The Dudes are buoyed by a Sharks turnaround, winning the last three games, all on the road.

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The Dudes try to keep their spirits and expectations up, despite a dismal 1-3 start.

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Todd McLellan has mentioned in the press several times that the Sharks had to play a serious game of catch-up last year in the second half.  Lolling around at 12th in the West in early January, they had to rip off a massive hot streak in order to secure their 2nd seed playoff position.  After all of that emphasis, it seems the Sharks decent start has been held to two periods.  After 40 minutes at home versus Phoenix, the Sharks were up 6-1, and just dominating the Coyotes.  Since then, the Sharks have been outscored 7-2, and dropped the last two games against teams we think will miss the postseason.  Both the Ducks game and the Blues game seemed to have the same symptoms- sloppy passing, not a lot of physicality, and giving the opposition too much space, especially on the power play.

This is just an observation from a guy in the stands, but last night there seemed to be a lot of 5 and 6-foot attempted passes underneath Blue skates and sticks.  Many of those passes didn’t work out.  A lot of tricky and slick attempts went nowhere, and even turned into scoring chances the other way.  Now I go and read the game recap, and T-Mac agrees:

“We weren’t prepared to play a grind-it-out game,” McLellan said. “We wanted to play this fancy puck possession stuff against a team that wanted to grind it out.” Later, he added: “We choose to be the Globetrotters in the first seven or eight minutes of the game, and it doesn’t work that way.”

Lots of east and west, not enough north and south.  We clearly got the shot differential, but Greiss did not have a Quality Start, while Brian Elliot was close to having a Goalie Steal.

On the good side, it’s nice to see the fourth line playing quite a bit (Winchester 9:54, Andrew Murray 10:17, Andrew Desjardins 9:54), and the third line, especially Torrey Mitchell, has been good as well.  Mitchell had another point last night, and giving him two more points on the season than Joe Thornton (0).  Joe especially was a big offender in the Globetrotter department.  While he did make several passes that had me scratching my head, wondering how he got that through, he also had several that had me scratching my head, wondering what the hell he was thinking.  I guess it’s a fine line.  Overall it almost seems as though the Sharks think they have such a talent surplus over the other team that they can not commit as much to the unpleasant parts of the game, like getting hit, forechecking aggressively, and doggedly working the boards and corners.  As the Blues and Ducks have both proven the last 48 hours, it just doesn’t work that way in the NHL.  Kent Huskins will hurt you with a laser wrist shot.

The season starts with a bang, the Sharks beating up on the Coyotes 6-3.  However, it’s been 4 days since, and no games.  Mike and Doug talk about the only game, the Niemi and Havlat situations, look forward to the Ducks and Blues, and talk some NHL news too.

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The season only starts in a few days, and the Dudes have a lot to do. First it’s discussing the Winchester contract, and the rash of demotions to Worchester. Next it’s the preview of the Northwest and Pacific divisions. And finally, it’s the draft for the season-long bet.

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The Dudes try and put into context what the Sharks undefeated preseason means, if anything.  And they tackle the biggest Sharks question out there- who will make the 3rd and 4th lines?  After charting the rise of Wingels and the fall of McGinn, Mike and Doug have an opinion, but realize they’ve been wrong a lot of preseasons past.  After all that, they tackle the new discipline method handed out by Brendan Shanahan, and talk about the Wayne Simmonds and Sean Avery incidents.

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The Dudes marvel this week at an entertaining an fun Teal and White game, the first time they could see Brent Burns, and many young players wearing the Sharks’ colors.  Mike and Doug continue their season preview with the Central division, and finish up with NHL news, including the lack of a Drew Doughty contract.

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Lots of stuff happening, with the season drawing nearer, but the Dudes start with injuries, and the deal that didn’t happen- Kyle Wellwood, originally reported as signing with the Sharks, but actually with Winnipeg. Lots of other news with Brad Winchester, young stars, and NHL news.  Mike and Doug still have enough time to preview the Atlantic division.

For those of you that want to join one of our fantasy leagues, here is the info.  Please only sign up for one league initially, so everyone that wants to play can.

UPDATE: ALL LEAGUES WERE FULL SO A FOURTH LEAGUE HAS BEEN ADDED. WE WILL NEED 10 PLAYERS MINIMUM TO MAKE THE LEAGUE HAPPEN. SEE YOU THERE!

UPDATE: The fourth league is full. That’s it for this year. May the best “dude” win.

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Mike and Doug start on a solemn note, and talk about the terrible tragedy that befell the Locomotiv KHL team in Russia.  It’s hard to take it back to more trivial matters, but the season previews do start this week with the Northeast and Southeast divisions.

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Thanks to my main man Bryce, we now have some desktop wallpapers of the Sharks’ 2011-2012 schedule.  Four different backgrounds in two sizes.  I’m partial to the diamond fin myself.