TheSupafly

Looking forward to a hell of a series. I think the winner of this goes to the Cup finals for sure. Vancouver is soft and Nashville is...well...Nashville. Sharks PP this postseason has sucked royally (see what I did there?). The special teams needs to be much better for the Sharks or the wings will romp. Getting Z back should be a nice boost for the wings. A healthy White makes the Sharks' defense a bit better than last year. Niemi is anyone's guess. Can't wait for it to start.

No clue, and I agree that his performance in the playoffs so far will not cut it should they make it to the 2nd round. I just keep hoping that the D can play better in front of him, because he's at least proven that if they can do that he can take them deep in the playoffs. Only time will tell, and he's supposed to start game 6 so we'll find out soon enough.

Exactly how I feel about it. Every time both the Wings and Sharks have shown up, the games have been breathtakingly great hockey. I am decidedly not a wings fan, however I must admit I LOVE watching them play when they are on top of their game. It's beautiful to watch and I have an immense respect for the entire organization. Why wouldn't you want to model your own team structure after the wings? Looking forward to the matchup if it happens.

I agree, if the Sharks can get their defense healthy and upgrade a piece or two, they can be right in the mix. The problem is that they have no leverage, and I doubt anyone in the west is going to trade them a 1-2-3-4 D guy. We have 5, 5/6 D men. The Sharks will have to part ways with one or two big forwards to land the type of D they need right now. I would imagine that Doug Wilson will wait until the price goes down and he has a little more bargaining power, 'cause he has none right now.

Hey guys, been a while and sorry I haven't been around contributing some teal input every now and then. (not that I think I'm missed or anything...believe me when I say I don't have an inflated sense of self importance ) I agree with what most of you are saying. It's pretty simple. Minor league defense against top NHL forwards = uh oh. This wasn't a surprise to anyone. As I was leaving the game last night, I realized that I wasn't as bummed about the outcome as I usually am when they lose at home. Then I realized that it was because I didn't actually expect them to win. That's pretty sad. The last 5 or so years, anytime a team came into the Tank, I expected the Sharks to win. Even if it was the best team in the NHL, the hottest team, whoever...didn't matter. The Sharks were that good. That's simply not the case anymore. This is a transition in expectations that I'm not ready to make. I would be willing to accept that if they had brought home a Cup in their time on top of the league, but that hasn't happened either. Don't misunderstand me, I am a long way of thinking that their time on top is over. The season is long and lots can change between now and the playoffs. That being said, there's a small seed of doubt and worry that's in the back of my mind, and it's growing ever so slowly with each disappointing effort.

What's the timetable on seeing that silver lining? It sure feels a long way off right now. All I feel is a combination of profound emptiness and hurt. If I'm the GM of the Sharks, I start to look for other jobs, 'cause I'm not sure Doug Wilson will survive the offseason. Personally I'd like him to stay, but I'm in the minority among sharks fans.

He was a ghost in this series from an offensive standpoint. So disappointed and empty right now. I had planned on typing out something substantial with many good points and questions about the offseason etc etc. I just can't do it right now. For those that wanted the Sharks out, enjoy. For those that didn't and hate the Hawks, sorry. Gonna go do...I dunno. Something. Or maybe I'll just mope around the internet like a moron for a few hours before I have to sleep for work. I've got nothing at this point.

I agree. The weakness of the Sharks is the D, and Nabby just isn't an elite goaltender. This Blackhawks team has the skill and speed combination, along with offensive depth to expose this. All teams will have a weakness usually...and this is due to the salary cap, but the Blackhawks have the good fortune (and good drafting) to have all star talent still on the books at entry level/rookie contract prices. This is why they have the complete team they have. They will start to lose parts after this season as they can't afford to keep everyone...but that's what we're looking at now. The Hawks are quite scary good.

There certainly are a lot of misconceptions about SJ or maybe it's just venting...not sure. I'll be happy to field any questions in case there's any confusion. At least we can change the conspiracy theories from "Bettman/NHL wants the Sharks to win and have another one of his coveted expansions to succeed" to "The NHL just wanted the wings to lose, and now that they're out they don't care about the Sharks". This has been a very good series between two very talented teams. Chicago has converted on their opportunities better than SJ and Niemi is outplaying Nabby. That's the difference. Lol @ someone saying that Sharks fans have been complaining about officiating. I haven't heard any from where I'm at and where I read, and I'd be willing to wager that I see a lot more stuff on the Sharks than most people. Bigger lol @ someone saying San Jose people don't care. The Sharks are the only major professional sports team San Jose has. The city is all about the Sharks. They were all about the Sharks when they stank up the place. The city supports that team like few cities can. I'm not saying it's the top of the heap, but as far as unified city support, it's way up there. 10th largest city in the US by population and 1 major pro team? Yeah it will have a f***ton of people that care. That's an industry term...it means a lot. I actually think this series and the 2nd round series between the Wings and Sharks are pretty similar. I don't think that the Sharks outplayed the wings by much in the series, and yet they converted on chances and got the breaks and were up 3-0 in the series despite it being close. Chicago has not carried the majority of play yet they are up 3-0. Chicago was clearly the better team in game 2, but game 1 was very close and game 3 I think the Sharks carried a much larger portion of the play and still lost. I will not give up on them until it is actually over. Will they come back and win the series? Probably not, but there's always a chance. They can't win 4 at once, they can only win game 4 on Sunday. If they can do that much (and I don't think anyone would argue that they have a 0% chance of doing that), then they will get a game 5 at home where I'll be yelling till I lose my voice. Finally take that one at home and then the song will carry a different tune. I'll be working all through the weekend and trying to hit up a couple bbqs and parties so I apologize if I can't follow up on the thread or reply for a while.

I'm with you Grypho. I am pleasantly surprised that so many here will be pulling for the Sharks. Someone mentioned what Sharks fans have been through...and though it's certainly nothing compared to fans of the cubbies, or even that of the blues of the last couple decades, I also feel like as a fan I've paid a debt of sorts. It feels like I've been through an emotional roller coaster several times over, and yet we're only at the halfway point. This really illustrates just how incredibly hard it is to win the Cup in this salary cap era with 30 teams. The blackhawks (assuming they advance) will bring another very tough test. I hope my team has plenty left in the tank for them.

Looking forward to a great game tonight. I'll be gearing up and heading down to HP pavilion in a few short hours. I expect the same from the wings...I expect them to come with everything they have. The only difference is that I expect the Sharks to be ready and match them stride for stride. A close battle all the way till the end, I'm expecting another barn burner like the first 3 were. Nothing like playoff hockey.

It happens in every arena, with every fan base, and it's pretty much the same amount everywhere. I have season tickets and I'm there every game. It irritates me just as much as it irritates you when fans boo things that obviously shouldn't be booed. Every team has a large amount of fans that simply aren't that knowledgeable about the game. Did you see the thread on this site that had a picture of the line change occurring during OT of game 3 as the Sharks scored the winning goal? Did you notice how many people agreed with the OP? We all have them.

They used to have an organist in the arena. It was way better. Now they play the stuff that you're familiar with. Cost cutting at its finest. I do enjoy the goal horn though. It's not one of the high pitched ones...I don't enjoy those as much.

I don't think people realize just how major a city SJ is. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763098.html US ranks in terms of population San Jose #10 Detroit #11 Granted this is from data collected in '07, but the census is being tallied right now and I think it kinda gets the point across anyway. Both cities are large.

Fantastic game by the wings. Where has this been though? Why does the team need their backs against the wall before busting out the big guns? Very reminiscent of the game 7 from the first round. I now have plans Saturday night. Anything is possible from 3-1.

I'll admit I chuckled a bit reading that.

Forgive me for cross posting my own post, but I feel that it's appropriate for discussion in this thread. Basically about how I as a Shark fan feel coming into this game...a game in a situation that pretty much no one expected to happen. "Confident and optimistic, but yet still vary wary. Let's look back to two years ago. The Sharks took 7 games to eliminate the Flames in the first round. (Similar to how it took 7 games for the wings to knock off the yotes this year) They then fell behind 3 games to none in their 2nd round matchup against the dallas stars. (seeing any parallels yet?) In that series, the Sharks broke through and got one win. They then had a 2 goal comeback in the 3rd period and won game 5 in overtime. Now the series was 3-2. Game 6 was in Dallas. It went to triple overtime. (maybe it was 4 overtimes...it's a painful memory I've tried unsuccessfully to block out.) Dallas scored on a powerplay to win it and eliminate the Sharks. If one bounce is different in that triple OT game, the Sharks tie the series up at 3 and head home for a game 7 with all the momentum and belief in the world. Had the Sharks pulled out that game 6, I have zero doubt in my mind that they were going to take game 7. It can happen. It all starts with one win. Many of these Sharks were on that team. They know that the red wings are a better team now than the Sharks team of 2 years ago. The Sharks will play desperate hockey as well to close this out ASAP. This is a different squad. A more mature and experienced squad. A calm and confident one. They are playing hockey in a way that I've never seen before in my 19 years of watching them. This is why such a big part of me wants to just start going crazy, spewing thoughts of how much this is the year. Why I want to run around my neighborhood screaming after every win. Why I want to take my rally towels and playoff pompoms when I go down to the grocery store for milk. Why every time I see another car on the road with a Sharks license plate frame or logo on it I honk and pump my fist in the air, even if they can't figure out why. It's that other part of me that holds me back. The part that has swallowed bitter bitter disappointment the past 6 years. The part that has had those expectations lifted every single season, only to be smashed into thousands of pieces and shoved up my you know what. With each win, this part gets pushed further away, letting the first part creep a little closer into my consciousness. One more might take it over the top. I try not to let my mind look too far ahead, but it's getting progressively more difficult. I know this is going to be a cheesy reference, but it's the best comparison I can think of for describing how I'm feeling as a Sharks fan. You know the part in the movie The Matrix where Neo finally decides he's not going to run from that agent in the train station like they always tell him to? He decides to fight the unbeatable agent. One of the guys in the ship says, "what's he doing?!?" Morpheus says quite simply, "He's beginning to believe." Well that's me. I'm beginning to believe."

Confident and optimistic, but yet still vary wary. Let's look back to two years ago. The Sharks took 7 games to eliminate the Flames in the first round. (Similar to how it took 7 games for the wings to knock off the yotes this year) They then fell behind 3 games to none in their 2nd round matchup against the dallas stars. (seeing any parallels yet?) In that series, the Sharks broke through and got one win. They then had a 2 goal comeback in the 3rd period and won game 5 in overtime. Now the series was 3-2. Game 6 was in Dallas. It went to triple overtime. (maybe it was 4 overtimes...it's a painful memory I've tried unsuccessfully to block out.) Dallas scored on a powerplay to win it and eliminate the Sharks. If one bounce is different in that triple OT game, the Sharks tie the series up at 3 and head home for a game 7 with all the momentum and belief in the world. Had the Sharks pulled out that game 6, I have zero doubt in my mind that they were going to take game 7. It can happen. It all starts with one win. Many of these Sharks were on that team. They know that the red wings are a better team now than the Sharks team of 2 years ago. The Sharks will play desperate hockey as well to close this out ASAP. This is a different squad. A more mature and experienced squad. A calm and confident one. They are playing hockey in a way that I've never seen before in my 19 years of watching them. This is why such a big part of me wants to just start going crazy, spewing thoughts of how much this is the year. Why I want to run around my neighborhood screaming after every win. Why I want to take my rally towels and playoff pompoms when I go down to the grocery store for milk. Why every time I see another car on the road with a Sharks license plate frame or logo on it I honk and pump my fist in the air, even if they can't figure out why. It's that other part of me that holds me back. The part that has swallowed bitter bitter disappointment the past 6 years. The part that has had those expectations lifted every single season, only to be smashed into thousands of pieces and shoved up my you know what. With each win, this part gets pushed further away, letting the first part creep a little closer into my consciousness. One more might take it over the top. I try not to let my mind look too far ahead, but it's getting progressively more difficult. I know this is going to be a cheesy reference, but it's the best comparison I can think of for describing how I'm feeling as a Sharks fan. You know the part in the movie The Matrix where Neo finally decides he's not going to run from that agent in the train station like they always tell him to? He decides to fight the unbeatable agent. One of the guys in the ship says, "what's he doing?!?" Morpheus says quite simply, "He's beginning to believe." Well that's me. I'm beginning to believe.

Get well soon Matt. Thanks for all you do for this site.

Nothing's wrong with LGS. I enjoy both sites for different reasons. I enjoy LGS because it's all about my team (obviously) and because it's a smaller community with a lot of people that I know in real life. I enjoy LGW because of the amount of topics to discuss and people to discuss them with.

Haven't been able to be online in over 24 hours, but I just wanted to thank those of you for the positive responses to some of my posts. I enjoy the discussions here and will definitely be around, whether or not our teams are playing. You have a great site and a great team.

Of course. I have in playoff seasons past, and pop my head in from time to time. I get busy sometimes with life/work/girlfriend things, but I check this place out often since there are way more topics for discussion here due to so many more members and more traffic.

I know it's hard to not feel deflated after a game like this and being in this position. BELIEVE ME, you know I've been there. Lots of you are throwing in the towel and declaring this thing over. I promise you it's not over. Until you lose the 4th game it is not over. The Sharks don't think it's over. I sure as hell don't think it's over. Your wings better not think it's over. All 3 games were one goal games. A bounce or a call the other way and any or all of them go the other way. It could be 3-0 wings. As a Sharks fan and with the talent the wings have I wont feel confident until the Sharks have that 4th win. As an organization, the red wings have been the model for every other team in the NHL. Look at what the Sharks have been trying to do the last few years. They've taken your formula and done their best to emulate it. Maybe this is the year they finally do it right. I think someone in this thread mentioned how lucky you fans have been...to have had the privilege to watch your team have so much success. Should I be so lucky with my team, even for one year, I will soak up every bit. I know you don't want to read this much from a Sharks fan right now so I'll end it here. It's not over yet. See you Thursday.

Totally agree. Let the playoffs be the playoffs.

Don't forget Nichol who has been contributing very valuable minutes, as well as Couture playing some big minutes as well. Even the baby line with McGinn and Helminen have been logging some decent ice time. The Sharks' depth at forward has allowed them to mix and match pieces, like moving Marleau down with Mitchell and Malhotra, or moving Couture or Mitchell up with Thornton and Heatley. When Heater or Patty miss a game, the team doesn't really miss a beat like it would have in years past. That flexibility makes it difficult for Detroit to match up their D. Who do you play your best D pairing against? That plus Pavelski's line being on fire makes it very tough...especially with having to make the first change. In Detroit, it will be easier for them to manage being at home. I'm with you though stuck in socal, this team is indeed different.