There was a sense of relief at the Tank on Monday night. The fans were high fiving, smiling and gave the Sharks multiple standing ovations. The team was smiling too, playing their trademark style we were so used to seeing last season. They dominated Phoenix in the third period, cycling at will and embarrassing Gretzky’s boys. It was so many weeks in the making but oh so worth it. The Sharks, my friends, appear to be back.

Bernier is growing up before our eyes on the 4th line, doing the dirty work he avoided when on the 2nd line. He drew two fighting majors and really got under Phoenix’s skin with his physical play. Cheechoo and Marleau both had a point, with Cheech playing noticeably better last night. Nabby was solid, the D held up and the Sharks dominated play when it mattered most. As I said before, Phoenix is not good. They are young and play hard every night, and with an experienced blue line, they will stay in most games, but up front they are severely lacking. We should beat them 5-0. And finally, we did.

The chance to go on a run is finally upon us. The Sharks need to recognize the opportunity to pull away from Anahiem now before Neidermeyer and Selanne return in the New Year, as I suspect they both will. Could we win all three games this week vs. Dallas, Phoenix and Anahiem? Sure. Am I being greedy? Probably.