Since last issue, the cool stuff includes:
* It's sunny in California - that's a "warm" type of cool.
* Got to see Morgan, Caleb and Johnny play baseball -
that's a proud to be "Uncle A" type of cool.
* Tax season is over - that's a "relief" type of cool
* Godsons Brendan A. and Johnny S. had their birthdays -
that's a "glad to be Godfather" type of cool.
* The Sharks made the Playoffs - that's a "So what's next"
type of cool.
And Down The Stretch They Come...
The Sharks are in the Playoffs! The Sharks are in the Playoffs!
Can you believe it?!!! Of course we believe it. It's just that
you'd expect this from a team with the 6th HIGHEST PAYROLL. Of
course, the Sharks always tend to make things a wee bit more
complicated, so for Sharks fans, nothing is a certainty!
Anyway, the accolades for this achievement are coming from all
sorts of people! Here's a sample:
* "Yeah Baby Yeah" - Austin Powers
* "Excellent" - Bill and Ted
* "Well ain't that Special" - The Church Lady
The first round opponent for the playoffs is none other than
the Colorado Avalanche, and the one team the Sharks did NOT
match up well against. The Avalanche have too much speed and
scoring power, and so it's going to be difficult.
Rumblin' Bumblin' Stumbin'
The men in teal officially made the playoffs with a 1-0
shutout against the Coyotes. Steve Shields was DA MAN! He
held the team together with 14 first period saves, and after
Billy Houlder scored on a power play (this dude leads the team
with the most game-winning goals), Stevie stopped everything
thrown at him (pucks, sticks, floppy disks.. wait, that was
last game). There was much joy in the TealTown.
And in their last game at the Great Western Forum, the Sharks
looked flat (at least something was flat because the ice
definitely wasn't, it looked like a pothole-filled LA freeway).
Down three goals after the second period, the Sharks fought back with
two goals, but it wasn't enough. Bad blood between Rob Blake
and Alex Korolyuk, and Joe Murphy and Matt Johnson (probably
the stupidest goon in hockey) promised heavy-duty fireworks
in the return engagement in San Jose a week later. Mike Vernon
played as well as he could, but the defense looked suspect again!
The Sharks visited the Pond the next night, and struggled early
against the Ducks. Paul Kariya had a couple of breakaways, but
was stoned by the "Man in the Zone", Steve Shields. Stevie was
again spectacular, and before it was over, three third period
goals by Jeff Friesen, Owen Nolan, and Joe "Yes, he's picked
it up" Murphy, in addition to K-yuk's earlier goal gave Team
Teal a 4-1 victory.
A wild last five minutes against the Oilers, and the Sharks lost
their first game in which they scored four goals. The Sharks had
the lead with one minute left in regular time after an
excellent solo effort by Mike Ricci. However, the Oilers beat
Steve Shields with 20 seconds left, and won it in OT. Stevie's
11-game unbeaten streak also came to an end.
There was still a chance to catch Anaheim for sixth place if
the Sharks beat the Kings and Ducks on back to back nights.
The Kings scored twice in the first five minutes, and the Sharks
looked lethargic the rest of the night as Stephane Fiset
recorded a shutout. This pretty much sealed the seventh spot for
the Sharks, and made the last game against Anaheim meaningless.
The Sharks gave the Ducks a three-goal lead, then battled back
for a 3-3 tie. Teemu Selanne had a chance at 50 goals, but
the Sharks held him scoreless. Goals by Owen Nolan, K-yuk,
and yes, Joe Murphy sealed the 18th tie for the Sharks.
Alex Trebek time...
The Sharks have made the playoffs four times in their eight-year
existence. They have won two playoff series, both in seven games,
one against the Red Wings, and one against the Flames. Who
scored the winning goals for the Sharks in each of those
series? Answers at the end...
Offense Talk
Welcome back Tony Granato! Tony healed faster than expected,
and his return against Phoenix provided an emotional boost
for the squad. Tony played on the fourth line with Ron Sutter
and Alex Korolyuk. And speaking of K-yuk...
Alex's play had slumped, which was why he was on the fourth line.
However, given the Sharks' inconsistency over the last couple
of games, Coach Sutter rejuggled all his lines, and K-yuk
found himself teamed up with Joe Murphy and Patrick Marleau.
Vinny Damphousse ended up with Jeff Friesen and Owen Nolan,
while Mike Ricci, Stephane Matteau and Marco Sturm played as the
third line. The fourth line centered by Ron Sutter included
Ronnie Stern and your pick of Dave Lowry and/or Tony Granato.
Meanwhile, Brantt Myhres and Steve Guolla made surprising
cameo appearances, while Murray Craven looked like his season
might be over. And since we mentioned Steve Guolla...
Who is the first Shark to ever have his number retired? Well,
it's none other than Steve Guolla. How is that possible? The
Sharks' farm team, the Kentucky Thoroughblades retired his
number during their last regular season game. Since Steve
was not on the Kentucky post-season roster list, and that
sending him down would probably have seen him picked up on
waivers by another team, he was always going to remain with
the parent club. Hence, it's a cool gesture by Kentucky.
Chances are is that Steve is expansion bait for next year,
and so he'll probably get more playing time somewhere else.
Defense Chat
The big news in San Jose after the clinching of a playoff spot
was the return of Andrei Zyuzin. Andrei went AWOL prior to the
Boston game, fired his agent, and hired some guy who may have
had ties to Russian organized crime, who also was not certified
by the NHLPA. After stating on Canadian TV that he would not
come back to the Sharks because of Coach Sutter, it looked like
it was all over for Andrei...
But the whole saga was taking its toll, and when Andrei went to
Russia to see his parents, his mother was the one who convinced
him to start playing again. Andrei and his mother returned to
the US, fired his new agent, rehired his old agent, and returned
to San Jose to meet the team. After a short meeting with Coach
and the Sharks brass, Andrei stepped on the ice and eventually
re-united with his teammates.
I guess the moral of the story is that when you're in trouble,
you can always get help from your mom, because your mom will
always be there for you, and mom is always right.
What controversy?
Steve Shields was unbeaten in 11 straight games until the
Oiler loss. Mike Vernon had only won once since his return from
injury. Coach Sutter indicated he was going with one goalie
throughout the playoffs. The local media jumped on the story
saying there was a controversy. Should the Sharks play the guy
on a hot streak, or should they start the man with the Stanley
Cup rings and the experience? Coach already had an answer: go
with the experience. Therefore, Mike Vernon will start in game
one against the Avalanche.
What controversy? Part Deux..
A rumor from some dude in Toronto is that Glen Sather,
GM of the Edmonton Oilers, is heading to San Jose to replace
Dean Lombardi and that Dean is heading off to "somewhere else"
in the organization. To which we say, "PLEASE LET IT HAPPEN".
Sharks President and CEO Greg Jamison denied this was going
to happen, but I've heard too much spin from anybody who's a
president of something this year (see Clinton), so there may
be something to it. Granted, Sather hasn't exactly done well
with his trades recently, but at least the man has shown in
the past that he won't wait to do something, unlike a certain
other GM we know.
What controversy? There's more??
The back-to-back road games in Los Angeles and Anaheim was
the first time in Sharks history that the Sharks have played
the Kings and Ducks right after each other in Southern
California. Think about that for a moment... All Eastern
conference teams usually play the Kings and Ducks on the same
road trip, usually one after another. And yet, since the
Ducks came into the league, this is the first time the Sharks
got to play both teams while down in Southern California.
Hello?? Does the NHL office think this kind of scheduling
is weird? Does the NHL think that San Jose is in southern
California? Does the NHL have a bias against San Jose?
Conspiracy Theorists want to know!!
Where oh where has the ex-Shark gone...
Our Ex-Shark features zooms in on cult hero Andrei Nazarov.
A first-round pick of the Sharks, Andrei was a skilled player,
but ended up using his size more than his skill. Andrei was
involved in the infamous "head-butting" incident of a Jets
player, when he thought that since fighting was allowed,
head-butting was part of the fight. Instead, he was suspended.
One year, he was on the receiving end of a vicious cheap shot
by LA King goon Matt Johnson, which resulted in a fractured
cheek and jaw. To his credit, Andrei got up off the ice, and
went after Johnson. All the players on the ice at the time
got misconducts, all but two were thrown out of the game, and
justice was served when the Sharks came from behind to win.
Andrei was deemed lazy by the Sutter regime and was sent to
Tampa for Bryan Marchment. Andrei made his name in Tampa being
a goon, and was involved in another infamous incident, the
"near rumble" in the parking lot with Eric Lindros and some of
the Flyers. He was shipped out of Tampa this year to Calgary
where he now plays for another Sutter, Coach Brian Sutter.
The Morgan Stuart Award
Named after my very cool, most excellent Goddaughter, the award
goes to the best Sharks player since the last issue. Candidates
include Steve Shields, Mike Rathje and Marcus Ragnarsson (for
their solid defense), and yes, even Joe Murphy. But our winner
is a repeat winner, Alex "K-yuk" Korolyuk. K-yuk, after going
through a tough stretch in late March and early April, turned
it on despite the Sharks losing three out of their last six games.
And, his fight with Paul Kariya in the last game of the season
was the clincher. Way to go K-yuk!!!
Another 7 degrees of stuff...
My goddaughter Morgan of course is very cool.
She's the daughter of John and Rowena, who are cool parents.
Rowena (my cuz) has some cool sisters, Jane, Helene and Zeny.
Helene and Zeny live in Anaheim, which is the home of the Ducks.
The Ducks played the San Jose Sharks twice this week.
Your humble correspondent writes articles about the Sharks.
AND, the best-player award in his article is named after his very
cool goddaughter, Morgan Stuart.
(Hey guys, didn't think I could do that, huh?)
Thanks Wayne Gretzky
San Jose Sharks fans will always be grateful for Wayne Gretzky.
Without him, there probably would have been no San Jose Sharks,
no Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and probably no expansion into Florida.
Nor would the NHL enjoy the popularity that it currently enjoys.
Some of us who were there to witness Wayne Gretzky tie Gordie
Howe's record for goals when he played for the Kings against
the Sharks in San Jose feel lucky and privileged to have been at
that event. And in a special 7 degrees of stuff...
Without Wayne Gretzky, there would be no hockey interest
in San Jose.
With no hockey interest in San Jose, there would be no Sharks.
With no Sharks, I would not have attended a Sharks game.
Without attending a Sharks game, I wouldn't have been interested
in hockey.
Without being interested in hockey, I would not have been a
hockey fan.
Without being a hockey fan, I would not have been interested in
writing about hockey.
And without being interested in writing about hockey, I would
not have been an LCS Hockey correspondent.
Thanks number 99.
They call them game-winners..
In the clinching game against the Detroit Red Wings in the 1993-94
Playoffs, Jamie Baker scored on the game-winner. The following year,
it was Ray Whitney scoring in OT against Calgary to give the Sharks
another first round upset.
P.S. Happy Birthday Vickie T, Jim H, Brendan A and Johnny S.
