San Jose Sharks

Flying High In MoTown!!!

The Red Wings took game 2 on Monday night 3-0. The Pens looked aware, but a sleep at trying to score goals.

Detroit had a very busy couple of days hosting the Stanley Cup Finals and the Eastern Confrence Finals between the Celtics and the Pistons. between the fights and the penalties that were in game 2, I have to say what a game it was on Monday.

There were so many fights and so much talkin I was wondering that maybe this was WWF smack down in hockey style.

Now I know their playing for the biggest trophy in hockey, but I guess you can’t blame them when it comes to Lords Stanley’s Cup you just sometimes have to drop the gloves and fight it out, to see who wants it more.

Although the Pens did seem like they might have been starting to make a comeback in the third, I doubted it after one of the players on the Penguins was called for goalie interference.

Malkin and Crosby seemed to be alert on trying to score goals, but the defense of the Red Wings kust were to much to handle.

I really think that the Red Wings will sweep the Penguins if the Pens don’t start shuting them down and start slowing it down a bit.

The Pens need to stop talking trash with the Wings and start performing as if in fact they are Eastern Confrence Champs.

Because honestly if they keep on talking trash with their mouths, they will see their hopes and dreams of becoming the NHL Champs sweeped away by the the MoTown Wings.

GO PENS!!!

Ron Wilson Canned And An Apology…

Well I figured after the San Jose Sharks were eliminated, I figured Ron Wilson had to take the fall, fairly or unfairly.  Sure enough a week to the day……Wilson was relieved of his duties and GM Doug Wilson said a search has begun immediately for a new coach.  My question is what really went wrong here?  This team has clearly underachieved the last three seasons.  Many had this team going to the finals this season and quite a few had them winning the whole damn thing.  So how did it end in the second round yet again?

There are so many reasons.  You can trace it to the overplaying of Evgeni Nabokov, the lack of depth scoring, the injury to Michalek.  There were too many things to mention here but really it all comes down to playoff game planning and this team has not or still has not found a plan that consistently works.  This is more than the coach’s fault….this is on the players, staff, execs, and owner PERIOD!  So who is the immediate scapegoat?  Ron Wilson…that’s who.  He will land a job and in very short order…there are a number of teams who are looking for the services of a coach like him.  Expect him to be with a new team before the draft or shortly thereafter.  You heard it here first!

Now onward to an apology of sorts if you will.  I said this in January:

There is no denying this team has great team chemistry…they have for almost two decades really. Yet for whatever myriad of reasons, they have not won a cup since 2002. I really do believe the Wings play so good during the season that they may be playing too well when they head into the playoffs. Teams often come gunning for them and when that intensity ramps up, they can’t answer the bell for whatever reason. Now I am not saying the Red Wings should tank it a bit…but one has to admit, it is strange to see a team with such killer instinct in the regular season….lose it in the playoffs the way they do.

May I now simply just admit I was wrong here…though with one caveat.  The Wings did indeed slow down a bit albeit because of some injuries and maybe that was a good thing.  Because now in the playoffs they are even more unbeatable than in the early part of the regular season.  Detroit has won 9 straight games..two shy of the record from the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.  Unlike the Habs, the Wings have not needed overtime at all.  Chris Osgood is playing consistent and that is all Detroit really needs right now.  Let the defensive machine combine with timely scoring and you have the makings of a Stanley Cup Champ.  They still have 5 games to win before they can claim the Cup but this is a year they definitely have what it takes…something that couldn’t be said even in January.

In an oh by the way…Canada beat Finland 6-3 today and the USA throttled Norway 9-1 which means simply we get to see Finland and the US play for keeps in the quarters.  If it is anything like the game Sunday, it will be one whale of a game.  The US and their Power Play will come out firing…hopefully they let them play and no one decides this one but the players….then that way there can’t be any doubt.

Well a tough one tonight…as Dallas lost bad but I am hoping Philly can do what Dallas couldn’t and that is come out with the fire and intensity then sustain it.  They will enough to win this one.

Philly 4  Pittsburgh 3

Viva l’hockey!!!!!

Hockey’s Final Four Set…..

Now the game ended a half hour ago…and yet the strange thing is the buzz from a quadruple overtime game hasn’t worn off in the least. In a game that featured some amazing defensive plays from both sides and some unbelievable plays….it just seemed weird that a game like this would be settled via the Power Play but yet that is just how it happened.

Though the call was very curious considering how the Overtime played out….it was made nonetheless. When Brendan Morrow finally put a puck past Evgeni Nabokov…the crowd erupted probably in sheer relief that the game was over. Games with this many overtimes are excruciating for the home team and especially their fans. I know a Stars fan just outside of Indianapolis who literally was on pins, needles, and Captain Morgan. No one is sure how much she consumed but I can safely be assured that she was definitely very happily drunk!

By the way Liss….Dallas will face Detroit on Thursday Night…..have the captain ready!

I wanted to congratulate both teams and particularly both goalies for an amazing effort. There were many times when they could have been beaten and yet they stood tall like two gunslingers that won’t flinch. In the end, Nabokov flinched for that little bit and Morrow found an opening. This is the kind of playoff hockey that you have to love…and for the first time this playoffs I have to say I felt that fever!!

DALLAS - MAY 04: Left wing Brenden Morrow #10 of the Dallas Stars scores the game winning goal against Evgeni Nabokov #20 of the San Jose Sharks in the fourth overtime during game six of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 4, 2008 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

So now the final four is set….Pittsburgh and Philly begin the battle for Pennsylvania and the Eastern Conference on Friday night and Detroit-Dallas the night before. If it feels like a turn back the clock type thing….eh…it is going to have the feeling of some old time hockey at the very least. Now this was a good night…going 2-0 and ending up 12-8 for the second round…it was respectable to end on the positive side of the ledger for a change….even if it took a little extra time to come to that outcome. Series previews coming soon…thank you and good night everyone!

Rangers Win One For The Spleen?

Yes Sean Avery is still in an intensive care unit a little further up in Manhattan but the Rangers turned in their best postseason performance in a 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. Jaromir Jagr scored twice including the gamewinner in the second period that broke the ice and eased the tension for the Rangers. They had to feel the pressure in what had to feel like a 48 hour period from hell.

Depending on one’s account…Sean Avery nearly died the other night from a lacerated spleen suffered in the Game 3 loss at MSG. The Rangers were one loss away from elimination and their thoughts had to be on Avery no question. For the first time in the series…the breaks went NY’s way and stayed that way throughout the game. The bottom line is the Rangers have three more games to win and face it this has only been done twice. However, every game in this series much like their last one was one bounce and it could go either way. Therefore, anything is possible….after all the 75 Penguins did blow a 3-0 lead to the New York Islanders…had to bring that up…I know.

The weirdest thing is after the 3rd goal….this ensues….I mean where was this all series from the Rangers???

Will there be repercussions from this?

I happen to think this is going to set up a very interesting Game 5.  Pittsburgh is going to want to pick up the scoring pace no question.  The longer they do not score on Lundqvist…the more the goalie will get into the Penguins’ heads and that is just the thing Pittsburgh does not want.  PERIOD!!  All in all Lundqvist made 29 saves for the shutout and he earned it.  Now the fun thing is what happens Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh…I surely can’t wait!!

Now of course…there is a prediction for tonight’s Sharks-Stars…and here is what I got….

Sharks 3  Stars 1…there will be a Game 6.  Good night everyone!!

Taking The Day Off….

A quick synopsis of what happened yesterday…..

The Rangers really laid a 1st period egg against the Penguins and could never catch up…as they lost 5-3.

The Stars scored a dramatic OT win once again…Mattias Norstrom did the honors this time as the puck went in…he seemed more stunned than the San Jose Sharks….scary thought.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg dominated the shorthanded Avs again and the Wings held on for a 4-3 victory to go up 3-0 in the series as well.

Sean Avery remains hospitalized after suffering a lacerated spleen in last night’s Rangers game…he did go into Cardiac Arrest but is stable right now and on the road to recovery.

We went 2-1 yesterday…raising our record to 8-4.  So today……

Montreal over Philly 3-2 (OT)

Dallas over San Jose 3-2 (OT)

Maybe this time….it will go right for Montreal…it has to sometime…right???

I Feel Like I Just Got Kicked In The Nuts!

That is the only way I can describe last night’s game. I thought for sure Montreal would find a way to win last night’s game and then the second period came and went….my thoughts changed drastically. The goal by Scottie Upshall wasn’t so bad….it was the goal by Mike Richards that was the real dagger though the RJ Umberger goal (off yet another Price misplay) turned out to be the needed insurance. Maybe Derian Hatcher should buy Jeff Carter and Umberger dinner for the next week after his boneheaded 5:00 major nearly cost the Flyers their lead.

In the end, the final score was 3-2. Yet if you watched the game as a fan of neither team the game felt like a 5-1 Habs rout except for the fact that Martin Biron stood on his head in crunch time and Carey Price made at least 2 unforced errors that proved costly. Using tennis terms aside, the Habs are sticking by their goalie…I think a change to Jaroslav Halak would not hurt. Hey the Devils did this once in 1994 against Boston…they benched their rookie (some guy named Brodeur) for Chris Terreri and the Devils went on to win four straight. I am not saying that Halak is a cure all here. However, Halak seems to be more assertive in these puck playing situations and Price’s nonchalantness is the reason why the Habs are down 2-1 plain and simple!!

So now the Habs pretty much face a do or die Game 4…they have to bury their chances and win this one otherwise if they think the Montreal media is all over them now….just give them a few more days after another loss and boy it will be more than a frenzy. It will be downright a catastrophic nightmare that could shut down the entire city.

Prediction Time: (3 games)

NY Rangers 3  Pittsburgh 2 (OT)

Dallas 3  San Jose 2 (OT)

Detroit 4  Colorado 2

Enjoy the hockey tonight everyone…hopefully my 6-3 record gets a bit of a boost tonight.

Today’s Predictions….

I had to keep this simple for my sanity as I am stille stunned from the amazing four goal outburst from Dallas in the third period of tonight’s 5-2 win over San Jose at the HP Pavilion.  The four point period from Brad Richards was just the icing on the cake.  Any doubt now that Dallas knew what they were doing when they made that trade??  Doubts erased!!!  What is sure now is that this series may be shorter than six.  Hell, Ron Wilson may be fired sometime next week (you heard it here first).

Congrats also to the Pittsburgh Penguins who used a workmanlike effort today in their 2-0 win over the New York Rangers.  Jordan Staal scored on the Power Play then Marc-Andre Fleury may it stand up.  Adam Hall added the empty netter.  Fleury made 26 saves and several key ones in the third period to preserve the shutout…his first of his career.  I have the feeling he is going to have a few more before all is said and done in his career.  So the Rangers have been beaten in a slower game and in a faster paced game.  That isn’t what I want to see if I am Tom Renney.  Shudder to think what it could be like if Pittsburgh played at their best.  So far the Rangers have been treading water after that early 3-0 lead in Game 1….and that my friends is dangerous stuff.

So all in all…a 1-1 record today was not surprising…just the way that it happened.  Fortunately there is only one game on Monday’s docket…and that is Montreal @ Philly.  I just see Montreal and particularly Carey Price coming out with conviction and that will serve him well when this game is in its crucial stages.  Here it goes…time to let it ride!

Montreal 4  Philly 3  (OT)

I will be able to watch this all in HD and enjoy it thoroughly.  Thank you and good night!!!

Here Comes The Pain!!!

I have probably watched the movie “Snake Eyes” a few too many times but you felt the sting of the loss coming like it was fixed.  The line that the champ was supposed to go down on was “Here Comes The Pain”…and sure enough the Champ went down and the Senator gets shot and eventually dies.  There was a coverup, conspiracy, and much much more.  But for aesthetic purposes, I felt that pain when I saw RJ Umberger bat the puck away from Carey Price then shoveled it in the net to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead and a split in Montreal.  After 5 straight correct predictions…I was due for some sort of Murphy’s Law…right???  You bet your ass!!

So yes…we dropped a tough one and are now 5-1 for the second round.  However…I am undaunted and will try to redeem myself with today’s picks.  Time to take a stab at it…ready…aim…..FIRE!!!!

Pittsburgh 4  NY Rangers 3

San Jose 3  Dallas 2 (OT)

That 11am PDT start time for the Penguins game will drive me batty but I am game for it….these Game 2’s are going to be even more intense than the Game 1’s and that is just damn fine to me.  Here comes the hockey baby!!!

Starry Starry Night….

Stars take Game 1 3-2 in OT.

With just that one shot…the Dallas-San Jose series took on a different meaning. Now yes, I know San Jose dropped Game 1 at home against Calgary but memo to Sharks fans…this isn’t Calgary!! The Stars have scoring depth this year…something they have sorely needed in previous years. Marty Turco is playing solid in net very similar to last year. He kept San Jose at bay for most of the game and did enough late in the game and in overtime to set up Morrow’s heroics. The Stars have now won in 7 of their last 8 visits to the HP Pavillion Center….pretty scary stuff. Maybe they should rename their team the Dallas Sharks…just a thought.

If that wasn’t enough in the “star” department….then there was the star power in last night’s NY Rangers - Pittsburgh Penguins Game 1 clash. Jagr, Gomez, Lundqvist, Crosby, Malkin…they were all there but in the end….it was Ryan Whitney who set up Crosby for a one timer from the point…..then Evgeni Malkin got just enough of his stick on it to tip it in past Henrik Lundqvist on the Power Play and just like that the Penguins won the game 5-4 on the late PP goal with just over 100 seconds left. It capped a very weird game where both goaltenders were extremely shaky and the Rangers had a 3-0 lead early in the second period then the Penguins scored 2 strange goals in :14 to turn the game around as Jarkko Ruutu and Pascual Dupuis scored on Lundqvist who didn’t look the same afterwards.

Not that Fleury had that many bright moments either but he did just barely enough to keep his team in it when they went down 3-0. I was surprised Therrien did not make a change but he stuck with his goalie and did pay off as Marc-Andre Fleury responded. Both teams are going to look at this game and not be all that surprised at what happened. Expect an attempt especially in the first period of Game 2…where both teams try to assert themselves with more physicality and defense. The bottom line is this…whoever has the last chance may just win each game…I kid you not…it may just come down to that.

Onward to today’s predictions….and a run to the store to get some cider before the game starts…..

Montreal Over Philly 4-2

Detroit Over Colorado 4-2

Enjoy the food, beer, and hockey, and now a moment from Montreal-Philly Game 1 from a Habs fan….

Thank you RDS merci!

Jeremy Spoken……

The best way to describe this game was it was a Jeremy Roenick kind of game. Ron Wilson scratched Roenick in Game 6 for this very reason. Wilson had to roll the dice….the flameouts of San Jose playoffs past would be too much to bear if they lost this one. In the end a four goal explosion during the second period was what cemented this 5-3 victory. What finished the victory was a determined defensive effort in the third period that held the lead up.

After Owen Nolan’s wonderful breakaway goal early in the second period to give the Flames a 2-1 lead…the San Jose Sharks went simply nuts all led by the mercurial Jeremy Roenick. He spoke all right and it went something like this. Roenick already had a secondary assist on the Joe Thornton power play tally. He turned back the clock and scored twice in 3:00 to make it 3-2 Sharks. Both goals were JR specials…one was a fortunate bounce from driving the net…and the other was a Power Play tally where he followed his own rebound to slam it hope past Miikka Kiprusoff. It is funny that on the VS. feed JR talked to the press about scoring 2 goals and well he sure did.  Amazing effort for the 38 year old who turned back the clock tonight and played like a man in his late 20’s.

Calgary has nothing to be ashamed of…they were bombarded in this game and yet they were still in it…just about till the very end.  The Flames were outshot 35-13 in the first 2 periods and basically Kipper, Iginla, and Phaneuf cannot do it alone.  That much was proven tonight.  Iginla played 13:18 of the third period and nearly cut the lead to one several times but Evgeni Nabokov shut the door just enough to keep him off the scoresheet in the third.  In the end, San Jose was able to play keep away a little better than Calgary was able to mount an offensive attack.  They appeared dead tired and when you are exhausted in the final 5:00 of a Game 7….it is hard to pull off the comeback.  Kudos to San Jose for moving on…they get a rested Dallas Stars team Friday night.

In the other game tonight….Joffrey Lupul scored on the waning seconds of a power play early in Overtime to win the series for the Philadelphia Flyers.  Daniel Briere set up Kimmo Timonen, who fired a hard and low shot on goal that Cristobal Huet could not fully handle.  Earlier in the overtime almost the same play occurred but Lupul was about a half second slow.  He was not slow this time around as he got to the puck real quick and backhanded the puck past a sprawled out Huet sending the Flyers bench into hysterics of joy while the heart of Washington finally stopped beating.

The 3-2 final, which seemed significant in the playoffs so far wasn’t without some controversy however.  The Flyers second goal scored by Sami Kapanen was just after Patrick Thoresen knocked a Caps defenseman right over Huet.  Kapanen had a wide open net and did not miss which gave them a shortlived 2-1 lead.  Alexander Ovechkin would score on an amazing shot late in the second to tie it at two but many wondered aloud if that second Flyers goal would have counted if the Refs had been in better position.  It is one of those, we’ll never know type things but I think Ted Leonsis and the Caps will be thinking about it for some time.

Take nothing away from these two teams it was a hell of a series.  This was a great way to end the first round.  I was hoping to see an Ovechkin-Crosby Round 2…really to see Ovechkin and Malkin go at it but it wasn’t meant to be.  So now here are the conference semi matchups starting East first then West.  Previews will come on Thursday….

(1) Montreal Canadiens VS. (6) Philadelphia Flyers

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins VS. (5) New York Rangers

(1) Detroit Red Wings VS. (6) Colorado Avalanche

(2) San Jose Sharks VS. (5) Dallas Stars

It is going to be an awesome second round.  For those on the prediction front…I went a halfway decent 29-19 for the first round…not too shabby.  Take the day off….relax and recharge…because the second round is going to come back with a vengeance tomorrow night.

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