EasyMark

Read the entire article and you might get a different take on it. The writer says the Sharks traded a #1 draft pick in March to get Guerin for "This series, against this team." So the Sharks givie up a #1 draft pick for a rental player expressly to play against the Red Wings. Damn. How much respect do you need? Is that what you call taking somebody lightly? The REAL point of the article, titled "Series with Red Wing's is Guerin's Time," was to call out Guerin to rise to the ocassion. He did not have that good a series against Nashville. Wilson's quotes, iifted out of context by the Red Wing blogger, is deflecting his critics by talking about how much he helps the young guys. As the writer points out, that's all well and good but the Sharks didn't get him to be a cheerleader on the bench. The article ends: "Guerin... still has the full skill set required to be a difference maker. This, in short, is the time the Sharks need him to prove that, whether he believes it or not, this really is the reason they traded for him. This series, against this team." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...04/25/RATTO.TMP

He had a terrible year. He had the DUI before the season started. Whether that was a factor or he didn't mesh with the Sharks' system or something else is a big mystery. He was touted as the power forward who would be the perfect fit to play with Thornton and Cheechoo. Sharks fans were tolerant, very tolerant, hoping that he would find himself in the second half of the season. The Sharks were doing well in the standings so the team could afford to be patient. He even got the start in the playoffs -- second season and all. Didn't help. Wilson finally replaced him with Pavelski, a talented rookie with a knack for being around the puck. (Pavelski scored the goal winner against the Wings with a few seconds to play.) Pavelski scored in his first playoff game afte replacing Bell. I really feel for the guy. He scored a winning goal against Phoenix, IIRC, and he displayed no joy at all. I hope the Sharks just write off this season and try again next year. Maybe a fresh start next year will let him return to form. If that doesn't work then look for the Sharks to move him.

Well said.

I am not talking smack at all. The poster said the Wings are the only team with 19 losses. I pointed out that wasn't true with a good nature jibe. I trust most Red Wing fans aren't *THAT* sensitive.

False report. Everyone knows the Red Wings are the Spawn of Satan.

Respectfully disagree. The Sharks can only hope Nabokov plays as well against Detroit as he did against Nashville. Nabokov's stats don't tell the story. From the start of OT in Game 1 through the rest of the series he was stelllar. That may be the only thing Sharks fans and Nashville fans aree on.

The Red Wings have gotten younger, at least compared to past Red Wing teams. They are still much older than the Sharks, though. On the Sharks roster, Guerin is the oldest at 36. Grier and Rivet are 32. Brown and Nabakov are 31. The rest of the team is under 30. Note that none of the Sharks' impact players are over 30. OTOH, the wings have 13 players by my count in their 30's. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are the only impact players NOT over 30. Chelios and Hasek are in their 40's. The age difference doesn't mean the Red Wings are washed up. They proved they have plenty left by winning the #1 seed through the regular season -- finishing strong in the second half at that -- and handling a tough Calgary team in Round 1. The Sharks have an edge physically, no question, but it is a team game. We *think* the Sharks have the better team but time will tell. These are two elite teams so anything can happen. Drop the Puck!

The Wings had 19 regulation losses and 13 OT losses for a total of 32 losses. Still believe?

Let me list some reasons why you SHOULD be dreading this series: 1- The Sharks are the biggest team in the NHL. Only 4 starters are under 200 pounds. Forwards Thornton, Marleau, Guerin, Clowe, Bernier, Bell, Grier, and Michalek are at least 220. Rismiller is 215. 2- San Jose is the youngest team in the NHL. 3- The Sharks roll 4 lines all game. In the 5 game Nashville series 18 players got at least one point. In the 6 game Calgary series 15 Wings scored a point. Taken together, expect the Sharks to roll big, fast, young players at the Wings all game getting production from all four lines. 4- Red Wing fans believe Detroit has a better defense and a superior goalie. The Red Wings yielded 199 goals during the season -- the same as the Sharks. 5. The Sharks were the best road team in the NHL with 26 wins in the regular season. The Sharks won 2 of the 3 games at Nashville in Round 1. This should be a close hard fought series that can go either way.

OK. I'll play. Against the six bottom tier teams, the Wings had 22 wins in 31 games. The Sharks also had 22 wins but in 3 fewer games. Why head to head games are excluded from the quality win total makes no sense other than to skew the statistics. Adding those games gives a more complete comparison. The Sharks went 3-1 against the Wings, right? Including those 4 games means the Sharks had 29 wins in 54 games against quality opponents while the Wings had 28 wins in 51 games. So, in other words, the Sharks had as many wins against bottom tier teams as the Wings and one more quality win than the Wings. How can we explain the Sharks having more total wins yet trailing the Wings in points? The Sharks winning percentage is, as expected, higher against bottom tier teams. Had the Sharks played 3 more games aginst the bottom teams, as the Wings did, and three fewer games against the top teams, as the Wings did, then it is reasonable to conclude they would have improved their record. Yet, even had the Sharks played the same number of games against bottom tier teams as the Wings, and won 2 of the those 3 games they would not have matched the Wings point total. The Sharks finished with 107 points to the Wings 113. A look at the relative records reveals the hidden source of the Wings points. The Sharks have 5 points from OT losses. The Wings, however, have 13 points from OT losses. Had the Sharks lost in OT as much as the Wings did this season then the Sharks would have had the higher point total despite playing three fewer bottom tier games. The Red Wings have worked hard to have home ice in the playoffs. They have earned that right by racking up more than twice as many overtime losses as the Sharks. Turning losing into an art form is a skill not often found in a #1 seed. Hopefully, we can see that skill on display often throughout this series.

Sharks fans are divided over Nabakov vs. Toskala, as well. They were fairly even during the regular season. Adding Rivet solidified the defense considerably. At that point, Nabakov went on a tear and has been very good ever since. He was excellent in the Predneck series starting in the OT of Game 1. If he maintains that level of play in this series, he won't be the reason the Sharks lose. What is different from the Sharks you last saw in January: Good- The defense is much improved. Turnovers are more likely to come from forwards like Rissmiller or Guerin than the defense. Note that the Sharks and Wings both had 199 goals against in the regular season. On offense, the Sharks will probably play rookie Joe Pavelski and scratch Mark Bell. Bill Guerin is new. He has been streaky on offense, at best, and inconsistent defensively. Bad - The PP that lit up the Wings and has been so good most of the season struggled big time in the last series. When the Sharks played the Wings the PP was red hot. It isn't as good as you probably remember. Intangibles - The Wings are very good at JLA. The Sharks are a very good road team. The Sharks have to get at least one win on the road to beat the Wings. Key Player for Sharks - Patrick Marleau. Teams that focus on the Thornton line can shut it down. When that happens the ice opens up for Marleau. Sometimes he is a force, other times he is invisible. How he goes is generally how the Sharks go. This series should be outstanding. This is the first time the Sharks have had a team that could compete with the Wings in the playoffs. They still need to pull an upset to get past the Wings, though. Lke 1994, Sharks in 7.

OK, that isn't the case on thefeeder.com forum. The consensus is that all the teams in the West are tough outs. Sharks fans generally agree that the Sharks can beat any of the remaining teams and any of the remaining teams can knock off the Sharks. There are no soft teams left in the West. You can find threads that say as much on that forum. The Sharks will play either the Wings or the Ducks. Tough choice either way. No one is dissing the Wings (at least, not yet) by preferring Detroit over the Ducks. The Ducks had the edge on the Sharks in the regular season. Each game was a physical war. A playoff series will be even more brutal. Wings fans *should* want to see those teams soften each other up. As a Sharks fan (one of the 26, I guess), I know it is highly probable the Sharks will have to go through both Detroit and Anaheim. The only question is the order. IMO, the Sharks have a better chance of moving to the SCF by playing Detroit now and the Ducks later. Why? The Sharks have had a couple more days to rest after the Prednecks while the Wings just finished a tough series. The Ducks have also had a rest so no advantage there. Let them trade checks with the Canucks for a while. If the Sharks meet the Wings next it will be a tough series for both teams. The teams have changed since the regular season so there is no way to predict with confidence how it will turn out. I am surprised that so many Wings fans think Detroit would be the underdog, though. The #1 seed in the toughest conference with home ice should be the favorite.