In a stunning reversal, the United States wins the World Junior Hockey Championship, beating Canada. In other news, the Sharks went on an eight-game winning streak, which then came to a screeching halt against the Kings. The Dudes break it all down, talk about the yo-yo action of Jason Demers to the minors, and wrap up the show giving three predictions for the second half of the season.
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.
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.
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.
Claude Lemiuex wants you to show up tonight, Sharks.
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.
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.
This aside, there were a lot of good things to take away from the game. Here’s my list:
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.
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.
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.
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.
If everything wasn’t bad enough, Taylor Pyatt had to play the Grinch. As the clock ran out, he hammered Dan Boyle against the boards and it sure didn’t look good. Boyle stayed down on the ice and needed help off the ice, clearly favoring one leg.
Here’s video of my reaction.
This is the crossroads of the Sharks season right here and now, folks. If Dan Boyle has a boo-boo and is out for two weeks, I can climb off the roof – but (gulp) if he is going to miss major time with a knee injury (which it looked like that’s what it was, his knee) we can kiss Lord Stanley good-bye. Why? Because Dan Boyle is the MVP of this team, the secret sauce on their Big Mac, the booty on their collective J-Lo. Boyle is irreplaceable by a call-up from Worcester and by almost anyone in the league.
As we wait by the chimney with care to see if Santa is going to give us our MVP back or screw us with a major injury to Danny Boy, here’s an interesting stat that is sure to cheer you up. Since November 1st, the Sharks have lost four games that they were leading going into the 3rd period.
2-1 @ Detroit
3-2 SO loss vs. Dallas
3-2 SO loss vs. St. Louis
3-2 SO loss vs. Dallas
The current measuring stick has to be the Calgary Flames and the Chicago Blackhawks. Calgary lost their first game after leading into period three since November 1st just this week when they dropped in Minnesota. Any guessing how many 3rd period leads the Blackhawks have lost kids?
ZERO.
Depressing. I better turn this post around or else you’ll think you’re at a screening of Precious.
Let’s hope for the best, that Boyle’s “lower body” injury isn’t major and that he’ll be quarterbacking our team again sooner rather than later. But, the Sharks still have issues and are officially in a slump, dropping five games in a row and are now tied with LA for first place in the Pacific Division. Here comes the sunny side, are you ready? If this was going to happen, and for most good teams it does, it needs to happen now. Last January, Detroit lost five games in a row, hit the skids and came back even stronger. It’s not like bad things don’t happen to good teams – but the Sharks recent play, their record against the cream of the West (Flames, Hawks, Kings, and Wings) is 1-4-2, and this potential season-busting injury makes me want to cry in a corner.
Mike and Doug take over the airwaves of KDOW 1220AM and spend two hours talking hockey. In the first hour they cover the Calgary game, the Ottawa game with the return of Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo, and start to explore the kinds of changes or moves the Sharks might contemplate. In the second hour the Dudes talk to Mark Purdy, columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, and Mark Smith, former Shark. After that, the listeners weigh in with their takes.
Episode 81 – USA! USA!
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