sucked all the fun out of hockey for now.  MacTavish, for the first time in his career, might need a helmet.

In a completely unrelated note, here’s an interesting (if short) interview with Marleau on one of my favorite sites, Puck Prospectus.

With only a couple of weeks left in the season, the possibilities for playoff matchups are many and interesting. The Sharks, despite their injuries, are still managing to win games, including a tight one in Calgary without Patrick Marleau. The Dudes try and handicap the final two weeks of the season, and still have time left over for listener emails.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS