I was going to post something about my trip, which has very little to do with hockey, but I can’t in good conscience now.  Sid’s comeback is just a hair more impressive than mine.  I hope you’ve seen the game or highlights.  Two goals (both backhand shots, no less) and two assists.  Remember, he missed 68 games.  It’s impossible not to make a comparison with Mario Lemieux here.  Lemieux had a much longer absence, to be sure, but from a hockey perspective, Crosby means just as much to the Penguins now as Mario did then.  And, to top it all off, they both scored four points in their respective returns.  Just amazing.

Back to the Sharks- it’s been a great welcome home present for me to see them dismantle Detroit, Dallas, and Colorado in the last three games.  Of course the number one thing to talk about is the penalty kill, which I’m sure we will when we record the podcast this week after the Chicago game.  Just wanted to give a bit of a funny stat.  I decided to calculate how the Sharks ranked in terms of the percentage of games they gave up a PP goal, instead of just overall PK%, where they currently stand at 3rd worst (74.6%).  I fully expected the Sharks to have given up a PP goal in a greater percentage of games than any other team- it seemed like every goddam game the opponent scored with the man advantage.  But it’s not actually the case:

1. Dallas 65% (13/20)
2. Carolina 63.6% (14/22)
3. Islanders 61.1% (11/18)
4. Winnipeg 60% (12/20)
5. Columbus 60% (12/20)
6. Los Angeles 60% (12/20)
7. Detroit 57.8% (11/19)
8. Ottawa 57.4% (12/21)
9. Toronto 57.4% (12/21)
10. Colorado 57.4% (12/21)
11. San Jose 55.5% (10/18)

Dallas is a full seven percentage points better in PK% – 17th overall, the best on this list-  and yet has given up a PP goal in 65% of the games they’ve played.  I don’t really know what that means, but it’s interesting.