OffThePost.org

Statistically their offense is the only thing that's noticeably dropped since last season (down from 6th to 12th), pretty much everything else--defense, special teams--are more or less the same. Keep in mind they weren't great defensively to begin with, so the lack of timely scoring might really be hurting now. And if there's one thing their new trade acquisitions don't do well, it's score.

Honestly though, it you've got a team with Thornton, Marleau, Boyle, Burns, Couture, Pavelski, and Clowe, and STILL need an aging Marty Havlat to make his way back, something's seriously wrong with the core of this team. Honestly, ownership needs to wake up. It. Ain't. Working. I would keep Pavelski, keep Couture, maybe keep Burns, and declare in a loud, booming voice that everything else is up for grabs, NMC/NTCs be damned. The Sharks are simply too expensive and too talented to have any excuses at this point. And since there is absolutely no help coming from the farm, I'd say a major reshuffling is in order before it's too late. The coach and GM are not the problem.

Put up nearly 50 shots, lose. Lost to the Oilers in a shootout earlier this week. Panic must be setting in, this team is one no one would want to face in the first round... you can bet Vancouver/Detroit/St. Louis are all cheering for Dallas and LA right now.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

Out of Dallas, LA Phoenix and SJ............I'd definitely prefer SJ vs Nucks

1. Least travel and same time zone, although LA would be pretty much the same in this regard
2. Most important their goalie won't steal a series. Quick could.
3. They're big but slow. Expect Phoenix, LA and Dallas to take a bigger physical toll
4. They play a skill game and are a lot of fun to watch unlike the other 3.

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Shoresy, "It's called a sweater"

You'd get less shots on San Jose's goalies than Dallas', though. I think goaltending difference between Niemi and Lehtonen is not enough to overcome that. LA is pretty decent at both shot prevention and goaltending, I'll buy that argument especially after dumping the awful Jack Johnson.

I know Phoenix is quick, but I'm not so sure LA or Dallas is in particular. You guys probably know a bit more than me on that front.

What I love about the Sharks is how they challenge every puck and battle for every inch on the ice. I think they will be plenty physically challenging of an opponent.

To me, it's like the Blackhawks. I know a lot of people didn't think they were a big challenge heading into last year's playoffs, but all indicators I like to look at suggested they would be a bigger challenge than any of the other bottom feeders... and I like to think they proved me right in that regard.

The Kings interest me because of all the recent changes to the team. Johnson for Carter is a massive positive change, combined with a new coach, although I'm more skeptical on that second one than the first one. Over the season the Sharks look stronger, but with recent changes it could be different.

Dallas seems like a bit of a mirage to me. Phoenix is strong defensively but has virtually no offence. I'd take a one-dimensional opponent over a multi-dimensional opponent every day of the week.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

Tonight vs. Oil and tomorrow vs. Flames are essentially must-wins for the Sharks. I can't believe as of now Flames are in and Sharks are out.

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Havlat is off the IR, maybe back tonight - will he be a spark or a lazy bastard?

Huge game against a very tough Nashville team - GO SHARKS!!

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Here is tonight's lineup against the Preds with Marty Havlat finally making his return. Remember, he hurt his knee jumping over the boards.

Couture - Thornton - Pavelski
Clowe - Marleau - Havlat
Winnik - Moore - Mitchell
Galiardi - Desjardins - Ferriero

SJ trailing 1-0 after 1.

That top line might be what's wrong with the Sharks...no denying the talent there, but which one of them is supposed to actually put it in the net?

BTW, where the hell is Handzus? I know he's been sick, but the guy hasn't played since the 10th.

Would not be surprised at all to see SJ make a desperation play for Nash this offseason. They really have no choice at this point.

BTW, love this pic of Handzus on his player profile. Think he knew what was coming at the time?



And grow your damn mullet back, Michal.

Pavelski and Couture both have good hands , Pavelski has always been looked at as a goal scorer and while Couture was expected to be more of a playmaker he can also put the puck in the net. But you are right neither is an elite sniper like Cheechoo in his heyday or how Heatley was supposed to be. So ya maybe Nash....

Handzus I think pretty much lost his spot to Moore due to not playing that great.

Good game last night, looked like a playoff game. Hopefully Sharks build off this!

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The first round gets super interesting with them at the bottom. Heck, the whole playoff picture in the West should be interesting.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

Huge loss last night. With Phoenix/Dallas and Colorado/Calgary both going into OT, the Sharks lost ground to every single team they're fighting with for a playoff spot.

Right now it's the Kings who are cooking with gas. They finally have two legitimately dangerous scoring lines and don't have the liability of Jack Johnson to deal with. Now THAT is the team I would not want to face in the first round.

Plus the Kings have Quick who can get very hot. They are dangerous indeed.

Sharks losing to Anaheim and LA consecutively - and looking bad doing it - at this point in the season is brutal. But their remaining games include 2 against each of Dallas, Phoenix and LA and 1 against Colorado so they are somewhat in control of their destiny and at least have a chance.

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Still pissed the Sharks have so many damned games in hand this late...but I suppose they have to play those games when they're playing their worst hockey, so maybe I shouldn't complain.

I was ready to give up on these guys after losses to Ducks and Phoenix. But beating Dallas twice in a row with the playoffs on the line - and looking good doing it - has taken me away from the edge. Last night's game was closer than the score indicated. Niemi had a great game, hopefully a sign of things to come. Couture and JT also came up big. Despite limping through the second half the Sharks can still get a 3rd seed with 2 games left vs. LA, or get bounced if they lose both. Playoffs basically started early for these guys and so far they are rising to the occasion.

GO SHARKS!

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Did not realize just how big a tool Drew Remenda was until he bitched out Ray Ratto for calling out the team the other night. He makes the Avs TV team look objective by comparison.

No way, Drew is awesome. IMO nobody holds a candle to him and Randy Hahn as a broadcast team. Drew is typically pretty objective and I have heard him go off on particular players during a game if they are dogging it or make stupid plays. I didn't hear the bitching or the calling out but in my experience Ray Ratto doesn't know shit about hockey.

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Blech...Remenda's constantly bitching about the refs any time I hear a broadcast helmed by him. Even some Sharks fans I've talked to can't stand him. I don't know enough about Ratto to really comment but he was spot-on in his commentary that night. Admittedly Wilson may have underestimated what the loss of Heatley and Setoguchi up front would do to scoring overall but it's inexcusable for a team this stacked to be struggling so mightily just to make the postseason.

Oh, and in case anyone's curious and the fact that I like to make everything about the Avs, the Sharks need only win one of their next two games and Dallas need only get a single point in either of theirs for the Avs to be officially eliminated. Or the Avs can lose either of their next two games, whichever comes first.

4 straight wins to end the season, not bad! I'll be taking the Sharks in the avatar contest they are hitting their stride at the right time.

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Anyhow, the dust has settled. Time for "What Now?"

http://www.mercurynews.com/mark-purdy/c ... ix-winning

So if you're Doug Wilson, what do you do? It appears the Sharks took a giant step back offensively while at the same time not improving defensively. Unfortunately I don't see how they make a radical change with all the bloated contracts on their roster.

They are not in good shape. Niemi is not an elite goalie but is paid close to one. JT is declining, Marleau is an enigma, Pavelski is great but probably not going to make the jump to elite, Couture probably does make the jump to elite, Boyle is solid but probably declines, Burns is great but not elite, no real exciting prospects.....ugh.

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$3.8m is not an elite goalie's salary. His comparables salary wise are Halak, Khabibulin, Lehtonen and Roloson. Lehtonen is the only one that is a pure starter, let alone a guy that could be considered elite.

That said, Niemi isn't all that good, you are correct. I'm doing a full top down goaltender breakdown right now (sound familiar) and San Jose's set-up is pretty decent with Greiss as a backup for a team without a top guy. Could be much worse (Philly, Chicago, etc). I'd still see if I could find a goalie with a better chance at challenging Niemi down the line, though. Only three starters had a lower quality start rate than Niemi this past year (Fleury, Brodeur and Crawford). When you're starting 68 games, that's just not good enough. Especially when your backup is equaling you.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb