Happy New Year, and the Sharks are on a roll again.  They’ve now won six straight with their latest- an impressive win over the powerhouse Washington Capitals.  Maybe some of the other wins on this streak weren’t as impressive, but the Dudes break it all down.  All that plus Mike and Doug recap their trip to see the ECHL Stockton Thunder, discuss the various Olympic hockey teams, touch on the World Juniors, and launch the very first contest to win your own limited edition Dudes on Hockey t-shirt.  You’ll have to listen to the podcast to get all the details.

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San Jose is the new Regina!

A quick congratulations to Dan Boyle, Patrick Marleau, Thunder Joe and Dany Heatley for making Team Canada for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics! Hard for anyone to argue that they all don’t deserve it and it would be surprising if Babcock didn’t use the Sharks top line as a unit in Vancouver.

Has Mike Green’s Norris Trophy status dropped that much? Has the reported locker room drama in Calgary prevented their three All-Star blueliners from being on the team? How funny is it that the worst team in the West (Anaheim) has three guys on the toughest team to make in the world? That doesn’t bode well for how badly Murray has screwed up their supporting cast.

Who got the Olympic shaft the hardest, Dudes?

Happy Holidays everyone!

Mike and I decided to do the podcast on Wednesday night this week so we could discuss the highly anticipated game against the Washington Capitals and our recent pilgrimage to Stockton to see some ECHL minor league hockey. Make sure to check back again on Thursday morning to ring in the New Year with the Dudes!

Beating the Ducks isn’t quite as sweet as it used to be, now that they are at the bottom of the Pacific, and third worst in the West.  But given I think the last two wins against Chicago and Dallas were more of the lucky variety, I will certainly digest last night’s win with relish (ok, pun intended).  The Sharks beat Jiggy early and often, and staked themselves to a 5-0 lead before they took their foot off of the gas a bit.  It would have been nice to have a 5 goal lead going into the third; I admit a trace of doubt crept in when the Ducks scored a goal late in the second- that’s the kind of thing teams can build on.

One reason I thought the Sharks would press for another goal is Marleau had two already.  Lots of times I’ve seen a team make utterly ridiculous plays trying to get a guy a hat trick.  But last night, I can’t remember a decent hat trick chance.  This despite Ryan Getzlaf cutting himself with his own skate and leaving the game.  I guess they all try and pitch in when Pronger is gone.

Now that the ship has been officially righted, winning four in a row, the Sharks face this week arguably the toughest opponent in the NHL right now- the Washington Capitals.  This after a Monday night game against the resident pain in the ass Phoenix Coyotes.  Doug is back in town, so we will be attending and reporting on all the great games in the next seven days, complete with bonus material – a report on the Stockton Thunder game Tuesday night against Bakersfield.  I expect some good old fashioned minor league hockey, with die hard fans, cheap tickets, and some knuckle chucking.

Also tune in tonight to ChompTalk on KDOW 1220AM (or stream it) at 9pm- Chetan and I will be talking to the radio voice of the Sharks, Dan Rusanowsky.

Happy holidays to everyone out there in SharksLand. If you caught this weeks podcast then you know I’m in the deep south for the holidays, where the food is fried and the hockey is hard to find. Thank god my father in law has Versus.

Mike and I threw out what we’d like to see Santa put under the Sharks tree this year. I think my main wish is a puck moving d-man to support Mr. Boyle, but I’m not sure Joni Pitkanen will fit in a chimney.

So, fellow dudes on hockey, what do you want for Christmas? While you mull it over, check out my latest meal at the Paula Deen buffet. I feel like Bruce Boudreau and Barry Trotz all in one.

Especially when a bear is riding it.

Doug wanted at least three points on the recent back-to-back, and he got four.  However, it’s a time of giving, and I could argue that all four points were gifts from the hockey gods.  As I said on the recent podcast, if Ivan Vishnevskiy hadn’t fumbed the puck into our own net, Dallas would have tied that game; I’m sure of it.  And last night, Nabby withstood a hailstorm of biblical proportions, making 45 saves, giving the Sharks the win despite being on the short end of just about every statistical category, even faceoffs.

Watching the post-game interview with Dan Boyle with the sound off, you would have guessed that they lost.  Other than the power play, which was pretty damn good, there weren’t a lot of high spots.  One high spot was Patrick Marleau, who again made the Hawks defense look incredibly foolish, generating chances for himself out of very little.  This guy HAS to be on the Canadian Olympic team.  In fact, it was a veritable showcase of Olympic talent last night- Marleau, Heatley, Thornton, Boyle, Pavelski, Kane, Toews, Keith, and Seabrook all have good shots at making their respective teams, and that’s just North America.  Nabby, Hossa, Hjallmersson, and Murray are the European reps.

Clearly this was a marquee matchup, and the Sharks came out on top.  A win’s a win, right?  I suppose.  It’s difficult to believe that the Sharks would win another game if they played Chicago ten more times like that, so it rings a bit hollow with me.  As I’m writing this, Doug just texted me with “Last night was a perfect example of why the Hawks will not win a Cup with Huet.”  But I disagree.  Huet had two consecutive shutouts before last night, and gave up only two goals on 33 shots the night before that.  I do admit that Huet wouldn’t be my first choice to backstop a Stanley Cup contender, but given the Hawks are best in shots allowed, and second best in shots taken, they can continue to shield Huet if they keep playing like this.

Actually, there were times last night where I thought to myself that this Hawks team was not unlike the Sharks last year.  Gaudy shot totals, though many were of the unscreened long range variety.  Top of the league in December (they still are in my mind, because they have two games in hand).  Could Chicago meet the same fate at the Sharks did last year, because they “peaked too early”?  Who knows?  All I know is there’s no way I’m missing the final matchup of the season between these two teams on 1/28.

Happy Holidays, everyone.  The Sharks have delivered an early gift, in beating Dallas and Anaheim right before Christmas, and the Dudes wonder whether that gift was well-earned, or will be short-lived.  Doug and Mike identify an aspect of the Sharks’ roster that changed right before they started winning again, and wonder if that’s the key.  And as it has become custom, the Dudes ask Santa for some hockey-related gifts.

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Will the real San Jose Sharks please stand up?

This two game road swing is a pretty important moment for the Sharks franchise as they approach the halfway point of the 2009-10 season. As my holiday fingers type this post, the Sharks sit in a first place tie with the LA Kings in the Pacific Division and has lost their #1 seed in the Western Conference. Now, I don’t care about winning the conference, honestly I’d prefer if they didn’t so there’s not some eery sense of doom and gloom before the playoff series even starts – but winning the Pacific is very important. Whoever doesn’t (us or the Kings) will likely be in that dreaded 4 or 5 seed, and could have to dance with Calgary or Vancouver first. No thanks.

The Sharks have had no luck against the Stars and Blackhawks so far this season and if they come up with a stink bomb on this two game swing, I think Doug Wilson and company will have to pull the trigger on another move that rattles the core of this team. Anyone who reads this blog with any regularity knows that I firmly believe without an upgrade on the blueline, the Sharks are not going to be a real Cup contender. Dropping two games to teams that can’t figure out could finally be the straw that breaks the Vlasic’s back.

Here’s a stat that many of you know, and it’s rather sobering in terms of where the Sharks fall in the real power rankings of the NHL. If you take an overtime loss for a loss, here’s the Sharks record.

Chicago Blackhawks   23-11 .676
Nashville Predators 22-14 .611
LA Kings 22-15 .594
Phoenix Coyotes 21-15 .583
Calgary Flames 20-15 .571
San Jose Sharks 20-15 .571
Vancouver Canucks 20-16 .555
Colorado Avalanche 20-17 .540

When you take into account that Dallas is actually 15-20, losing to them tonight for a third time this year is unacceptable.

I think San Jose will deliver the good tonight on the road with a convincing win with a side of payback. The puck movement was so much improved with Demers on the blueline,  I think the offense that struggled in the last meeting with Dallas should be ignited. The effort against the Ducks was a good sign (except for about five minutes at the beginning of the 3rd). All four lines were rolling, hitting, winning face-offs. The Sharks are as deep as any team in the NHL and I think they will wear down a Dallas blueline that will be without Trevor Daley and Marc Fistric. Sharks let the good times roll tonight and keep an itchy Doug Wilson at bay for another day.

Plus I guarantee a fight between McLaren and Barch, probably in the first ten minutes of the game.

Prediction: Sharks 5   Stars  3

Hey Seto! Want to go to the mall later?

The Sharks finally got off the train to Loserville last night with a convincing 4-1 win over the hated Ducks. While this is certainly nothing to be too proud of, the Ducks are the worst team in the Western Conference by record so far this year at 13-14-7 and are a woeful 4-6-5 on the road, Anaheim had been playing better of late and had managed points in their last six games in a row until losing last night at the Tank. There was one bad thing from last night, they almost did it again! Did what you say? Lay a giant turd in the third period. The Ducks emerged from the 2nd intermission with a powerplay, promptly scored before you could get comfortable in your chair with your freshly scooped Rainbow Ice Dip’N’Dots, and proceeded to put endless pressure on the Sharks for about ten minutes. It was like Groundhog Day, but this time what Bill Murray was seeing wasn’t that dude Ned, it was Ryan, Perry and Getzlaf.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mV-UBaT0SI&NR=1[/youtube]

This aside, there were a lot of good things to take away from the game. Here’s my list:

1. Seto scored! He looked more relieved than he did avoiding me at the mall on Tuesday (listen to the podcast here for that whole story) and we saw what kind of roll Ryane Clowe got on once he finally broke through. The Sharks biggest problem during this skid was their inability to score goals, and they need Seto (obviously) to make that happen.
2. Jason Demers was back and looked good. Ready for something dramatic? The Sharks record without Demers is 2-2-3 and coincided with their recent five game slide. With Demers, the team is 18-6-4. While the kid has some growing to do, there’s no doubt the effect he has on the puck movement of this team, (Exhibit A: their four goal output tonight). It’s tough to take away your 2nd highest scoring D-man for a seven game stretch and still succeed, and I think Doug Wilson and company recognized that punishing Demers to the detriment of this team isn’t worth it. Let him learn on the job.
3. I thought all four lines were rolling strong last night and the Sharks fourth line of Nichol/Ortmeyer and McLaren outclassed the Ducks fourth line all night, which was a huge problem for San Jose last season vs. this team. I didn’t notice Mike Brown or Parros at all.
4. I got a hearty chuckle when Mike got angry at Joe Thornton for not shooting and then right as the words were coming out of his mouth, he feathered a pass to Seto and they scored. Timing is everything.

I hope this is the wake up call that’s needed before the Sharks head into a critical stretch of games in December and early January. With an outstanding long homestand and two key road match-ups this week, the Sharks have a chance to make a statement against two teams in Dallas and Chicago that have had San Jose’s numero this year. I think anything less than three points on this two game swing is unacceptable. If  San Jose loses again to Chicago, I doubt Doug Wilson’s patience and understanding will carry over into the New Year.

We’ve got a pretty exciting guest on the podcast next week when local Bay Area NHL prospect and current USHL player, Ben Paulides, is joining us on the air. Don’t miss it.

EJ Hradek from ESPN.com joins the Dudes once again for his takes on the Sharks.  EJ muses about the Sharks needing another defenseman, what losing Dan Boyle might have meant to the team, and whether the Sharks will/should sign Nabby and Marleau.  All that and more, including listener emails.

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