4:45pm – Plihal and Semenov in, Shelley, Rizz, Brown, Carle out. WHAT. THE. F%$K.

4:55 – Van Massenhoven blows a play dead he can’t see. Sharks jam it in a split second later. Thanks, meat.

5:00 – Sharks playing like they expect to have this game handed to them. It’s not. They are sucking big time.

5:02 – Sharks 1-6 in the faceoff dot. Ribeiro and Morrow are entering the zone and cycling at will. Tons of open ice for those guys.

5:03 – Nabby gets run by Ott, no call, no whistle either. Sharks do the shoving thing on Ott, no one drops. I’m sure Ott is smiling to himself right now.

5:05 – Sorry to sound like a broken record, but the power play sucks. A lot. At least JR and Rivet are playing like friggin wrecking balls. HUGE hit on Eriksson.

5:06 – Michalek misses the net on a breakaway. Boo-urns.

5:10 – Third power play worse than the first two. Sharks being outshot even though they have had 3 PPs, Dallas zero.

5:13 – Zero kills until now. Joe takes a dumb penalty in the faceoff dot. Obviously frustrated. Take out your frustrations on Ott’s skull. Just kidding. Sort of.

5:15 – Marleau shorthanded! Wow. Great shot over the glove, but there’s still more PK to do.

5:20 – Sharks escape the period up 1-0. Amazing luck.

5:35 – Start of period 2. My wife is making fun of me because I’m watching the game and blogging at the same time. At least my pocket protector is doing its job. In your face!

5:40 – Seto’s shot trickles through, just wide. I think it took 15 seconds to get from Turco to the post. I’m having heart palpitations.

5:42 – Nabby out of position against who? The Morrow line. Ribeiro is like 4’11, 120, and nobody thinks to put a body on him. I know he’s slippery, but I’m talking about when he’s standing still.

5:48 – Randy and Drew are cheering for the Sharks more obviously than I’ve ever heard them. A little weird. We’re back to lots of turnovers after a wide-open stretch, so I’m trying to think of things to write.

5:56 – Lehtinen, Ribeiro, Morrow 3-on-2. I feel like I’m repeating myself. Good thing Lehtinen (past Selke winner) can’t shoot.

6:00 – Another strong drive by Marleau. I think someone must have pulled the old shoelaces-on-fire gag before the game. Wow, another great chance by Michalek. Amazing! You crash the crease, sometimes there’s a puck there.

6:05 – Randy just said that “Semenov looks good tonight,” and Drew agreed. I’m in bizarro world. Haha, then Frankenstein takes a moronic penalty. How’s that crow taste? Like BRAINS.

6:o7 – I don’t think the Sharks PK could be more passive if they actually brought pillows out on the ice and laid down. But somehow, they get out of the period.

6:26 – a minute left in the penalty to start the period. Can Semenov just stay in the box the rest of the game? Great, now a 5-3. Am I watching a replay of game 2?

6:27 – Yes. I am. Tied.

6:31 – The way things are going, it appears to be just a matter of time before the Stars take the lead.

6:37 – Rivet, the Sharks player that is playing the hardest, is hurt. It’s a three stooges play- Campbell hit by Morrow, Campbell’s helmet hits Rivet in the head. Great, now more minutes for Semenov.

6:43 – 2-on-1 against, guess who pinched? Then Hagman sprung on a break, Ehrhoff hauls him down. Penalty shot.

6:44 – Great move by Hagman, Nabby makes a strong move of his own. Still 1-1. Whew.

6:47 – Should have been a momentum shift, but it’s not. Dallas promptly keeps it in the zone for a full minute straight, with seemingly a half-dozen quality scoring chances.

6:55 – Rivet is a gamer, he’s back. But the Sharks don’t seem to be taking inspiration or motivation from anything.

7:02 – Going to OT. Sharks dodge another bullet. Let’s hope they can come out a hell of a lot different than they did in the 3rd. If I could give the Sharks just one piece of advice, it would be to actually try and HOLD the blueline. Once the puck in in our zone, we’re sunk.

7:20 – OT has begun. Nabby is clutch. Another big save.

7:27 – Grier, jesus. He skates lazily to the near side, and the clearing attempt is cut off again. Point shot, to Ribeiro right where Grier was, and Grier skates away from Ribeiro without a care in the world. To the point again, and they score. What can you say? Maybe they deserved to win games 1 and 2, but they definitely deserved to lose tonight. Ron Wilson, start polishing your resume.

8:20 – I am now drinking.