papachub

Sharks fan rooting for a Wings win!

An easy clue to class and grit: If the San Jose Sharks have ever done it, it IS NOT grit. that is all

Hey guys. As a San Jose Shark fan living in the Bay Area, let me throw in my two cents after reading this thread. 1. The Joe scares the living crap out of me. Until this year, the Sharks seemed doomed every time they set foot in the arena. However, I do believe that the Sharks this year finished with the best road record (correct me if I'm wrong), so if any team should be able to offset home-ice advantage, its them. 2. The San Jose PP, while pathetic against Nashville, was streaky all year long. On top of that, Nashville was the #1 PK team during the regular season. Furthermore, I believe last time we were in a long PP drought, the game that got things going again was the 9-4 shelling of Hasek. 3. Speaking of the 9-4 game, many people have pointed out that it was only 1 game (and I couldn't agree more). Also, many have pointed to the fact that Detroit is a "new" team since the last time we played, given the additions of Bertuzzi and Calder. To this I add the fact that the Sharks are also quite a different team since we last played you guys. Bill Guerin has been a nice addition to our 2nd line, and has given us the option of benching Mark Bell for as long as we want (thank God). However, the Craig Rivet trade has brought some desperately needed stability to the blue line. His presense alone has settled Matt Carle from a turnover-prone liability to a consistant player. Without Rivet, I would have serious doubts about our ability to advance beyond the 1st, let alone the 2nd, round. 4. Nabokov has played extremely well since we stopped the goalie rotation, and has effectively put to rest the debate raging on the Sharks message boards about which goalie was better. While he is not as consistant as Kiprusoff, he has the ability to make tremendous saves at the right moments. However, you could also drive a truck through his 5-hole. 5. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, stop referring to manhandling the Flames as a reason that you will be able to do the same to San Jose. The Flames entered the postseason in a freefall, and were almost physically incapable of winning outside the Saddledome. Not trying to be insulting, but I was honestly surprised that they took the Wings to six games. 6. Joe Thornton (at least in San Jose), has, and most likely will, make his living by racking up the assists, making gorgeous passes to Michalek and Cheech, or whoever else is on the ice with him. 6 assists in 5 games against the Preds, while not spectacular, is not a disappearing act. Look forward to the upcoming series, and good luck to both teams. My teammate here at home is a huge Wings fan from Detroit, and we'll be watching each game, him with his Yzerman jersey on, and me with my Marleau jersey on. And I wouldn't be a true fan if I didn't pick the Sharks in 6.

Thanks for the welcome. It's already refreshing to be able to converse with fans that aren't convinced that there is a league-wide conspiracy against them. I have nothing but respect for the Wings, so I'm hopeful that this series won't turn into the cheapshot contests that both Calgary and Nashville perpetuated. I was born and raised in Southern California, so hockey isn't exactly in my blood. I do have two cousins from Toronto who could practically skate before they could walk, and they turned me on to the sport. I followed it casually until I moved up to the Bay Area to go to school, and saw my first NHL game in person. From then on, I was hooked.