Maybe Holmstrom Won't Be As Effective?

To be sure the NHL and, more importantly, the on-ice officials will be
watching him.

http://m.tsn.ca/site?t=sXxXWAvmarqzUDASWBMJiA&sid=tsn

It's about time! Go Yotes!!

Sent from my iPhone

Pete's First Round Round-Up!

First off, I just want to revisit last week's big post and my predictions for the playoff shakedown:
"My projected final week results:

Nsh v: @Phx (L)  STL (w)  (+2 pts)

Det v:  CLS (w)  @ CLS (w)  @ CHI (w) (+6 pts)

LA v: @Anh (w) PHO (L) EDM (w) @Col (L) (+4 pts)

Col v: @ Van (L) @ Edm (w) CHI (w) LA (w)  (+6 pts)

which leaves us with these standings in the bottom half:

(5) Detroit  102 pts

(6) Nashville 100 pts

(7) Los Angeles 99 pts

(8) Colorado 97 pts "

The games I got wrong were:

(1) Nashville's second game, which they lost to STL in a shootout

(2) LA's loss to Edmonton and victory over Colorado (still got the right record)

(3) Colorado went 1-3, winning every game I said they'd lose and losing the game I'd said they'd win.  Stayed in 8th place.

In all, the only noticeable difference is that the current seedings have LA and Nashville flopped in the six and seven slots, whereas I had them in opposites.  No biggie.  But, I called it, the Sharks are facing the Avs.  I leave my prediction at a four game sweep. 

Why the four game sweep?  The Sharks have a roster front to back and are playing better hockey than the Avs are.  The Sharks are not going to be pushed around or outscored by the Avalanche, period.  The Avs D is not talented or experienced enough to keep the Shark's treasure trove of offensive depth off the board for very long, and the early season heroics of Craig Anderson have given way to the late season exhaustion of a fatigued and very tired goaltender.  The Avs pretty much played their best game of the season (in terms of playoff hockey, not offensive output) against the Sharks last week and even when the Avs were at their most desperate and dangerous the Sharks still tied them at 4-4 with very few shots on goal. There is just no way they lose to the Avs.  So, why four games? I think the Sharks are going to win both games at home against the Avs, and that once the Avs bend they will snap, breaking off and losing it all.  Most pundits have the Sharks in five games.  I say nay!  The Sharks have been playing close to playoff hockey for a couple weeks now and this is the series where they find their feet and play real playoff hockey.  Why lose one when you can close them out in four games.  The Sharks will.

Predictions (my favorite part)

Most Goals: Dany Heatley, 4.

Most Assists: Joe Thornton, 4.

Most Points: Dany Heatley, 6.

Most Outstanding Open Ice Hit:  Scott Nichol, in Game 2, second period.

Most Surprising Sharks: Torrey Mitchell. I bet two goals in a four game series and outstanding forechecking.

Biggest Goat:  Devin Setoguchi, where are you?

Nabby Plays...?: Pretty well.  No easy five hole goals this time around.  Maybe even gets a shutout on the road.

Guy Who Will Need to Step It Up in the Next Round:  We're all looking at you, Patty.  Time to shine, superstar.

Demers, 7th D or Rob Davison's spot in the box?:  Seventh D.  Look for the Sharks to keep Stauby in the press box rather than the penalty box as they use the extra minutes to get Demers some skating time and keep him fresh for the power play.

More later, as I think of them.

Greg's Game One Prediction

Before I write my preview of the Avs series, I wanted to take a second to post Greg's game one prediction. Because he is too busy to write it all out, the perfectionist that he is, here is our chat transcript of it:
BEGIN:

Greg: busy day, but i'll see what i can do

10:55 AM important question: do the sharks have their standard sleepy 1-2 periods after a multi-day break and thus donk off game 1

 me: no, i think they come out flying

10:56 AM and put up 2 goals in the first period

 Greg: thereby magnifying all of the critics' volumes 10-fold

 me: one on the power play

 Greg: i disagree

  i predict they go down 2-0

  wake up halfway through the second

  get one before the second intermission

  then get 2 in the third and hold on for a 3-2 victory

10:57 AM they tie it like 5 minutes into the third

  take the lead with about 7minutes left

10:58 AM then make us all shit our pants as they try to play prevent against a fast team for 7 minutes

  nabby comes up big

  avs hit a post with like 3 min left

  there are more terrifying plays around our net in the waning moments

  but we hold on

11:00 AM me: I am posting that as your game one prediction.

11:01 AM Greg: yeah i guess i just did it right there

Go Sharks!!

Fear The Fin Chimes In Too...

A much more widely circulated blog, fear the fin had similar thoughts as me today!

FTF: Playoff Pick your poision

Sharks Playoff Matchup Outlook:

I have a need to be first.  In fact, that's basically why this blog exists.  I have an online record of my thoughts on the Sharks and sports so when challenged, I can tell people that not only did I call it, but I called it months ago.  I am obsessed with myself, I know.

This is the Sharks playoff outlook:

As it stands now these are the matchups:

1.  Sharks v. 8. Avs

2.  Hawks v. 7. Kings

3.  Canucks v. 6. Wings

4.  Yotes  v.  5.  Predators

But this is not where teams will end up, most likely.  Why?  First off, some teams (LA, COL) are backing into the post-season with significant slides while others, the Wings, are absolutely on fire as they charge towards the first round.  Secondly, some teams have played more games than others and some teams have ridiculously easy schedules remaining while others have very hard ones.

My projected final week results:

Nsh v: @Phx (L)  STL (w)  (+2 pts)

Det v:  CLS (w)  @ CLS (w)  @ CHI (w) (+6 pts)

LA v: @Anh (w) PHO (L) EDM (w) @Col (L) (+4 pts)

Col v: @ Van (L) @ Edm (w) CHI (w) LA (w)  (+6 pts)

which leaves us with these standings in the bottom half:

(5) Detroit  102 pts

(6) Nashville 100 pts

(7) Los Angeles 99 pts

(8) Colorado 97 pts

If we take these as the baseline predictions, we can highlight the really big games for these teams.  Note, the Sharks have a magic number of 2 points to clinch the first seed, so the Phoenix results don't really affect the Sharks in the first round.

I am taking it as a given that the scorching wings will win out and, frankly, barring a terrible game against the Blue Jackets, I don't see how they do not pull that out.

If Nashville can manage to beat Phoenix (which they might be able to) they could pull off a tie with the Wings for fifth place.  The first tiebreaker is overall wins and the Predators have a distinct advantage over the Wings, giving Nashville fifth place.  

If LA can win just one more game, they will overtake Nashville for sixth place and face the Canucks in the first round instead of the Blackhawks. This is a worthy reward.

Interesting scenario:  If COL wins out and LA loses two games, the last game of the season for each team is a game in Colorado.  In this scenario, the winner of the game would face Chicago and the loser would face the Sharks.  Why?  Because if Colorado wins two more games than LA, they would have equal points and equal victories.  The last tiebreaker is points head to head.  As it stands, LA has a 4-3 point lead against Colorado.  So, what happens in the case of Colorado winning in the shootout?  The final tiebreaker is goal differential, which LA has a seven goal advantage over COL with.  

Finally, yes, I am taking it for granted that the Flames are basically buried by the Sharks tomorrow night and Vancouver shortly thereafter.

So, if you're a Sharks fan, I'd expect to see Colorado in the first round:

1. Sharks v. 8. Avs

2. Hawks v. 7. Kings

3. Canucks v. 6. Nashville

4. Yotes v. 5. Wings

Predictions:

Sharks over Avs (4-0)

Hawks over Kings (4-2)

Nashville over Canucks (4-2)

Yotes over Wings (4-3)

Reseed: 

Sharks v. Nashville

Hawks v. Yotes

Winners: 

Sharks (4-2)

Yotes (4-3)

Sharks v Yotes

Winner: Sharks (4-2)

This is, after all, a Sharks blog.

Not a bad path to the playoffs for the boys in Teal.

Thoughts??

O' Mama, where to start?

First off, I'd like to give myself a hearty welcome back and, while I am at it, I'll give you one, too.  Things have been quiet around the Meows lately.  For one reason (taking time off to mend your soul post break-up), or another (laziness), there haven't been many postings about the past eight weeks' drama.  To be sure of what we have missed, I'll briefly recap from memory in order of importance:

-  The Sharks have, at times, really sucked out there against more focused and ready opponents.  At one point, they lost six straight.  At no point during that streak did they look at all dangerous yet it is funny to note that the Sharks actually had better statistical nights than their opponents.  Ba! Do not look at Nabokov like that!  It was not just him stinking up the joint, it took a whole team effort to play that poorly defensively.  If I had the time, I'd go back on to the the Mercury News site and dig up some of quotes from that time streak.  Either you can do it on your own or you can just believe me.  How to read this slide is the question that only hindsight can bring clarity to.  The jackals have started prancing around the desert, proclaiming that the Sharks April follies have hit hard a month early this year and its time to say "That's all, folks!"  Others say that the Sharks March slump is a benefit because it provides the Sharks with time to right the ship and play strong, solid hockey through adversity

-  Joe Thornton FINALLY took some time off, albeit involuntarily.  I missed this game last week while I was in transit, so it was fitting that I got this news almost immediately after one of the members of the Meownation lost a couple hundred dollars at the craps table.  Depending on how you look at this injury it is either a catastrophic harbinger of playoff failure or a serendipitous panacea for the Sharks playoffs ails.  Does Joe need time off in general, or did this ankle injury cripple his chances for playing well in the playoffs?  To be sure, I have not seen him play since the ankle injury, so I have no way of knowing yet.  Intuitively, I am going with the latter.  I think a break is exactly what Thornton needed to heal his game.  He is a big boy and for his size he is most aptly compared to a Western-Pacific Freight Train, constantly hauling cargo (the Sharks) forward through the NHL season, year after year.  Like a train, Joe needed to sit down for a bit and rest the motor.  As we so often grow accustomed to Joe's decreased performances at the end of the season, it is helpful to remember just how quick a skater Joe is and how dominant his performances are for the first quarter of the season.  As I always tell my friends, you can tell what kind of game he is going to have in the first ten minutes by judging the pace with which he moves his legs up the rink.  Hopefully, this break will allow him to return with some of the early-season giddyup.

-  The Sharks called up Logan Couture.  Hallelujah!  Echoing the hopes I've expressed all season for the playoffs, the thought of Logan Couture on the fourth line instead of Brad Staubitz has now become a reality.  I love this for two reasons: (1) benching Staubitz in the playoffs is a must.  He is a penalty machine with almost zero discipline, (2) Couture is dangerous on the rink and can flat out play.  Calling up Logan Couture is analogous to a decent trade deadline deal because the player adds depth to the roster immediately without affecting the top six or the power play.  His play over the past 10 days has proven that he is NHL ready and that he can be capable if not near-dominant at times during the game.  As Doug Wilson has said, the NHL is a young man's game and Logan Couture (just turned 21 this week) is certainly that.  Logan looks to help the Sharks with his speed, movement off the puck, and his stick handling.  He has played well at both winger and center and should be helpful to the Sharks as he helps us in the playoffs.

-  The Sharks called up Jason Demers to be the seventh/eighth D.  I like this move to keep Demers on the ice during the playoffs as the sixth or seventh D.  We all know that Rob Blake needs time to take a seat 5 on 5, and that his quality of play descends as his amount of ice time accumulates.  Adding the young and speedy Demers changes the character of the Sharks d-corps by providing a speedy, moving pivot that looks to zing the puck up the ice and change zones immediately.  He is youthful and, lord knows, he is going to make mistakes that will end up in the back of our net but the help he provides on the power play and, yes, at even strength are strong enough assets to have earned him playoff ice time.  I would expect that TM will play blake 5 on 5 predominantly and then mix in Demers if the Sharks took the lead, as well as playing opposite Blake or Boyle on the point during the power play.  At the bare minimum: We have to face it, having Pavelski on the point for a power play just does not work for the Sharks and it's worth Staubitz's ice time to have Demers on the roster.

-  Jed Ortmeyer....have you seen him?  Neither have I.

-  Ryan Clowe has emerged, once again, as a player who gets bored during the regular season and emerges to shine later in the year.  I said time and time again, DW would not trade Ryan Clowe mid-season because Clowe is a late season/ post-season player who is important for the Sharks.  I don't like to count on him because he is an important supplemental player who can make a good team better.  I am, though, glad to see the old Ry-no is back.

-  Nabby has struggled pretty solidly since his return from the Olympics.  This would seem to be at the top of the list, right?  Wrong.  If there was every a position in sports that can change directions on a dime, it is goaltending in hockey.  How Nabby plays during the playoffs is something that will be at the top of this list.  Until then, we have no idea how he is going to play.  As such, his current play stays down here until it's time to measure the important aspects of his game: post-season performance.

Sharks Deadline Must Read

Fear the Fin- Flying on Planes with Doug Wilson

A must read.  The guys at FTF continue to do a great job.