Buckle Your Seatbelts
April 30th, 2010, 9:45 am
Guess that fish stew from the taco cart was a bad idea
With Marleau being literally a last-minute scratch (he participated in the pre-game skate), it looks as if the ghost of Ed Belfour had made a comeback, despite our masterful exorcism. I’ll pass on a bit of a rumor, because it’s harmless- we heard it was food poisoning. That’s from only one source, but it does jive with the official report: that it’s an “illness” and not an “injury”.
The Wings played almost exactly as expected. Dazzling puckhandling, good defensive movement, great speed. And luckily for us, mediocre goaltending. The Sharks lost the even strength battle 3-2, but won the special teams battle 2-0, and that was enough to win game 1. I wouldn’t bank on that plan for future games. Good parts of the game had Doug and I biting our nails, wringing our hands, and puckering our… well, you get it. It was nerve wracking.
All of this will make for a great series. A series that I desperately want to enjoy, but will have extreme difficulty doing so. This is great hockey, people. Two great teams battling it out, with quite different styles. The Sharks crash and bang, go deep in the corners, Big Joe or Clowe extract it, blast from the point and sit in Howard’s lap. Detroit will have five guys on the ice at all times that can dangle, with behind the back passes, one-handed dekes, and open ice being created out of thin air. It would be so great to watch if I didn’t have an ulcer.
Marleau will hopefully avoid all Sizzlers, Red Lobsters, and the Hometown Buffet, and the Sharks will get their 44 goal scorer back for game two. One thing I mentioned to Doug as we were walking back, is the Wings have the capacity to lay a big turd in a game now and again. The Wings were up in the series 3-2, at home, and just forgot how to play in game six. They were down 5-1 in the third before a late goal made it a slightly more respectable 5-2. The Sharks’ worst game of the playoffs so far was the 6-5 shootout in game two vs the Avs, which they won. We certainly can’t count on a lapse from Detroit, but it makes me feel a little better that it’s possible.
In other news, Doug and I have entered into a wager with WingsFanInSharksLand, who happens to be a friend of ours, and despite his obvious character flaw, is actually a really good guy. I don’t want to give away the stakes, but let’s just say either way the series turns out, it will provide some entertainment for you all.
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My red wings fan friend and I have a wager… I have to take a pic in his Wings jersey and keep the pic on my facebook for a week if they win, and he has to wear (or drape over his body) my wife’s pink sharks jersey if the Sharks win and keep the pic on his facebook photo for a week.
I fully endorse this bet. Because WFISL is also a Sharks fan, it didn’t seem fair to subject him to Sharks paraphernalia if we won, since it’s not excruciating. We came up with something a bit more diabolical.
Allow me to clarify: I’m not a Sharks fan, but I will root for them as long as it doesn’t affect my team. Should the Sharks knock out the Wings, I will support them the rest of the way. I’ll be bitter for a day or two, but like everything else in my life, I’ll just blow it off. I don’t take many things too seriously…. including myself.
This wager is something else. The Dudes get to take credit for thinking it up. It is pretty genius.
Perhaps this is a pointless semantic argument, but what are blogs for? To me, if you root for a team, regardless of the circumstances or situation, you are a ‘fan’ in some capacity.
You’re right. It’s just semantics. I don’t want to be accused of jumping on a bandwagon, that’s all. Tomato tomato. Oh, nevermind.
“One thing I mentioned to Doug as we were walking back, is the Wings have the capacity to lay a big turd in a game now and again. The Wings were up in the series 3-2, at home, and just forgot how to play in game six. They were down 5-1 in the third before a late goal made it a slightly more respectable 5-2. The Sharks’ worst game of the playoffs so far was the 6-5 shootout in game two vs the Avs, which they won. We certainly can’t count on a lapse from Detroit, but it makes me feel a little better that it’s possible.”
I totally agree… This is also how I see the play of Jimmy Howard also… I think if the Sharks can get to a good series lead they can hold on…
Yeah, I agree with this taking an early lead is key, we can’t away any games at the Tank because wins in JLA won’t come easy but if we can go there up 2-0 I really like our chances, even more then I do already.
Any of you guys seen this Pavelski “History will be made” video? Pretty good.
I’ve been thinking marleau was benched healthy scratch. Gives him a chance to watch the game, see where he can fit in to the system and be productive again. Gets his drive up, and also gives him a game back where he has a little less presure placed upon him (we don’t expect him to play at his peak after being sick -fans/media). I don’t know. Just an idea.
No way can I possibly believe that McLellan would bench Marleau just to send a message as we go into game 1 against the Red Wings. Game 4 if we were up 3-0 and Marleau wasn’t on the score sheet… sure. Not game 1.
Luke, I conjured up the same conspiracy theory but I just think each game matters too much to risk not having your top scorer if he wasn’t really indisposed.
I think a better conversation is where will Marleau play upon his return. I say break up the HTML… If Joe, Mitchell, and Heater have had some success, even if small, I’d prefer to leave them together. Marleau has had success with Malhotra. I might consider having Couture center Manny and Patty.
Lines:
Heater – Jumbo – Mitchell
Seto – Superman – Clowe
Marleau – Couture – Malhorta
McGinn – Nichol – Heilmenen/Ortmeyer
ideas…?