It was a marvelous sight to see. Clowe in front of the net. Bernier in front of the net. Davison in front of the net. Michalek in front of the net. Semenov dumping Godard into the Sharks bench….okay, maybe the last one was a little embarrassing since Semenov was getting pounded – but still, it was pretty funny.

The Sharks played their best game of the season tonight, destroying the Flames and chasing the Kipper on Calgary’s home ice. The Sharks own this team, having won four of the five from them – which is interesting given the physical brand of hockey Calgary plays. What can you say, the Flames bring out the inner beast in the Sharkies. An all around excellent effort with an A+ going to Coach Ron Wilson for following through with his promise to send the big boys in front of the net, ala Holmstrom. He did and boy did they get results. I hope this part of the gameplan sticks for it has been missing the last few years and, in my opinion, is a major reason why we haven’t risen to the next level.

One of the only guys who didn’t play well, again, was Cheechoo. The Train was invisible and got even less ice time than Rob Davison. With some big name defensemen rumored to be available, could Cheechoo be the bait the Sharks use to land Kaberle or Chara?

Here’s a quote from Ron Wilson about Tomas Holmstrom that I found in David Pollak’s blog:

He goes and stands in front of the net. And he gets punched and he gets whacked by the goalie, he gets knocked on his keister and he fights back and he maybe gets a penalty. The next shift, where’s Tomas Holmstrom? Back in front of the net. It might have taken him some time to get comfortable doing that, but because of what the reward is, you have to do that.

That’s what I want to see. When you do get punched in the head, or they dump it in the corner and you get run on the very first shift of the game, does it effect your second and your third and your fourth shifts?

Don’t allow anybody’s efforts to get you off your game. That’s what we’re working on.

I don’t know if you can put it any better than that. This is what the Sharks need to do. This tells me Ron Wilson is still the right coach for the Sharks. That may change. In my view, the Sharks haven’t played this way, until maybe last night.

There was an interesting remark made by Drew on the telecast last night, and he just said it offhand during the middle of the action, but it stuck with me. It’s sort of a different way of saying what Ron Wilson said. He said basically: The foundation of good play is a strong work ethic. Lots of talent will put you over the top, where you win games and be dominant. Right now, the Sharks are trying to use their talent as a foundation, and work a bit to win games. Until they decide they have work hard every night, every shift, even with all their talent, they will struggle.

Shit, maybe we should put Drew back behind the bench too.

From a recent Scott Burnside post:

When the New York Rangers add two talented, veteran centers in Scott Gomez and Chris Drury in the offseason to a lineup that already boasts multiple Stanley Cup winners Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan and the best young goalie in the game in Henrik Lundqvist, reason tells you, emphatically even, that this is going to be a good hockey team. Maybe even a Stanley Cup team.

And yet after dropping a 5-3 decision to the previously winless Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night — a Thrashers team so desperate, so discombobulated, it fired coach Bob Hartley the day before — the Rangers are a scant two points better than the Thrashers with a 2-4 record.

Man, this sounds awfully familiar. Change the names of the players, and it could be yet another “Sharks are disappointing” article. I get that people need to write something this time of year, but writing 3 or 4 articles on this topic since the beginning of the season seems a bit much. We’re seven games in. Seven.

With all the great preseason press the Sharks got, having them come out of the gate at .500 could be a shock. “Hey! Maybe I have no friggin’ idea what I’m talking about!” Barry Melrose says to himself. Well, probably not.

It could be a hell of a lot worse. We could be in Atlanta right now.

There’s a certain blueliner that’s fallen out of favor in a certain hockey town. The biggest hockey town in North America. No not that one. One that still sells out every night. This particular town lives and breathes hockey year round. Every misstep, every player’s comment is under a microscope. A great player is getting booed for one stupid mistake, the kind of mistake that happens once in a career. And it happened to him. Not in the Stanley Cup Finals, not in April when they’re fighting for a postseason spot. In the first two weeks of the season.

You’ve figured it out by now: Brian McCabe.

Doug, we need Brian McCabe. He scores goals. He plays special teams. He’s been under 100 penalty minutes only once in the past 10 years. He’s a big mean son of a bitch.

What do we give up? Carle, Vlasic, and Rivet are untouchable in my opinion, because we’d just go back to where we started. Joe is too much.

Everyone else is on the table. Yes, everyone. Marleau straight up? For three more years of McCabe? Bet your ass. Bernier and Pavelski. Goc and Ehrhoff. Make it happen. The Gooch is waiting in the wings. Kaspar can play this year. Jesus Christ, activate Tomas Plihal if you have to.

Make it happen.

“Dear Dougie” will be a post where Mike or I will have a trade suggestion to share with Doug Wilson, aka Dougie. Feel free to agree, blast or add to the trade suggestion. These are only musing, thoughts of players that might look good on the Sharks.

I am making my pitch for the Sharks to consider getting Marian Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers. Atlanta is terrible and a fire sale is coming soon. There is no future in Georgia and they have to start rebuilding with young players. With Hossa as a UFA at the end of the season, he is sure to bolt the South for greener pastures. After looking at cap room and young assets, I find three potential playoff teams that I think could make a pitch for Hossa’s services via trade. Pittsburgh could dangle Jordan Staal. Washington could offer Backstrom or Semin for the chance to pair Hossa with Alexander O. And then, there’s our Sharks. We have one of the deepest young cores in the NHL and a logjam of players at the forward/center position. With Devon Setoguchi waiting in the wings, could Cheechoo be the chip that gets Hossa in Teal and White? We have all read how much Atlanta loves Steve Bernier, atleast according to Eklund. Could a package of Cheechoo and Bernier make it happen? I like Cheech, don’t get me wrong. I just think Setoguchi is waiting in the wings and they are similar players. If you can replace Cheech with the Gooch and Bernier with Hossa – isn’t this a major upgrade to this team that occasionally struggles to put the puck in the net?

Just a thought…..

DETROIT @ SAN JOSE – Tomorrow Night!!
This game has been circled on the Sharks schedule from the beginning of training camp. Red Wings. At the Tank. This is the Sharks chance to show their fans, the Red Wings and the rest of the NHL that they haven’t forgotten their Round Two collapse and that the 2007-08 Sharks are going to be different. The Killer Instinct. The chance to flex their muscles and bury the dreaded Dead Things on home ice.

I’m predicting a big Sharks win tomorrow night. The emotion of the opening night that never was on Saturday. That disappointment will be long forgotten with a strong showing against Detroit. This is the first Statement Game of the young season.

Prediction:
Sharks 5 Red Wings 2

Written by David Pollak, the new beat writer for the Merc. I’ve also added it to the blog roll.
Interesting tidbits of late on that blog (call me you own personal aggregator)

• Osgood will be starting tomorrow, and not Hasek. Ozzy actually has better stats this year than the Dominator.
• Matt Cooke was originally suspended for 10 games for leaving the bench for the altercation at the end of the Canucks game, but that was recinded. I’m still wondering how come they had five skaters and a goalie at that point (while on the penalty kill) and Cooke didn’t count as leaving the bench. Who cares? As Joe said, he’s “amusing” and not much more.

Last night’s game was a crazy, unsatisfying affair. We get to the arena and it’s completely dark. The power has gone out. There is a huge mob of people waiting in line outside, because they won’t let anyone in. We find out later the lights actually go out during the pre-game skate. We wait a few minutes, the lights come on in stages, and we are eventually let in. Once we sit, we notice, although it’s game time, the ice is not cut, and there is no PA or ribbon screen. The game ends up starting about a half-hour late, with none of the fanfare that generally accompanies a home opener. No anthem, no ceremony for Ricci and Marchment, no starting lineup announcements. The players come out (not from the Sharks head) around 8pm, and the refs drop the puck soon after. Very strange.

After a first period that wasn’t as bad as the shot totals would indicate (12-4 in favor of the Bruins), the Sharks are losing on a garbage goal. The second and third periods, the Sharks vastly out-chance Boston, and Michalek manages score on a power play goal with 33 seconds left. Then it gets really strange.

Boston is in ultra-pressure mode, dumping the puck behind the Sharks’ net. Vlasic makes a routine play and shovels it around the boards. Except for the fact that the ref is standing flat-footed in the corner, right against the boards. Why the ref is standing there, I’ve no idea. At least half the time the puck will get cleared along the boards, and he’s right in the way. The puck goes off his skate, past Vlasic, and right to a Boston player behind the net. He passes it out front to an open player, who takes a slap shot between the circles and in. Game over.

The fact remains that the Sharks should have won, and could have won. So what the hell is going on? Forget the freaky play at the end. In my view, the Sharks have two big issues closely intertwined:

1. The biggest team in the NHL is playing like the smallest. I’m not saying we need to goon it up, but all three players on the Marleau line are well over 200 pounds, and no one hits anybody. Puck in the corner? That defensemen needs to feel the pain. Teams are playing close up on the Sharks for a reason- there’s no physical intimidation going on at all. McLaren needs to stop playing scared, have confidence in his partner, and drop some more players on their collective asses. Think Trevor Letowski.
2. More north-south, less east-west. Sometimes I think all the skill some of our players have is actually inhibiting our ability to score. Joe, Marleau, and Michalek are so good, they want to make pretty plays. Maybe they think they’re too good to stand in front of the net and take the punishment. I think it’s rubbing off on other players. The puck gets cycled around, and there’s no one else in the NHL that can protect the puck like Big Joe. But he waits. And waits. And dishes it off. And gets it back. And waits. JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH, GO TO THE NET. Who’s gonna body Joe out? Who’s gonna body Bernier out? Chara, Volchenkov, and Pronger. That’s it, that’s the list. Put the puck through traffic and crash it. It ain’t pretty, but it works. It works a hell of a lot better than trying to saucer the pass over three sticks and between a guy’s legs. Opponents are playing for it at this point. This is why 5-on-5 looks so bad. Even strength chances need to be created with speed and strength. They will not just appear, even if you wait for a whole shift.

We’re only a few games in, and there’s tons of time to work out these kinks. The Sharks need to realize that teams are getting up for these games- no more catching them unawares. It seems like every damn prognosticator in hockey has picked the Sharks to win this year. Opponents will be prepared on the X’s and O’s side. The Sharks have to answer with fire, thunder, and lighting. That’s means heart, hits, and dazzling speed.

I want to go on record as saying that the rumor of Pavelski to Montreal for Halak and an unnamed defensemen must be bogus. I can’t imagine Doug Wilson trading Pavelski for anything other than an impact Top 2 defensemen. This isn’t going to happen, not with Pavelski. I think if the Sharks are going to play “let’s make a deal” – here are the guys who could be bait.

Marcel Goc – I don’t want to lose Marcel, but with the emergence of Torrey Mitchell and Logan Couture waiting in the wings, he could be used as a pawn.

Patrick Rissmiller – A UFA next season. Looks like his days with the Sharks could be numbered.

Steve Bernier – Has improved a bit, but still nothing to show for it on the scoresheet. I think Setoguchi takes his spot on the 2nd line when he is healthy.

How about the Sharks making a deal with the Devils again – this time for Richard Matvichuk. There is no risk, he has one year left on his deal @ 1.4 million. He is better than Davison/Murray/Semenov. The Devils are probably selling cheap, you probably could get him for Davison or Semenov. A tough, stay at home D-man sounds good to me. Matvichuk anyone???

Also, if Doug Wilson is concerned about Patzold as the back up (as I am) then why not sign a proven NHL back up. Scott Clemensson is out there. Robert Esche is too. How about the Shark killer himself, CuJo? A one year deal would get it done with either of these guys and the Sharks wouldn’t have to part with anything in the process.

What do you think??

As predicted, the Sharks won in Chicago. They played much better than the 2-1 score would indicate to those who didn’t watch the game. We dominated the play against a much improved Blackhawks team. Chicago hung in there but took a fatal penalty late in the third penalty. I said to Mike, “This is when championship teams step up and put the dagger in.” And they did. The Sharks showed their mental toughness and beat a pesky team that played with a lot of emotion. Chicago will not make the playoffs this year (sorry Mike) but they have a future atleast. I love Duncan Keith and Toews/Kane are going to be fun to watch for many years. Too bad Havlat is made of glass.

2-1-1 road trip. Good start.

We could be 4-1-1 before we know it.

Boston is hurting on their West coast road trip. We are their last game of a five game trip and they will be ready to go home. What is the story there anyways? They make the deal for Manny Fernandez and then, after he loses in the opener, he rides pine? Way to give your netminder a confidence boost, Claude Julien. Bruins will get housed at the Tank on Saturday. Vancouver is really struggling, having given up 14 goals in three games. We should go in there and win again.

Rob Davison played solid last night. He will probably get the call again Saturday. I think Wilson will ride the hot hand back there with Murray/Davison, until they sign Ozolinsh or make a deal for someone else. The new lines were jumping. Even with some players clearly not in regular season form (hello Cheechoo???), Michalek came to life with Marleau at his side and Torrey Mitchell is really fun to watch. Even the fourth line of Goc-Roencik-Brown had some moments.

Here is a question for you….if Setoguchi is ready to go on Saturday night, whose place does he take? What line does he skate on?

Looking foward to Saturday!!