Guess that fish stew from the taco cart was a bad idea

With Marleau being literally a last-minute scratch (he participated in the pre-game skate), it looks as if the ghost of Ed Belfour had made a comeback, despite our masterful exorcism.  I’ll pass on a bit of a rumor, because it’s harmless- we heard it was food poisoning.  That’s from only one source, but it does jive with the official report: that it’s an “illness” and not an “injury”.

The Wings played almost exactly as expected.  Dazzling puckhandling, good defensive movement, great speed.  And luckily for us, mediocre goaltending.  The Sharks lost the even strength battle 3-2, but won the special teams battle 2-0, and that was enough to win game 1.  I wouldn’t bank on that plan for future games.  Good parts of the game had Doug and I biting our nails, wringing our hands, and puckering our… well, you get it.  It was nerve wracking.

All of this will make for a great series.  A series that I desperately want to enjoy, but will have extreme difficulty doing so.  This is great hockey, people.  Two great teams battling it out, with quite different styles.  The Sharks crash and bang, go deep in the corners, Big Joe or Clowe extract it, blast from the point and sit in Howard’s lap.  Detroit will have five guys on the ice at all times that can dangle, with behind the back passes, one-handed dekes, and open ice being created out of thin air.  It would be so great to watch if I didn’t have an ulcer.

Marleau will hopefully avoid all Sizzlers, Red Lobsters, and the Hometown Buffet, and the Sharks will get their 44 goal scorer back for game two.  One thing I mentioned to Doug as we were walking back, is the Wings have the capacity to lay a big turd in a game now and again.  The Wings were up in the series 3-2, at home, and just forgot how to play in game six.  They were down 5-1 in the third before a late goal made it a slightly more respectable 5-2.  The Sharks’ worst game of the playoffs so far was the 6-5 shootout in game two vs the Avs, which they won.  We certainly can’t count on a lapse from Detroit, but it makes me feel a little better that it’s possible.

In other news, Doug and I have entered into a wager with WingsFanInSharksLand, who happens to be a friend of ours, and despite his obvious character flaw, is actually a really good guy.  I don’t want to give away the stakes,  but let’s just say either way the series turns out, it will provide some entertainment for you all.

Game 1 at the Tank tonight. The city of San Jose doesn’t take kindly to people arriving late to an early 6pm start, so I hope the Red Wings plan it better than their Tuesday night arrival. Here’s the Dudes thoughts on the four conference semis. Chime in with your predictions as well.

Montreal (8) vs. Pittsburgh (4)
Doug: The buck has to stop somewhere and it would be mission impossible for the Canadiens to knock off both the Eastern Conference titans, right? Pittsburgh has the experience, talent and heart to overcome a little Jacques Martin mojo. Penguins in five.

Mike: Pittsburgh got a huge gift in the 6-8 seeds winning, and them not going to the Stanley Cup Finals for the third straight year would be a choke job on their part.  Pens in six, and it only goes that long because Josh Gorges PWNS.

Philadelphia (7) vs. Boston (6)
Doug: This series might have more grinding than a weekend with Wilt Chamberlin. It has the potential to be the most entertaining, if you like old school, blood and teeth cocktail hockey. I’ll be watching and as usual, Chris Pronger will still be standing at the end. Flyers in seven.

Mike: Marc Savard is back, and this emotional high will last until he skates through the middle with his head down (or up) and Pronger sticks him in the nuts.  Then cross-checks him in the head.  Then stomps on him.  Flyers in six.

Vancouver (3) vs. Chicago (2)
Doug: The dislike between these two teams is delicious. The Hawks were criticized in Round 1 for not playing with much heart, but they showed me a lot at the end of Game 5 when they refused to go down. I would love to pick Vancouver, but when have they ever made the Conf. Finals? Not since their Stanley Cup run in 1994 behind Bure and Linden. Hawks in six.

Mike: It’s disappointing to see Doug abandon his prescient observation that Chicago’s goaltending is a ticking time bomb.  I now take the reins of that bandwagon.  Canucks in seven.  Steve Bernier has 27 points in the series.

San Jose (1) vs. Detroit (5)
Doug: The path to glory has been determined and the Sharks are going to have to earn it. If ever there was a year for our boys to oust the mighty Wings, this is their best chance. We have the talent, depth and a goalie who knows he could be looking for a new team if he doesn’t make this happen. Daniel-san kicks Mr. Miyagi in the nuts. Sharks in six.

Mike: Past DOH guests Craig Custance (DOH 94) and Mark Purdy (DOH 88 and 51) have written about this series already.  It appears that both have picked the Wings to win, so now I’m questioning my decision to link to the them.  No matter.  As Custance said, this could change the reputation of the entire franchise.  This is the best team the Sharks have ever had in the playoffs, and you can’t say that for the Wings.  Sharks in seven.

Mike and Doug break down the last of the Avalanche series, and now look ahead to the new opponent, the hated/dreaded Detroit Red Wings.  The Dudes give first-round grades to all of the players, and pump themselves up with reasons why the Sharks will win the second round series.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

One more win for Dave Tippett before Derek Morris turns into a pumpkin

The waiting will be over tonight. We’ll soon know who the Sharks will be hosting for the next round of The Road to the Cup – will it be our long time nemesis, Detroit, or the upstart Home of the Players No One Else Wanted, Phoenix. I know who I’m rooting for tonight.

Phoenix.

The Red Wings carry a mental hurdle for the San Jose Sharks players and fans – and I know we saw in the first round that this team is strong enough to overcome adversity and they should be commended for it. Key players had some extreme ups and some lowly lows and rebounded nicely, but some never snapped out of it (I’m looking at you Patty). Thanks to mental toughness and a little paranormal intervention, the Sharks won – but here’s the real reason why I want Phoenix and it’s simple. We had a hell of a time with Detroit this year, 1-2-1 in four games, and while Phoenix gave us a hard time the first two games, the Sharks have beaten them four times in a row.

It’s just that simple. If I ‘m trying to get to the giant plate of delicious prime rib, I’m not going to climb eight flights of stairs- I’m going to take the elevator….or something like that. The goal here is to win the Cup, not take the most honorable journey towards getting it. No one remembers who you beat in Round 1 or 2 or 3 – they remember the image of the player holding the Cup high in the air and the championship banner. Do you remember who Detroit beat on their way to winning the Cup in 2008? The #8 seeded Predators, the #6 seeded Avalanche and the #5 seeded Stars. They didn’t have to play the Sharks or the 2007 champions, the Ducks – both were already gone. I don’t remember any Wings fans begging for Pronger and the Ducks, do you?

So – Can we beat Detroit? Um….I think so…I hope so?

Can we beat Phoenix? Absolutely.

Bring on the Land of the Lost and let’s hope the Coyotes pull off an upset befitting of their Cinderella season – and then we’ll smack that ho-bag all the way back to Winnipeg. I’ll be rooting for Phoenix tonight and Vancouver for the next two weeks and I’ll hope the Penguins and Capitals sink like the Titanic too. I want a Cup and I don’t care if we take the elevator to get it.

NEW PODCAST WEDNESDAY NIGHT. TALK TO YOU THEN.

What's wrong with a playoff goatee?? Looks great and it's less filling.

Some random thoughts as I wait for the Blackhawks/Preds game to start:

– The poll results are overwhelmingly against my playoff goatee. I’d like to point out the goatee is 3-1 while all your beards are 3-2, so who’s better now? Huh? Who’s better now?

– Teams facing Round 1 death so far in the playoffs are 3-0 in elimination games this Stanley Cup playoffs. Ottawa, Buffalo and Montreal all said “Hell no, we won’t go” in the last two days – so anyone who thinks the Avs are going to ski off quietly into the snowstorm is mistaken. CORRECTION: NEW JERSEY COULDN’T PULL IT OFF IN GAME 5. TEAMS ARE 3-1 IN ELIMINATION GAMES. PROPS TO EVILDUCKS ON THAT ONE.

– Milan Hejduk should have kept his fat mouth shut. Questioning the heart of the Sharks and then going out with an injury is karma baby. Put that in your “lower body injury” and smoke it.

– I like Matt Duchene, but this quote makes him sound like a guy who lives in a grown man’s basement.

– Tonight is going to OT. I’m just sure of it. The Avs are going to clog our toilet all night long and Andy has one last magic trick up his sleeve – Sharks win 2-1 but it’s gonna be stressful. Gonna guess Dan Boyle’s the hero again just because he strikes me as a guy who wants to make 18,000 people cry.

– I’m sour about Dan Boyle not being a Norris nominee. Hard to argue with the three guys on the list, but if Mike Green isn’t good enough in his overall game to be on the Olympic team, what makes him one of three best d-men in the NHL? They should just give it to Duncan Keith right now.

– Matt Duchene does live in a grown man’s basement and admits he can’t really take care of himself. Punch him again Jamie and tell him to take out the trash.

– Will our joy and elation of winning a playoff series take a twisted turn when the Red Wings come to town next week?

The Sharks win game 5 decidedly, and the Dudes finally revel in a great Sharks performance.  They talk about the breakthrough with Craig Anderson, who has looked great for the Sharks other than their dominant ‘second’ line, and how the rest of the Western Conference series might turn out.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Last night, the prominent emotion I felt after Pavs scored was relief, and not elation.  The Sharks are seemingly back on track for the moment, tying the series, again putting up more scoring chances than the opposition, but this time they won.  I got the idea for today’s post by reading this, and to a lesser extent, tweeting this last night.  Marleau, for some reason, looks largely disinterested in this series, and outside of a couple of speedy drives to the net, has seemingly avoided the Flying Body Show that this series has been so far.  The difference in his play from Seto’s, for instance, could not be more stark.  Seto is hitting everything that moves, grinding it out, and Marleau is trying the shifty thing, neither taking nor issuing hits.  But judging a guy on how he ‘looks’ is awfully subjective, and prone to bias.  How can we judge their effectiveness?

One way is Corsi number.  This is a number that Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda talked about on the telecast many times, though they call it “shots directed at net”.  That is, shots + missed shots + blocked shots.  Corsi is merely that, but you also subtract the opponent’s number from yours.  At that point, you have something kind of a like a shot +/-.  The events are much more common than goals, so you have a much larger sample size and thus less variation.  Corsi (or Hardwick, which is the same as Corsi but doesn’t include blocked shots) can also be calculated for each individual player.  Here are the season numbers for San Jose.  I believe this is normalized for ice time, otherwise we wouldn’t have fractional numbers.  But as we can see, we have Boyle #1, and Marleau #2 (I don’t count Ferriero really).  Thanks to timeonice.com, let’s look at playoff numbers through four games (not normalized for ice time).

First thing to notice is that all of these numbers are positive, which is really remarkable.  That’s just another way of saying the Sharks have vastly out-chanced and out-shot the Avs in the series.  Also, we can see Marleau is currently 5th among forwards, and behind Kent Huskins, who was barely positive in the regular season.  Thornton and Heatley did not have good games 1 or 4 (and Heatley even missed game 3), and that accounts for their low numbers.  As one would expect, the numbers for the top line are all more or less in line for each of the games- low single digits for games 1 and 2, around 10 for game 3, and back down for game four.  The main reason why Marleau is above the other two is because of game 4, where he was +8, where Thornton was +1 and Heatley -1.  So my observation that Marleau was doing particularly bad was almost completely backwards.  Still, all in all, this chart confirms with hard numbers what we already thought- the top line is not performing.  Not even close.  If we can get those guys rolling, we can expect the Sharks to roll better too.

The Sharks lose game 3 in a manner so flukey the Dudes question who’s pulling the strings.  Mike and Doug have decided to do something about it.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

What a way to lose.  The Sharks, after possibly the most dominating performance of the entire season, lose after Dan Boyle puts the puck into his own net, on an angle a shooter couldn’t score from 99 times out of a100.  In the postgame, Boyle was obviously crushed, and possibly questioning the wisdom of agreeing to a trade to a team that is obviously cursed.  What’s next, the ghost of Shawn Cronin making Nabby-sized hole in the ice?

*Checking wikipedia...  Ok, Shawn Cronin is still alive.  So we can rest easy about that one.  But I do want Mr. Cronin to look both ways before crossing the street.

Podcast tonight.

In the meantime, let’s come up with a better tagline for the end of this video.  This one leaves me a bit cold…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDdWCQ03xCQ[/youtube]

Game Three is coming, can you feel it? I expect a rowdy contest tonight with the Avs looking for a little payback for the big hits dealt out by Blake and Murray during this series. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if someone took a run at a Sharks player tonight and early to set the tone.

Mike and I are doing a podcast tomorrow to recap our thoughts on Games 1-3 and the other series around the NHL and it should be live on Monday night. Go Sharks!