I deserve it. I’ve taken some heat for some bad predictions since the All-Star break. Much like the Sharks, I’ve been scrapping around, trying to find my groove. My Semenov jokes have been up and down. I’ve lost several posts due to injury (nasty carpal tunnel in my blogging shoulder). After a closed door meeting, Mike sent me down to Worcester to get my head back on straight. So, now I’m back and ready to hit the ground running with a new set of predictions starting today.

The Sharks are going to beat Dallas this afternoon. The Stars are way too beat up to give San Jose a true run for their money today at home. According to the Dallas Stars coverage at DallasNews.com, Brad Richards was back on the ice at practice and is “probable” for today’s game. Most notably missing from practice were Mike Ribeiro and James Neal, who are also banged up. So….even with Richards returning, I don’t think it’s enough for Dallas. They have dropped three in a row on the road and the Sharks should be keyed in on getting revenge for the 4-1 loss at the beginning of the month. I liked how the Sharks played on Thursday. The game was their style, they outshot the Preds and Rinne kept the game from being more like a 4-2 result in regulation. San Jose had more of a wide open, run and gun look to them that we remember from their fantastic start of the season, bombing shots from the point and crashing the net. While this led to several odd-man rushes for the Preds (another thing we remember from early in the season) this is the style the Sharks excelled with pre-slump and it was good to see it back in action. Look for more of the same and a solid Sharks victory today.

OTHER NOTES
Travis Moen will likely look for the perfect chance to thank Steve Ott for shoving his thumb into his eye socket. This incident happened in one of Moen’s last games with the Ducks….just keep your “eyes” open for this, it could be Moen’s shining moment to display the grit he hasn’t flashed yet in teal.

Brad Staubitz is going to be so excited about his beating of Tootoo that he will look for a fight in the first period. Possible dance partner is a repeat performance with Krys Barch.

I’m liking Jamie McGinn more and more every game. This kid is a lock to be regular player on the 2009-10 San Jose Sharks and a possible TRIPLE M checking line of McGinn, Mitchell and Moen is likely as I think the Sharks will part ways with my namesake, Grier, in the offseason and focus on keeping the younger more physical Moen.

I am going to watch the Worcester Sharks online this afternoon and do my best to follow their quest to make the Calder Cup playoffs. Currently, they are three points out of a playoff spot and a game with the Devils AHL squad today (currently right behind Worcester) will have major playoff implications. With only 12 games left and their top scorer now on the Sharks fourth line (Ryan Vesce) it is an uphill climb for Worcester. I’ll try and keep you posted.

GO SHARKS!