Mike and Doug continue the discussion they began on ChompTalk last Sunday, speaking of the Sharks demise at the hands (wings?) of the Hawks, and Philadelphia’s chances to triumph in the finals.  But most importantly, the Dudes start the important due diligence of examining each of the actors that may not be back next year, starting with Doug Wilson, Todd McLellan, Patrick Marleau, and Evgeni Nabokov

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On the season finale of ChompTalk, Mike and Doug recap the crushing defeat to the Blackhawks.  So many questions about this Sharks team- who’s leaving?  Who’s staying?  Will Marleau and Nabby re-sign?  Could Doug Wilson be under fire?  All these questions and more are entertained by the Dudes, and their guest Mark Purdy of the SJ Mercury News.  The callers weigh in too, some of them eerily recognizable from the comment threads right here at DOH.

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Series over.  Sharks manage to blow the third lead in four games, this time a two goal lead.  The only benefit is I no longer have to spend $150 to see the Sharks on Tuesday.  The unassailable truth- the better team won.  The big question- what do the Sharks do now?  That will be the focus of the season ending edition of ChompTalk- tonight at 9pm PDT on 1200AM KDOW.  Please call us at 1-800-516-1220 and weigh in.  Or email if you are too shy to call us.  At this point, I want to hear every cockamamie idea you might have.

AAAAAAAAUUUGGGHH

I think the Sharks actually brought a kitchen sink onto the ice last night- they tried every goddam thing they could think of.  As Steve Rosenbloom wrote:

I don’t know what else the Sharks can do.

They’ve skated at the pace the Blackhawks wanted, and they’ve taken it to the Hawks. And they still lost.

They went with their top lines against the Hawks’ top lines, and they produced a lot of scoring chances. And they still lost.

They changed lines, drew power plays, and outshot the Hawks in the United Center in a gotta-have-it Game 3 after dropping the first two games at home. And they still lost.

They forced the Hawks’ dangerous scorers to the perimeter and cut down on the bodies in front of their goaltender. And they still lost.

They came back from a potentially killer breakaway goal late in the third period and tied the game even later. And they still lost.

I don’t know what else the Sharks can do. And it doesn’t look like they know, either.

Despite this being written by a guy at the Trib, there’s not much here I  disagree with.  I still believe the Sharks can win game 4, because a little break here, a bounce there, and the Sharks win a game.  But even in my wildest imagination I don’t think they can win four.  T-Mac points to the Philly-Boston series as motivation, and I suppose it is that.  However, the differences between Boston and Chicago are wide and deep.  We’ve seen the Hawks just lay down for a game here and there, but not 4.  They have not lost two consecutive games in this postseason.  We’re Sharks fans, so we’re holding a grain of hope for a second miracle this year, but the realists in us know it ain’t really gonna happen.

This sucks.  Somebody cheer me up, will ya?

The Dudes find a way to celebrate the new episode naming scheme, and their 100th episode, recording at Coach’s in Campbell.  Joined by friends, family, and alcoholic beverages, the Dudes try to look on the bright side of the Sharks 0-2 hole against Chicago.  Frankly, there’s not a whole lot to be excited about, but the Sharks have been in a hole before, and fought their way back.  Why can’t they do it this time?  Taking live questions on the air, Mike and Doug try to make sense of it all, and identify what the Sharks can do to turn this thing around, because time is running out.  You can find pictures of the event here.

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Just a little.  My initial reaction to the game yesterday was opposite of other postseason losses so far.  Previously, I figured the Sharks were starting the downhill slide and would lose the series and would then trade all their good players and fire the rest and OH MY GOD IT HURTS THE SHARKS ARE TERRIBLE.  This time?  Not so much.  They seem to be shaken by their losses much less than I am, to their enormous credit.  I have no doubt that they are mentally tough enough to put it behind them, and go out and win game 2.

But that doesn’t mean they are going to win it.  In my view, they have to solve the Toews ‘n’ Kane problem.  The young, fresh-faced players are like adorable Cabbage Patch Dolls, except with dazzling puck skills and manscaping.  Kane in particular looks like a younger, mulleted version of Pavel Dasyuk out there.  I’m not saying the Sharks should play the trap, but they need to find a way to keep that pair from getting a head of steam in the neutral zone.  Inevitably, it leads to a long painful offensive possession.  Sometimes you see Keith or Campbell do the same thing, with mostly the same results.  That has to stop, or at least lessen, if the Sharks are to win the series.

Other than that, it’s hard to be too down on the Sharks effort.  They put 45 shots on a team that averaged 25 against during the regular season.  Against a goalie with a .910 save percentage, that’s four goals per game, easily enough to win.  The Dustin Byfuglien boogeyman didn’t really appear, his goal from 40 feet out notwithstanding.  This guy is bigger than Tomas Holmstrom, but not nearly as dangerous in the slot.  The bigger danger is the load of ice they take at will.  If the Sharks let them pull the Globetrotters routine every game, it could get ugly.  By the same token, if the Hawks give up tons of scoring chances and get pushed around  by the larger Sharks forwards, it could get ugly the other way too.  It’s going to be a great series.

Don’t be afraid to come out and see us at Coach’s this Wednesday for the 100th episode.  Think of it as a first date in a public place.  We don’t bite.  Except for Doug that one time, but he was on mescaline and his record has since been expunged.

Oh, and we have the best GM in the league, and he in turn has the best progeny.

After the Sharks lose game 1, they aren’t quite as down as you might expect.  They got 45 shots on Antti Niemi, which would normally be good enough for the win.  Mike and Doug think that, like the Colorado series, if they keep getting lots of scoring chances, they will win.  But the NHL isn’t only about the Sharks, the Dudes break down the epic collapse of Boston in round 2 vs. Philly, and talk about how the honeymoon may be over for the Cinderella Montreal Canadians, losing 6-0 in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals.  The Dudes also talk about the teams that lost in the second round, and what changes they might make.

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The Dudes collect on their bet they made about the Sharks-Wings series.  They still can’t quite believe it, but it’s time to look ahead to another Sharks nemesis this year- the Chicago Blackhawks.  Time to break down the matchups from the Hawks, and try to identify how the Sharks can continue onto their first Stanley Cup Finals berth in franchise history.

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Game 1 at the Tank tonight. The city of San Jose doesn’t take kindly to people arriving late to an early 6pm start, so I hope the Red Wings plan it better than their Tuesday night arrival. Here’s the Dudes thoughts on the four conference semis. Chime in with your predictions as well.

Montreal (8) vs. Pittsburgh (4)
Doug: The buck has to stop somewhere and it would be mission impossible for the Canadiens to knock off both the Eastern Conference titans, right? Pittsburgh has the experience, talent and heart to overcome a little Jacques Martin mojo. Penguins in five.

Mike: Pittsburgh got a huge gift in the 6-8 seeds winning, and them not going to the Stanley Cup Finals for the third straight year would be a choke job on their part.  Pens in six, and it only goes that long because Josh Gorges PWNS.

Philadelphia (7) vs. Boston (6)
Doug: This series might have more grinding than a weekend with Wilt Chamberlin. It has the potential to be the most entertaining, if you like old school, blood and teeth cocktail hockey. I’ll be watching and as usual, Chris Pronger will still be standing at the end. Flyers in seven.

Mike: Marc Savard is back, and this emotional high will last until he skates through the middle with his head down (or up) and Pronger sticks him in the nuts.  Then cross-checks him in the head.  Then stomps on him.  Flyers in six.

Vancouver (3) vs. Chicago (2)
Doug: The dislike between these two teams is delicious. The Hawks were criticized in Round 1 for not playing with much heart, but they showed me a lot at the end of Game 5 when they refused to go down. I would love to pick Vancouver, but when have they ever made the Conf. Finals? Not since their Stanley Cup run in 1994 behind Bure and Linden. Hawks in six.

Mike: It’s disappointing to see Doug abandon his prescient observation that Chicago’s goaltending is a ticking time bomb.  I now take the reins of that bandwagon.  Canucks in seven.  Steve Bernier has 27 points in the series.

San Jose (1) vs. Detroit (5)
Doug: The path to glory has been determined and the Sharks are going to have to earn it. If ever there was a year for our boys to oust the mighty Wings, this is their best chance. We have the talent, depth and a goalie who knows he could be looking for a new team if he doesn’t make this happen. Daniel-san kicks Mr. Miyagi in the nuts. Sharks in six.

Mike: Past DOH guests Craig Custance (DOH 94) and Mark Purdy (DOH 88 and 51) have written about this series already.  It appears that both have picked the Wings to win, so now I’m questioning my decision to link to the them.  No matter.  As Custance said, this could change the reputation of the entire franchise.  This is the best team the Sharks have ever had in the playoffs, and you can’t say that for the Wings.  Sharks in seven.

This movie sucks!

Although the Sharks didn’t play, last night was a great night for San Jose.  The Hawks lost, 5 points behind with only one game in hand.  The Coyotes lost, Breezy giving up 4 goals on 29 shots. And the Wings won, which in our Convoluted Calculus of Counterparties™ is actually a good thing.  As loyal readers and listeners know, I want to avoid the Red Wings in the first round at all costs.  Seriously, if it meant the Sharks had to dump the last six games of the season, I might be able to work up an argument for that.  But as it happens, it’s not required.  The Winged Wheel is on fire.  They’ve won six straight, and are 11-1-1 in their last 13 games.

Detroit is now only one point behind Nashville.  Given they have three (!) more games against the Blue Jackets and one against Philly (plus one against Nashville), I’d say their chances are very good they end up the five seed.   My earlier prediction of the Sharks facing the Wings in the first round is getting dimmer by the day.  With Phoenix faltering just a bit, I’m hoping this gives the Sharks an easy path to the #1 seed, hopefully facing the reeling Avs in the first round.

Speaking of reeling, how ’bout them Hawks?  Their early season strategy of “who needs a decent goalie?  We’ll just give up 20 shots a game and win anyway” isn’t working out so hot lately.  Although they still lead the lead in shots allowed with 24.9, they’ve given up more than that in eight out of their last ten.  One of the games where they did better than their average, they lost.  To Columbus.  Niemi got most of those starts, so does this mean they will go back to Huet?  I’m sure Coach Q is just thrilled he has such a thoroughbred stable of goaltenders to choose from.

So the Sharks seem to be back in a good position, actually, a great one.  They have a bit of competition from below in Phoenix, whose trapping style could easily eat up some teams struggling for motivation late in the season.  They have Detroit on a run, destined for a seeding far from the Sharks’ first-round gun-sights.   And Chicago’s once-impenetrable armor is now looking like Swiss cheese.

It’s a great opportunity to continue the run tonight against Dallas, who are all but eliminated from postseason play.  No Modano means no Shark-killer.  I say the win streak continues.  Look for the podcast to be posted tonight sometime after the game.