As surprising as it may sound, the Dallas Stars are last in the league.  And as strange as it may be, they belong there.  I was expecting another tightly contested game, similar to the one we saw at the Tank only three weeks ago, but the Stars have fallen (bah BOOM).  Missing their captain and main spark, Brendan Morrow, the Stars looked like they had some pride when Loui Eriksson tied the game at one, but then quickly coughed up two more goals in the first.  So much for that.

I still think Turco looks off.  Maybe he can’t trust his D as much, so he’s doing things he normally wouldn’t do.  And maybe his D thinks they can’t trust him, so they don’t do things they normally do.  Either way, it’s adds up to a horrible team defense, and when you pit that against one of the best offenses in the league (and the hottest power play) it gets ugly.

I know I wrote not long ago that I almost feel bad for the Sharks opponent, but the Stars don’t fall into that category.  I want them to lose.  Big.  Every time.  And when the Sharks took a comfortable three-goal lead early in the second, I thought they might lay back a bit and save some energy for tonight against the Yotes, one of only three teams that have beaten the Sharks in regulation this year.

But I guess the Sharks aren’t into giving Dallas any favors.  And when you keep giving the Sharks power play opportunities, you’re asking for trouble.

It seems like a good opportunity for Phoenix to surprise San Jose again, at home, rested, against a team that played last night.  But now we see they are without Olli Jokinen.  And how can you pick against the Sharks the way they are killing it right now?

First, you gotta check out our latest podcast where we talk all things Claude Lemieux and San Jose Sharks.

You gotta believe that tonight is going to be another barn burner at the Tank as the red hot Blackhawks soar into town, having won three in a row on their yearly West Coast swing. They have endured some crazy travel, including a trip from Phoenix to Toronto and then back to San Jose, but this hasn’t slowed down the trendiest team in NHL. It’s easy to like the Blackhawks. They have one of the scariest top lines in hockey, a goalie controversy, an excellent top four on defense and a coach with a creepy mustache. If I wasn’t a Sharks fan, and I’ve admitted this before, I would follow this Blackhawks team from a far.

I expect Chicago to come out looking for revenge tonight, and I suspect they will give San Jose everything they can handle and then some. Word is that Nabby will be back in between the pipes and I can’t think of a tougher team to throw him out against after a long lay off. We’ll see if Chicago stuffs Nabby’s turkey or if our MVP sends Patrick Kane crying to Denis Savard’s pumpkin pie.

Here’s a good question: Will Sharks fans boo Brian Campbell tonight? I’m going to say no. Why should they? We got the better deal here, didn’t we? If you put both men side by side, I would pick Dan Boyle every day and twice on Thanksgiving….so no “Boo’s” tonight Sharks fans. What’s the point? He’s not Ed Belfour.

I don’t want to predict anything….but I have to admit – after some thought today – this could be the Sharks first regulation loss at the Tank tonight. This rivalry is just getting heated up.

Chicago and San Jose are the future of the Western Conference.

The Dudes recap the one Sharks game this week, a thoroughly satisfying 7-2 win over the Washington Capitals.  But as always, Mike and Doug explore other topics, such as the Claude Lemieux sighting, future options (if any) for Kyle McLaren, and the suddenly easier Pacific Division.

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Where I’m getting embarrassed for the Sharks’ opponent.  Almost.  The Sharks showed a bit of rust in the first period, but a craptacular Brent Johnson led to a 3-0 Sharks lead early.  All of those goals came on the stick side, and from our kickass vantage point from the Club (thanks B) it looked as if Johnson was cheating too far to the glove side, and the Sharks took advantage.  Then they picked up the pace, came back on the shot counter, and coasted to a 7-2 win.

It’s a bit disappointing that the Caps didn’t have two of their best players- Semin and Green, but I’m having trouble working up a tear.  Let’s trot out the old cliché – it’s a long season, and the team should stockpile points wherever and whenever they can.

One thing I really enjoyed about this game was the Doug Murray – AO subplot.  Murray seemed to be out there every time AO was, and I saw AO chirping in his direction several times, probably in response to Douglas’ eagerness to lay the lumber on him.  Ovechkin had a really slick power play assist to Fleishmann, but outside of that, seemed to be relegated to the outside of the ice.  Murray’s taken a bit of heat this season, but can we thank the Big Swede for pushing the superstar off of his game?

On the surface, it looks like the Kings really took it to the Capitals last night in LA. First of all, they scored two empty netters, so this really was a 3-2 loss where the Caps were playing without the NHL’s leading scorer in Semin and their top defensemen, Mike Green, on the 2nd night of a back to back. The Kings hadn’t played since Sunday, so they were just sitting and waiting for a banged up Washington squad to drive across town and take their lumps.

I hope that Semin and Green are back on Saturday night. I don’t want any excuses. I want the Sharks to face the best every team has to offer, night after night, because it can only make them better on this long quest for Lord Stanley. I’m looking for a healthy Caps teams, with Semin and Green, to take the ice for the dramatic return of Nabby in the nets. I think we will certainly see Shelley vs. Brashear and a tussle of two of the most high power offensives the NHL has to offer. Sharks win in a barn burner, of the Philly/Chicago variety.

Take a listen to Brad Lukowich on KNBR He had a great interview with Fitz and Brooks, who are coming around as hockey fans. Ralph Barbieri has been a long time Sharks supporter, but it seems like the rest of the Bay Area sports superpower station is coming around. I love Luko’s comment about the team playing with a certain kind of arrogance. He also talked about how this is best group of guys he’s ever played with. For a guy who’s won TWO Stanley Cups…..that says a ton.

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Here are four words I never thought I’d put into the same sentence: Thank You Chris Pronger.  There are so many weird things about this story:

1. Pronger made a seemingly legal hit with his shoulder
2. Even Mike Green said it was good hit
3. Since it was on a Caps player, this might benefit the Sharks on Saturday

I certainly don’t like to see great players get injured, but I have to say, it was a good hit.  What a crazy topsy-turvy world.  I need to go lie down.

We are in the first four-day break the Sharks have had this season, and only the third of three days or more.  I know I’ve said so on the podcast (new episode here), but sometimes you just gotta sit back and appreciate what the Sharks have done, y’know?  This is the best start the franchise has ever had, in fact, one of the better starts in NHL history.  16-3-1 with 33 points.  A little context:

• The vaunted Senators team that came out to a blistering start last year was ‘only’ 16-4-0 at this point last season.
• Detroit was 15-2-1 at one point in ’05-’06, but went on a losing streak to be 15-4-1 at the quarter pole, still behind.
• Buffalo started the ’06-’07 season with 10 straight wins, and also was 16-3-1 at this point.

I know we all know by now that this team will be measured not by anything done in the regular season, but purely by playoff success.  To use the NHL slogan: Is this the year?  Nobody knows.  But for now, let’s enjoy the most dominant, fun to watch, successful Sharks team in history.  And let’s all get blasted before the Caps game on Saturday- that one is going to be a doozy.

This week an important annoucement is made, and Mike and Doug break down the Sharks’ general domination in the past week’s games.  After sprinkling in some listener emails, the upcoming Capitals game is previewed, and some important NHL news stories are broken down.

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Maybe the only thing more satisfying than the Sharks domination of the Preds last night was the manner in which they answered the proverbial bell.  Earlier in the game, the Sharks allowed the Preds (ok, really just Jordin Tootoo) to get themselves into penalty trouble, and the red-hot PP ran up the score a bit.  Then later, when the Preds were desperately trying to hang onto a few shreds of dignity, the Sharks dropped the gloves with enthusiasm.  The Thornton-Nichol fight was just hilarious.  Joe only had 7 or 8 inches on Nicol, and was waiting for Nicol to punch himself out on Joe’s forearm.  Once Nicol (and somehow, fittingly,  my fingers always type “Nicole”) realized he had no chance, he just swung his wee body around and took Joe down like a toddler swings on a parent’s arm.  If that fight lasted 5 seconds longer Nicol would have been on a receiving end of a haymaker.

Greg de Vries wasn’t so lucky.  While many, including myself, noticed that Shelley’s fight card didn’t have a lot in the W column last year, he’s sure beating down some bastards this year.  de Vries ate a huge uppercut in the second bout and quickly lost his taste for fisticuffs.  Staubitz was blind sided by Tootoo earlier, and came back with a respectable performace in the rematch.  Tootoo only picked Staubitz after he realized he didn’t want any part of Ryane Clowe.  And somehow, I got the feeling that even more Sharks would have been willing and able to give it a go if the need arose.

That’s just how this team is rolling right now.  They will meet you and beat you where you are.  Goalie having an off night?  The Sharks will run it up en route to a 6-1 victory.  Speedy young team with good D?  We’ll trade body blows and come out on top, like Chicago.  And last night they showed that if you are dumb enough to get into penalty trouble, the Sharks will do their work and answer the cheapies when the game is out of reach.

As the Sharks embark on what I think might be their toughest test of the season, going into Chicago and taking on a Blackhawks team that seems to have found an identity again under Joel Quenneville, there have been a few things that have transpired in the NHL in the last few days that have really tickled the sadistic Sharks fan in me.

Tampa Bay fired Barry Melrose after only sixteen games. They are very quickly becoming the laughing stock of the NHL. Giving up on Matt Carle, dumping the coach – I feel another trade coming involving a big name. Lawton is franticly trying to put his stamp on this mess.

Francois Beauchemin is out for six months. Oops. I never would wish a serious injury on someone and having gone through ankle surgery this summer, I know recovery and rehab is a bitch – but hey – I admit to laughing out loud when I read the news. We’ll start calling this mess Burke’s Blasphemy. Enjoy Ken Huskins kids.

The Dallas Stars continue to take dump after dump and the LA Kings continue to surprise – which makes me laugh on both counts. You know Dave Tippett’s job is on the line, which would be a huge mistake to fire him – but I can feeeeeel it coming. What else are they gonna do? Blame Brett Hull? Nah…..and somewhere Dean Lombardi is sitting in a dark corner, staring at a Tavares headshot with tears in his eyes. Oh…what could have been if we were as bad as I wanted…

Plus, you can’t forget the total drubbing we dished out to the Calgary Flames on Thursday night. It was embarrassing and wonderful, everything you could ask for. Kipper got pulled and the Flames looked totally defeated. Looks like the bully tactics aren’t gonna work this year, Mr. Keenan. Guess what? You could be joining Melrose in the broadcast booth before the year is over.

Looking forward to a huge game on Sunday night in Chicago. It’s gonna be a thriller.