Three games. Three wins. There is no discounting that this is a great start for the “new look” San Jose Sharks. Some might say, “But you beat the Kings twice, big deal Sharks fans”. Well…beating any team in a home and home series is no easy task, especially during their home opener. Some might say, “It’s too early to get excited”. Um…no it isn’t. I’m not saying we should print the Stanley Cup shirts tomorrow, but these first three games have told us a lot about this new team and our new coach.

– This years version of the Sharks will not play down to a lesser opponent. Good teams crush bad ones, that is how you become an elite squad. 2-0 vs. the cellar dwellers is a must.

– Dominating at home. CHECK. The Sharks outshot the Ducks/Kings 82-42, didn’t take bad penalties and won the face off battles. Good teams are dominant at home. Last year, the Sharks were not. In fact, thirteen other NHL teams had more home wins than the Sharks in 2007-08. This year should be a different story.

– Closing out games without turtling up. The Sharks have closed out three games without coughing anything up. This was a big problem last year, turning routine wins into nail biters. So far, so good here.

– I hope everyone was able to hear Mike in his season debut on Chomp Talk tonight. I have to disagree with one of the topics discussed, that the Sharks aren’t taking enough shots on the power play. Even though it hasn’t clicked, you can see the ground work for the deadliest power play in the NHL being laid. In the game vs. the Ducks, Rob Blake bombed and bombed away from the point. They have 29 shots on the power play in three games. The New York Rangers have 25 power play shots in four games. The other real good news is the Sharks lead the league in power play opportunities with thirteen. I’m not sure what else you can ask for? The goals will come…the goals will come.

So much more to talk about, and I’ll save the rest for this weeks podcast, but as you can tell McLellan’s philosophies and attitude has already had a huge impact on the Sharks. Another team has felt the impact of their offseason makeover, as Sean Avery’s Dallas Stars have laid a 0-2 turd to start the year. I know…I know, it’s early – but it still makes me laugh.

The Sharks have an interesting match up against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. This is the last day of a season starting road trip for Columbus and their minds could be on the flight to Ohio and their home opener on Friday vs. Nashville. This is another bench mark for the Sharks – can they capitalize on a team that might be napping? So far, all signs point to – YES.