Is actually better than the Devil we know.  I picked the Devils to make the playoffs this year, and they looked far from that last night.  Their 5-on-5 play was so bad, which is just what the doctor ordered for the Sharks.  The new cap’n drove the Sharks to a pretty easy 5-2 victory, with four of the goals even strength.  Brodeur is aging, and his normal unpredictable style looked like panic instead of athleticism.  There was a flukey goal at both ends of the ice, with a bad luck bounce off the glass leading to a David Clarkson tap-in on one end, and a strange bounce off the boards at the other end led to Jumbo completing his hat trick.  Five point night for Joe, and the Devils had no answer to the HTML line, reunited (and it feels so good).

As far as the other lines go, B-.  Seto is trying awfully hard, but it’s not going his way.  Didn’t see much out of Pavs.  Clowe is really adept now at using his body to protect the puck, but he needs to turn that into scoring chances instead of just zone time at the periphery.  Good to see Boyle at +2.  Vlasic and Wallin were -1 , but I’ll give them a pass, because that goal was the flukiest goal I’ve seen since JR’s 500th.   Not only did it take a ridiculous bounce off the stanchion, it slowed down right in front of the goal for Clarkson.  Nitty didn’t stray far from the crease on dump-ins after that.  I still give Nitty an A- for last night- that goal was more bad luck than anything. The other goal stemmed from a huge penalty kill scramble that eventually kicked out to Andy Greene after about a dozen shots. Barring the disappointing game #2 performance against Columbus, Nittymaki has been over .930 in every game.  Contrast that with Niemi, who was .938 opening night and has gone .857, .839, and .400 since.  Ouch.  Small sample size, yadda yadda, but right now it looks like DW’s initial goalie signing was well targeted.

The Sharks played the worst team in the NHL in terms of goal differential last night, and Saturday, they play the team with the second worst.  The Ducks have given up 33 goals in 9 games.  Let’s see if the Sharks can get some other lines rolling, and I fully expect another Nitty start.  Gotta stay with the hot hand.

The Sharks have a better road trip than Doug predicted, but it wasn’t without problems.  Decent road wins against Colorado and Edmonton, but the Calgary game was a first-period debacle.  The dudes answer listener questions, mostly about the Sharks D (or lack thereof), and try to keep an even keel.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

The Dudes try not to pull the hair trigger as the Sharks lose again at home, this time to Carolina.  The Dudes talk about what seems to be ailing most- the defense and goaltending.  But as always, there’s room for levity, and your emails.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

The Sharks get three out of four points against Columbus in Sweden, and there’s already several Sharks related moves to talk about.  The Dudes tackle those, some listener emails, and still find time to weigh in on some NHL news as well.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

They waited until the very last minute as expected.  Joe Thornton is the new captain of the Sharks.  It’s a bit of a surprise, though not to everyone.   After talking with Randy, I’m certainly not as surprised as I would have been if it was announced a month ago.  If one guy ‘stirs the drink’ as Randy put it, it makes sense.  The other contender, Dan Boyle, gets the “permanent ‘A'”, with the other ‘A’ rotating.  Maybe the most surprising thing about the announcement is the news that Clowe will share the ‘A’.  No mention of Pavelski.

Of course this is going to be covered and debated in Sharks Nation with zeal, and we’ve had our fair share of captaincy discussions over the past couple of years.  The more I think about it, the less I think I know about it.  This quote from McLellan is a bit of a clue:

The verbal leadership gets way overrated. We don’t  need cheerleaders on our team by any means. We need people  who speak their mind and then back it up on the ice.

Let’s face it, it’s not about us.  It’s not about how good or bad a guy is at a press conference after a game.  It’s not about whether we think a guy is too sunny, or too laid-back, or too intense.  The captain is the PR face of the franchise, and for that reason, we think we should have a say, and what we see is all there is.  Sure, it’d be nice if those two things agreed, and many times they do.  But the real measure is wins, losses, and Cups.  Warm fuzzies in the fan base aren’t counted.  Would you really want it any other way?

The season is finally upon us, and the Dudes are there.  They digest the most recent Sharks news- Andreas Lilja being released, and wonder what sort of ramifications it will have on the team.  But the bulk of the show is devoted to something they do every year- preview the NHL for the 2010-2011 season.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Per Pollak.  I’m not being facetious here.  I thought for sure he’d be on the opening day roster.  I guess that means two things- one, that Niclas Wallin is healthy enough to play.  Two, that Lilja wasn’t playing better (or better by a big enough margin) to play every night, so they might as well have Mike Moore or somebody else in the #7 slot.  We’ll be talking all about that tonight, along with our season preview.  Email us or post something on FB if you want us to talk about something specific.

The Dudes go to the final home preseason game, and make their roster predictions.  They also run down the goalie situation, and open some Mystery Pucks.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Hockey is ready to go, with the Teal and White game being played.  The Dudes break down the better-than-average scrimmage, take on some listener emails, and imagine the Sharks with their newest tryout, Andreas Lilja.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Are you one of those poor saps that just has a blue background on your computer?  No color in your life at all, staring a screen all day, occasionally popping your head up from your cube like a prairie dog, looking for something interesting that just never happens?  Not that I’m talking about myself… I mean, no.  I was talking about, um, my friend.  Yeah, that’s it.

I always hate the idea of desktop wallpaper.  If you have something great, it’s a bit of a waste because it’s always covered up by a spreadsheet or TPS report, or an ‘alternative’ website.  Or you’re trying to impress people that walk by, like having a picture of yourself on top of Kilimanjaro, or your mugshot when you flashed those nuns that one time.  Not the picture of the flashing itself, because your boss would get mad.  You have that picture in your wallet.

Anyhoo, a couple of years ago I found the solution to my desktop wallpaper problem.  A Sharks schedule!  I’m always forgetting exactly when the games are, even though I have them in my calendar (which I always forget to look at).  Plus, when I do tear my eyes away from the drudgery, I get a little pick-me-up thinking about the next game.  Problem is, this sort of thing is generally a little hard to come by- I’ve gotten previous ones from HFBoards, then Chompboard had last season split into two, so I had to change it when the new year rolled around.  I dunno about you, but changing my wallpaper twice a year is just too much damn work.  Right-click and choose “Set as Desktop Backgrou… zzzz”?  See, I’m already taking a nap.

So this year, now that Chompboard is unfortunately no longer operating, and the HFBoards version depended on the generosity of one’s fellow man (which can never be trusted), I decided to commission my own.  Friend of the podcast Bryce (who can be contacted at bryce (at) storagebin (dawt) us for all of your graphic design needs) was kind enough to make me one that fits my exacting specifications.  And by kind, I mean he kindly took my bribe to make it.  But no matter, my loss is your gain!  A DOH branded wallpaper of the 2010-2011 San Jose Sharks schedule can now be yours for the low, low price of $0.00.  That’s right, FREE.

1900x1200 for the cool kids with a widescreen

1280x1024 for the poor kids stuck in 2002

Need another size?  Download The Gimp and teach yourself to resize an image.  Ingrates.