Predictions for Tonight

I have a bad feeling about tonight's game against the Wings.
The Sharks this season have shown a characteristic best described as "failing to get up for a big game."  Most recently, the Sharks looked like Mike and Trent from Swingers at the blackjack table getting schooled by grandma for the first period of the game against the Blackhawks.  Before that, the Sharks ruined my christmas present by taking a dump on the logo in their locker-room in their 4-1 loss to the Wings.  Before that, the Sharks were lucky to beat the Wings in Chicago and before that, the Sharks completely embarrassed any Sharks fan in their 7-2 whoopdown at the Tank.  Before that, the Sharks got manhandled by the Kings, 6-2 in the Tank and way way before that the Sharks lost two in a row to surging Kings and Coyotes.
What does this mean?  Doesn't every team lose a big game?  Well, of course every team has a disappointing loss.
What this means to me is that the Sharks are very even keel and that they have a tough time coming out amped up to get their feet moving and get the game off to a good start.  Recently, Nabby said that this team has a very even keel.  This is good and bad, in my mind.  It's bad because it means you can be overwhelmed by a more keyed up opponent.  Excitement is a friend early on.  Not too much, but some excitement is very good to have on your side.  The even keel is good because it allows you to play a little more mistake free than the excited team, it allows you to not get too down on yourself if you give up an early goal and allows you to come back.  This is all stuff any basic athlete knows, I don't need to expound the benefits here.

Anyways, I have a bad feeling about the Sharks tonight.  Their weak D also inspires zero confidence.  I hope that I am proven wrong and that later tonight I write some post extolling the benefits of a prolonged absence for Boyle and Vlasic to the rest of the D-Corps.

Actually, come to think of it, this is a good thing.  What better way to push your D men and allow them to grow by letting them get in a big game playing in a bigger role, to a man?  Also, the trade deadline is coming up (two days after the NHL resumes post-Olympics) and there have already been a few trades in the past few days.  If the Sharks get smoked tonight and their D looks just out of place and awful.... Well, I'm not DW.

But I wish I was.