Quick Prediction

The puck drops in about 2 minutes.

Quick prediction.

Sharks win 4-2.

John Tavares scores a goal, and it's nasty.

Three Stars:

1) Marleau

2) Tavares

3) Clowe

Heatley-Nichol-Thornton?

David Pollak's Working the Corners blog wrote today:

"I wasn’t there myself, but sources close to the situation tell me that at today’s noon practice he had Scott Nichol on a line with Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. Must be thinking, hey, if Nichol made Benn Ferriero look that good on the one goal against the Capitals, just think what he could do setting up the two big guns. Or something like that.

That also created a second line of Ryane Clowe, Patrick Marleau and Devin Setoguchi, but hard to know if McLellan already has made up his mind to start Saturday night’s game against the Islanders with those reconstructed lines or was shaking things up on an off day skate in Syosset."

Hard to believe it's true because Joe is a much better center than Nichol and he probably isn't much as a winger. I would have explored a Marleau-Nichol-Clowe line myself but we'll see how this all turns out.

Anyways, if Nichol and Thornton do play on a line together, you have to give them their props for working to become good teammates:

Sharks Caps, the Day After-

Having had a night to sleep off the loss, now is the time for more coolheaded analysis.

Missing Ron Wilson:

One of the by-products of ditching nearly half of our roster this past off-season was ridding the roster of many players coached by Ron Wilson. Love him or hate him, RW is a hell of a coach who preaches thoroughness in his players. As Marcel Goc and Patrick Marleau can attest to, RW harped on his players not to take penalties, to completely take out a player on the back-check and to clear the puck along the boards. Watching the game last night, it's clear that this is something players on the bottom two lines will need to learn.

Jed Ortmeyer:

He had a poor game and looked disengaged and incomplete on the rink. He let himself out of the play mentally on Ovechkin's second goal. That was completely his fault. I didn't like his game at all last night. He is on my radar now.

Manny in the Middle:

Despite being the subject of serious media scrutiny for his aborted clears against the Kings, MM is still trying to clear the puck up the middle on the PK. Unsurprisingly, it is not working. He did it again last night, the puck was caught and it was put directly on net. TM will knock this out of him.

Huskins' Adapting:

Much has been made by internet Sharks fans about how badly he has played. He had some nice passes last night and I don't think he is as awful as other Sharks fans are making him out to be but last night was surely a forgettable appearance in the Huskins household. As we know from last night, KH was responsible for the first goal. He was also the source of a couple near-misses and was one bounce away from being victimized for the hat-trick goal in the second period. I know he hasn't played in a year and that he will need time to adjust to the Sharks. That being said, if I were to pick a defenseman to send to Worcester, it'd be Huskins.

Penalties:

The Sharks have taken 35 penalties through seven games. Typically one of the most disciplined teams in the league, this is most unusual. I don't like it at all. Teams usually take penalties when they are lazy or slow. Like much about the Sharks, this concerns me.

Nabby, Nichol prove their value in horrible loss

It doesn't take a hockey genius to say that the Sharks looked terrible tonight in their loss to Washington. In what has been an inconsistent season already, the Sharks showed no signs of growth or cohesiveness tonight in what has to be considered a dramatic set-back for the Boys in Teal. This loss alters the perceptions of the team and highlights that bringing this team together may not be as easy as the ten games I had previously thought appropriate. Indeed, bringing this team together is an absolute must for a team that has zero cohesiveness or bond. I am beginning to think that Doug Wilson may have been too cavalier with the breadth of his Sharks overhaul this past summer. Then again, this was the seventh game!

Losses like tonight's are good for a team. It helps define players and their roles on the team. It gets players talking more and visualizing the team and their game in their heads. As any player knows, nothing stirs the pot and brings you together like a good, old fashioned, well-deserved loss. Sometimes, you have to show yourself what it looks like when things go wrong so you can accomplish what it is to do something "right." In a way, poor play is like leveraging yourself to play better. Think of it as establishing both the bottom of your ability and the need to do the opposite of that. For an example, see Jed Ortmeyer getting out-muscled and out-hustled by a much hungrier and more aggressive Ovechkin. (I'd watch for Ortmeyer to play his butt off the rest of this roadtrip to prove to his new teammates that he can play both ways on the third line).

I can visualize this road trip consisting of .5o0 play, some bonding moments, and some minor accomplishments as the team takes steps to play at their peak by January. The Sharks should beat the Islanders, Thrashers, and the Lighting, but will be challenged by the Rangers and the Flyers. If the Sharks lose one of the "should win" games, I'd be surprised. If the lose two, I'd look for some changes in the roster or on the ice. That would be the sign that the Sharks are in trouble.

Thoughts after tonight:

"McLellan on Ovechkin’s second goal: “Jed Ortmeyer’s right there. You want to play in the best league in the world against the best players, you better be prepared. That’s why Ovechkin’s got 50-55 goals a year because he’s determined in that area and he outwills a lot of people. That was real evident on that third goal.”"- David Pollak's Working the Corners blog on mercurynews.com/sharks

That's a roasting from the Head Coach. Unprepared is the term I would use to describe about a lot of tonight's game. Especially the out-gunned defensive core. They looked lost and sloppy all night.

Scott Nichol: One of the few Sharks to have looked great all season, he had a great assist tonight to Ferriero and even better energy on the rink. He had four or five excellent hits on people. Hitting, like scoring, is an essential skill and can be hard to do. It requires prescience, speed, and a knowledge for the game. Scott Nichol has this and even though he is my size ("Five foot nuthin, a hundred and nuthing") he pins players right on their shoulders and stops them on a dime in the boards. He played great tonight. Early vote for my next jersey purchase.

Manny Malhotra: He isn't being fully used by the Sharks, and playing him on the fourth line is poor place to have him and TM has to know it. Scott Nichol has passed up Malhotra on the depth chart for the time being, though MM did see some time on the hybridized second line with Heatley and Clowe in the third period. With his speed, size, and skill, the fourth line is no place for a player of his caliber. A good explanation for this could be that MM is having a tough time adjusting to the new system, getting used to his teammates, and just isn't at his peak yet. He looks like he's playing at fifty-percent out there and he might just be uncomfortable with his new surroundings, unsure of where and how to channel his skills with the roster. What, exactly, is is role out there? I'm not sure that's clear yet. This seems to be an epidemic on the Sharks right now. Like the flu, this will pass for MM and he will contribute plenty for the Sharks as they play more games and define their identity.

The Defensive Top-Six: This is an area of major concern for me. Where are the shots from the point? How do NHL players pass so poorly? Demers, while he has made plenty of rookie mistakes, has been a great surprise so far but the core has been so torn up by the loss of Christian Ehrhoff that they just have not pulled their end of the bargain at all this season. This has affected all aspects of the Sharks play. Slow defenseman earn hooking and holding penalties. Out of position defenseman either lose the 50-50 battles, have to back up and give up on the puck, or cause the forwards to pull themselves out of position to cover for the defensive lapses. The defense's inability to keep the puck in, pass effectively, enter the zone, or even get shots off has affected all the areas of the Sharks game. To put it simply, they have sucked it up across the board.

To be sure, some of it has to do with getting to know the system and the players around them. Yet, this really concerns me. They look slow, they look sloppy, and they look unprofessional. To use Todd Mclellan's words, they are unprepared.

The list of mistakes and miscues would be long if I listed them just from tonight but let it be said: The Sharks defense is not yet as good as they were last year, they look unpolished and unpracticed. This must be fixed to make the playoffs, let alone win the Stanley Cup.

Patrick Marleau: Great article by Susan Slusser in the Chronicle about Patty: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/14/SP301A585G.DTL

You have to be impressed by the man and what he's done this season. Even when he's out of his element on a line with McGinn and Clowe, the man works his tail off skating both ways and even manages to create opportunities for himself with his speed and tenacity.

Ryan Clowe: He looks lost but he has the heart to pull out of it. Gotta love the play tonight in the first period when he dove on Theodore for the loose puck, as if he was going to hand-pass it to the open slot. I don't know what he was thinking (hand passes are not legal in hockey unless between defenseman in their own end) but it's clear that he's trying out there. In all likelihood, he is going to need to play his way through this one. Nobody on the Sharks would benefit more from an empty-net goal than Ryan Clowe.

The New Tendency of Sending D-Men Deep in the Offensive Zone: I'm not sure I like this so far. If you haven't noticed, check out the Green Light the Sharks D have to go deep into the offensive zone. I saw Kent Huskins behind the Capitals net! I get the idea of being aggressive and activating the D men on a rush. Yet, it always seemed to leave a side of the rink open for the other team to clear the puck through. Where we once had Ehrhoff slamming his body into the boards to keep it in, now we have an empty spot where Dan Boyle should be but isn't. I think this is a Trent Yawney idea. I'll send David Pollak an email to see if he can ask a question or two of Coach Yawney about this. I will post if I get a response.

That's all for now.

Will post to talk about pre-game before Islanders.

And, this is hilarious: