Maybe the only thing more satisfying than the Sharks domination of the Preds last night was the manner in which they answered the proverbial bell.  Earlier in the game, the Sharks allowed the Preds (ok, really just Jordin Tootoo) to get themselves into penalty trouble, and the red-hot PP ran up the score a bit.  Then later, when the Preds were desperately trying to hang onto a few shreds of dignity, the Sharks dropped the gloves with enthusiasm.  The Thornton-Nichol fight was just hilarious.  Joe only had 7 or 8 inches on Nicol, and was waiting for Nicol to punch himself out on Joe’s forearm.  Once Nicol (and somehow, fittingly,  my fingers always type “Nicole”) realized he had no chance, he just swung his wee body around and took Joe down like a toddler swings on a parent’s arm.  If that fight lasted 5 seconds longer Nicol would have been on a receiving end of a haymaker.

Greg de Vries wasn’t so lucky.  While many, including myself, noticed that Shelley’s fight card didn’t have a lot in the W column last year, he’s sure beating down some bastards this year.  de Vries ate a huge uppercut in the second bout and quickly lost his taste for fisticuffs.  Staubitz was blind sided by Tootoo earlier, and came back with a respectable performace in the rematch.  Tootoo only picked Staubitz after he realized he didn’t want any part of Ryane Clowe.  And somehow, I got the feeling that even more Sharks would have been willing and able to give it a go if the need arose.

That’s just how this team is rolling right now.  They will meet you and beat you where you are.  Goalie having an off night?  The Sharks will run it up en route to a 6-1 victory.  Speedy young team with good D?  We’ll trade body blows and come out on top, like Chicago.  And last night they showed that if you are dumb enough to get into penalty trouble, the Sharks will do their work and answer the cheapies when the game is out of reach.

As the Sharks embark on what I think might be their toughest test of the season, going into Chicago and taking on a Blackhawks team that seems to have found an identity again under Joel Quenneville, there have been a few things that have transpired in the NHL in the last few days that have really tickled the sadistic Sharks fan in me.

Tampa Bay fired Barry Melrose after only sixteen games. They are very quickly becoming the laughing stock of the NHL. Giving up on Matt Carle, dumping the coach – I feel another trade coming involving a big name. Lawton is franticly trying to put his stamp on this mess.

Francois Beauchemin is out for six months. Oops. I never would wish a serious injury on someone and having gone through ankle surgery this summer, I know recovery and rehab is a bitch – but hey – I admit to laughing out loud when I read the news. We’ll start calling this mess Burke’s Blasphemy. Enjoy Ken Huskins kids.

The Dallas Stars continue to take dump after dump and the LA Kings continue to surprise – which makes me laugh on both counts. You know Dave Tippett’s job is on the line, which would be a huge mistake to fire him – but I can feeeeeel it coming. What else are they gonna do? Blame Brett Hull? Nah…..and somewhere Dean Lombardi is sitting in a dark corner, staring at a Tavares headshot with tears in his eyes. Oh…what could have been if we were as bad as I wanted…

Plus, you can’t forget the total drubbing we dished out to the Calgary Flames on Thursday night. It was embarrassing and wonderful, everything you could ask for. Kipper got pulled and the Flames looked totally defeated. Looks like the bully tactics aren’t gonna work this year, Mr. Keenan. Guess what? You could be joining Melrose in the broadcast booth before the year is over.

Looking forward to a huge game on Sunday night in Chicago. It’s gonna be a thriller.

Latest podcast episode here, radio show here.

How dare Dan Boyle’s wife give birth to a child on a game day. What was she thinking? Hold the bun in the oven a few extra hours so Danny Boy can get on the ice and log his 22 minutes of ice time. I blame his newborn child for our loss to Jordan Tootoo tonight. Rumor has it that Todd McLellan ordered all Sharks players to get vasectomies tomorrow after the morning skate so that this type of thing would never happen again.

On a serious note – Calm down sailors! Ellis stole this game tonight from the Sharks, who dominated play even without Boyle/Cheech/Nabby. It’s a major downgrade to have Goc and Frankenstein running around out there instead of two All Stars – and we still almost pulled it off. At times Nashville looked like a Semi-Pro team…and I’m honestly not even sure how they scored four times.

No worries, friends. Sharks should have won, got some tough breaks and lost to a guy playing out of his mind. Ellis robbed us over and over again. He was first class tonight.

The Nashville Predators are the worst road team in the NHL this year, with a 1-6-1 road record. They are in the middle of a six game road trip, where they have dropped the first three games, and twice they were shutout by Vancouver and Colorado. Compound that with the fact that the Predators haven’t won in San Jose in five years and this smells like a bounce back victory for the Sharks tonight. A few other thoughts going into the game tonight…

– I would expect that Boucher is going to be in the pipes for the rest of the week until the coaching staff is certain that Nabby is ready to go. I think it’s even possible we won’t see Nabby again until November 22nd vs. Washington. Instead of sending him on the road trip – let him rest and get 100%.

– I think Staubitz will be with the team until after the Calgary game and then we’ll see McGinn back in Teal for the road trip. Sharks will need Staubitz against the Flames, since they lead the NHL is fighting majors with 19. That’s ten more than the Sharks. Yeesh.

– J.R. has to get a goal tonight, especially after the article written by David Pollak about how didn’t have a goal yet. It’s time….tonight is the night.

PREDICTION: Sharks 5 Preds 2

The streak had to end sometime.  Playing their 5th game in 8 nights, and the second half of a back-to-back, the Sharks couldn’t quite keep up with a young speedy team in Phoenix.  If the legions of youngsters in Arizona continue to develop, this team will be a force to be reckoned with in a couple of years.  And Breezy came up huge- there were at least a half-dozen great chances in the 2nd and 3rd that would have tied the game.

There hasn’t been much adversity yet, so the question lingers- how will this team handle it?  After a mediocre performance in Phoenix, will this team rise up again and spank a weak Nashville team at home?  I’m betting they will.

I must confess- I am often a pessimist when it comes to the Sharks.  I want them to win so badly, when they start playing like crap, my mood swings the other way and I say to myself, “that’s it.  They’re done.”  Time and time again, this team proves me wrong.  Even though the season is only 15 games old, the number of games the Sharks have come from behind or pulled ahead after giving up a lead is pretty long.  Kings, Philly twice, Columbus, Detroit, Minnesota, St. Louis, and now Dallas.

The Sharks had every excuse to lose last night.  Zubov just came back this week, and their new pickup, Mark Parrish, had a hat trick in his first outing, beating the Ducks convincingly.  Turco has found his groove again.  And although I’m a homer, there seemed to be a number of non-calls going the Stars’ way.  They (the Stars) were aligned to hand the Sharks their first home loss.

And my pessimism kicked in again once Luko made two horrible plays in the space of five seconds to give up the tying goal.  It looked like the momentum had all moved Dallas’ way.  But you know what?  Again, they didn’t panic.  Again they didn’t turtle up into a defensive shell to try and get the point.  Again they played as if they knew they were better, and a win was just inevitable.  And again, they found they were right.

How gratifying was it to see the Sharks, even strength, attack over and over in the last five minutes?  Sure, smart money was on seeing the game in OT, but coughing up a point to a division opponent just sucks.  It was Dallas that were on their heels, trying like mad to extend the game and escape.  But Marleau stepped up again and didn’t allow it to happen.  Turco’s flashy moves with the puck bit him right in the ass, and Dallas will have a bitter taste in their mouth for a long time to come.  The best thing is, only Turco is to blame.  The other 29 goalies in the league would never have tried to make the play he did, and now I get to say with relish: Suck it.

And I also get to say, with no small amount of bewilderment, that this Sharks team is for real.  The 13-2 record isn’t just a mirage.  They are the best team in the NHL right now, and it look as if they want to keep a vice grip on that moniker, up to and including the playoffs.

Make sure to call in tonight to the ChompTalk radio show (9pm on 1220AM or stream here, phone number 1-800-516-1220) with all your questions and opinions on the Sharks.  We’ll be giving stuff away, so polish off the corner in your brain that holds all the Sharks trivia answers too.

In the latest NHL trend, another disappointing young Sharks cast off has found his third home in less than six months. First, it was Steve Bernier, who Buffalo gave up on after 17 games. They decided he wasn’t worth the 2.5M he was going to command as a RFA – so peace out to Vancouver big boy. As it turns out, Matt Carle, who was anointed by many as the crown jewel of the Dan Boyle deal for Tampa Bay, was sent packing after only twelve disappointing games and two whole points. Still think Carle will be a “major steal” Ryan Garner? . How does that hat taste, by the way, meat? In return, those fantasy guru’s in TB got Steve Eminger (also on his 3rd NHL team in eight months) and resident dumb ass Steve Downie.

So, let me get this straight. The Sharks got their new top defensive pairing, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich and in return Tampa Bay ends up with Two Steve’s, one is a border line NHL’er in Eminger, who at 25 has to be running out of “potential” (P.S. he’s a career -44, that’s sure gonna shore up that defense Tampa!) and the other is a head hunting loser in Downie who will never get his screw on straight long enough to have a real NHL career. Think Link Gaetz with more skill but less heart.

I wish Matt Carle well. This could be a better situation for him because he is on a better team with better blueliners in Coburn and Timonen to take the majority of the minutes. The bad news is that if he thought Sharks fans were unforgiving of his faults and growth spurts….just wait until Flyers fans get a hold of him. This could be a rebirth of Matt Carle or the end of the young man. Alas, my gut says he is gonna struggle…

By the way, that other prized prospect, Ty Wishart, sure is tearing up the AHL. Last I checked, he had one point in ten games. Can I Get a Witness!!!

Management in Tampa is ruining their franchise. Expect more panic moves soon. Oh yeah…and Doug Wilson is a genius.

The Sharks should not have won last night. They were outhit. The Blues blocked a million shots…okay maybe not that many – but they did block 28 shots compared to San Jose’s twelve blocks. The Blues would not go away and rookie netminder Bishop made some big saves. This is a game that last years Sharks would have been disinterested in after two periods, made a late push at the end to make it respectable but would have come up short in the result – but the 2008-09 Sharks refuse to lose. They just will not accept it. For the most part, this is the same bunch of guys who would turtle up in adversity. Who do you credit for the change? Coach McLellan? Boyle/Blake/Luko? All of the above? Whatever the formula is, the Sharks keep coming at you, even after they fell behind 2-0 in the early going, I never thought that San Jose was out of the game. How many times have we seen the Red Wings do this same @*%& to us over the years? The Sharks jump out early, and slowly the better team chips away at the lead and crushes the underdogs spirits in the end.

The Sharks were up against it last night. For the second game in a row, they got screwed by the refs. Clowe got boarded and there was no call. It actually pissed him off enough to score two goals and the shootout winner…so I guess we can thanks the refs for that oversight – but the phantom holding and hooking calls on Ehrhoff and Vlasic were terrible in my eyes. Those are the type of plays that happen hundreds of times during an NHL game.

So were the Sharks lucky to win last night? I guess there is the phrase “beginners luck” – I would like to coin the phrase “Winners Luck” for the Sharkies. They would not quit last night and, in my eyes, they have officially morphed into an elite team – yes, even 12 games into the season I am comfortable making that statement. Their attitude now is: Bring Your Best….And We Will Still Beat You.

Saturday will be tough, especially if Nabby is on the shelf…and possibly Danny B. if Baby-Boyle is born. We will need both him and Jody Shelley Saturday to fend off Team Pest (Dallas).

12-2 baby. 12-2.

I just got word from a friend of mine that he just played pickup hockey with none other than Alexander Korolyuk.  Before we all sit with bated breath at the exciting prospect of Korky returning to glory with the Sharks, my friend (who claimed to have been set up for 7 goals by Korky) says that he’s only in town to visit family.  According to the link above, he’s got 18 points in 23 games for Mytishchi Atlant of the KHL this year.  And I checked the KHL schedule- their last game was the 1st of November, and their next game is the 13th.  Weird scheduling over there. So it’s at least feasible that Korky would be in town, and it’s pretty unlikely that my friend would lie to me like this.  You’ll have to take my word for it on that- I’m less likely to believe the part about the 7 goals than the part about Korky.