Hmm, We Might Have a Team Here
October 31st, 2008, 7:17 am
So the Sharks put down a Stanley Cup finalist for the second time in three nights. First period was a hard-fought battle, mostly dominated by strong forechecking and neutral-zone turnovers. Then Detroit broke the seal only moments into the second period with a nifty shot from Hossa. But the Sharks didn’t panic, they knew they’d get their chances. And then they hung three on Ty Conklin in the space of four minutes later in the second.
You could tell the Wings didn’t expect that. Even though the Sharks are on everyone’s list to make the playoffs, and even a few to make the Stanley Cup finals, this team is surprising people. It would be easy to write off the first 9 games a beneficial scheduling with a healthy diet of under .500 teams, but the last two might have been eye-openers for people that jumped off the bandwagon.
Plenty of time yet to get on that bandwagon. No doubt there will be slumps and lean times this year, and we may just see a letdown on Sunday against Colorado. But it’s the best start in Sharks history, and this team in clicking in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever seen here in San Jose. Happy Halloween, people. Go celebrate and eat a disgusting amount of candy.
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It could be the bag of circus peanuts that I just inhaled talking, but isn’t this record what you’d have predicted?
Like grier has said, you’ve got to beat the teams you’re supposed to beat. Early part of the schedule includes a fair share of those teams. I think it’d have been realistic to expect a split with Anahiem, and a split with Philly. Throw in a shootout loss (maybe to the Pens), and 8-2-1 seems fair.
Getting to the quarter pole at the same pace has some obstacles. Does a 13-5-2 record after 20 games seem fair? Games against Minny, the ‘Yotes, Flames, and Hawks are the biggest challenges.
If the pace does keep up, and the record is 16-3-1, I’ll believe they could go deeper than the second round.
Predicted? No. Hoped for? Yes. As much as we’d like to think good teams should beat bad teams, it doesn’t always happen that way. And with half a new defense and a new coach, there’s no way in hell I would have predicted this start.
Loving Clowe and Pavs right now, and Gooch is quickly becoming a monster in both ends. And has Patty ever been quicker? I have to say, the season thus far is exactly what us die hards needed to get us back on the bandwagon after last postseason. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Mitchell comes back. Does he screw up the chemistry or create a third line that matches the first from most every other team?
I think Mitchell, Grier and Clowe will make a solid 3rd line that can score, but I wouldn’t put them at the same level as the top lines from most teams. Name a team with a worse first line? Even the Sedin triplets in Vancouver have more fire power than that. Okay, maybe better than the Islanders top line.
I’m not saying its a bad 3rd line, it’s a great 3rd line, it’s just not a top line.