Any other NHL fans on the site?

[CFH]

Sharks are up 4-1, Thornton has asserted himself this game and Cheechoo subsequently has 2 goals. The offense revolves around Thornton and when he's on, Marleau is on (a goal and an assist tonight) then the Sharks are hard to beat. Finally showing why they were everybody's pic and the HP is off the chains.

Power play goal for the Flames damn. Penalty kill has been terrible this series.

The Sharks are deadly when they're on, when the Canucks looked like a lock to make the playoffs they were the team I wanted them to face the least.
The Sharks in some ways remind be of the old Canucks team; all kinds of talent when they are on their game, but somehow they are surprisingly inconsistant.
Of course, the big difference is you guys don't have Dan Cloutier playing goal for you. I always wonder what that Canucks team could've done if Burke had got them a decent goalie. All those years of a great team wasted because Cloutier, as great a guy as he apparently is, counldn't get things done in the post-season. Though to be fair to Cloutier, most of the team has proven that they couldn't, and still can't, get things done in the playoffs.

That's the thing it is strangely inconsistant stuff. Tonight it came on a failure to clear pucks from the zone. Not one time all year did I see the Sharks struggle this much at clearing the puck. It was a struggle each and every time and their inability to clear directly triggered all 3 goals tonight. It's like they figure out a new way every night to not play half as good as they are. We see it in spots, Cheechoo, Thornton and Marleau all registering multiple points, but in between that brilliance is a bunch of dumb mistakes that teams expected to win the Cup don't make.

Hopefully they can pull together and close this out in Calgary because I don't like this team's chances in 1 game to be perfectly honest. Well I do because they have home ice but it's shaky.

That being said I think they do close it in Calgary. It's an elimination game they know what to expect, the Flames to come out and hit them in the mouth but the Sharks pretty much have weathered that effectively the last two games. The Flames did the same thing in Game 3 and the Sharks rode it out and then completely shut the Flames down for the rest of the game. The entire game was played in the Calgary zone on Calgary ice and I expect about the same thing tonight. There is no reason that Jerome Iginla and Owen Nolan should be giving the Sharks this many problems. Phanuef wasn't a factor tonight, they played Marleau on the 1st line and Phanuef couldn't stop him. Thornton was freed a bit and played the led a lot of breaks. Primeau hasn't really done much it's been Iginla, Nolan and Sarich. Sorry but those 3 shouldn't be giving the Sharks this many problems, I think the Sharks are due for that 60 minutes of great hockey.

The Sharks got smoked tonight, think they'll be able to bounce back for game 7?

[amat]

Tonight they were bad from the first puck, it's been a back and forth series and they are back home at the Tank, I imagine they will take it. They should, I'm fairly confident they are good at bouncing back and for fucks sake this is to good of a team to exit in the first round and they know it. They were more confident and seemed a bit woken up in the 3rd period but couldn't put one between iron, I imagine that will carry over though and once they step on home ice they take care of business.

That place has very good acoustics and is a bit smaller then your typical hockey arena, that place is going to be LOUD. I'm talking Stars games loud. They haven't been as loud as they could be in the first games but that will no doubt change. It's going to be a cool scene for San Jose. And there are people who think the Sharks should be gotten rid of because of the warm weather San Jose is a hockey town no doubt about it.

[CFH]

Tonight they were bad from the first puck, it's been a back and forth series and they are back home at the Tank, I imagine they will take it. They should, I'm fairly confident they are good at bouncing back and for fucks sake this is to good of a team to exit in the first round and they know it. They were more confident and seemed a bit woken up in the 3rd period but couldn't put one between iron, I imagine that will carry over though and once they step on home ice they take care of business.

That place has very good acoustics and is a bit smaller then your typical hockey arena, that place is going to be LOUD. I'm talking Stars games loud. They haven't been as loud as they could be in the first games but that will no doubt change. It's going to be a cool scene for San Jose. And there are people who think the Sharks should be gotten rid of because of the warm weather San Jose is a hockey town no doubt about it.

I'd bet that SJ will take it, but Iginla and Kipper have the ability to win a series all by themselves. Then again, so does Joe Thornton and Nabakov. The Sharks have always seemed to be reasonably well supported, they're not one of the U.S. teams that need any help drawing fans I don't think. The Panters and Preds on the other hand...

[CFH]

With the Canucks out, I'm cheering for the Bruins and the Red Wings, my 2nd favorite teams. I hope the Capitals beat Philly too, because I like the Caps and I HATE Philly.

[amat]

Tonight they were bad from the first puck, it's been a back and forth series and they are back home at the Tank, I imagine they will take it. They should, I'm fairly confident they are good at bouncing back and for fucks sake this is to good of a team to exit in the first round and they know it. They were more confident and seemed a bit woken up in the 3rd period but couldn't put one between iron, I imagine that will carry over though and once they step on home ice they take care of business.

That place has very good acoustics and is a bit smaller then your typical hockey arena, that place is going to be LOUD. I'm talking Stars games loud. They haven't been as loud as they could be in the first games but that will no doubt change. It's going to be a cool scene for San Jose. And there are people who think the Sharks should be gotten rid of because of the warm weather San Jose is a hockey town no doubt about it.

I'd bet that SJ will take it, but Iginla and Kipper have the ability to win a series all by themselves. Then again, so does Joe Thornton and Nabakov. The Sharks have always seemed to be reasonably well supported, they're not one of the U.S. teams that need any help drawing fans I don't think. The Panters and Preds on the other hand...

Well they are just stupid for putting a team in Nashville, I went to the very first game in Nashville and it's obvious it's not a town that needs a hockey team. They already have a niche, they are a country music town where the Nascar Cafe pulls in more money then any restaraunt in town. They just don't care or appreciate one.

I have heard the argument made many times though that any team not in a major market or not in cold weather should be contracted and the Sharks come up a lot. It's ridiculous.

[CFH]

Tonight they were bad from the first puck, it's been a back and forth series and they are back home at the Tank, I imagine they will take it. They should, I'm fairly confident they are good at bouncing back and for fucks sake this is to good of a team to exit in the first round and they know it. They were more confident and seemed a bit woken up in the 3rd period but couldn't put one between iron, I imagine that will carry over though and once they step on home ice they take care of business.

That place has very good acoustics and is a bit smaller then your typical hockey arena, that place is going to be LOUD. I'm talking Stars games loud. They haven't been as loud as they could be in the first games but that will no doubt change. It's going to be a cool scene for San Jose. And there are people who think the Sharks should be gotten rid of because of the warm weather San Jose is a hockey town no doubt about it.

I'd bet that SJ will take it, but Iginla and Kipper have the ability to win a series all by themselves. Then again, so does Joe Thornton and Nabakov. The Sharks have always seemed to be reasonably well supported, they're not one of the U.S. teams that need any help drawing fans I don't think. The Panters and Preds on the other hand...

Well they are just stupid for putting a team in Nashville, I went to the very first game in Nashville and it's obvious it's not a town that needs a hockey team. They already have a niche, they are a country music town where the Nascar Cafe pulls in more money then any restaraunt in town. They just don't care or appreciate one.

I have heard the argument made many times though that any team not in a major market or not in cold weather should be contracted and the Sharks come up a lot. It's ridiculous.

In my experience there seem to be a fair number of hockey elitists who seem to think that hockey only belongs in Canada and the origional 6 cities. While I would like to see one or two more teams in Canada, especially now that the dollar is doing relatively well, the southern U.S. markets are great at supporting their teams. I think Tampa Bay had the 3rd highest attendance this year. However, hockey is in a few places it has no buisness being, like Nashville. Gary Bettman is just too stubborn to admit it.

[amat]

I'd bet that SJ will take it, but Iginla and Kipper have the ability to win a series all by themselves. Then again, so does Joe Thornton and Nabakov. The Sharks have always seemed to be reasonably well supported, they're not one of the U.S. teams that need any help drawing fans I don't think. The Panters and Preds on the other hand...

Well they are just stupid for putting a team in Nashville, I went to the very first game in Nashville and it's obvious it's not a town that needs a hockey team. They already have a niche, they are a country music town where the Nascar Cafe pulls in more money then any restaraunt in town. They just don't care or appreciate one.

I have heard the argument made many times though that any team not in a major market or not in cold weather should be contracted and the Sharks come up a lot. It's ridiculous.

In my experience there seem to be a fair number of hockey elitists who seem to think that hockey only belongs in Canada and the origional 6 cities. While I would like to see one or two more teams in Canada, especially now that the dollar is doing relatively well, the southern U.S. markets are great at supporting their teams. I think Tampa Bay had the 3rd highest attendance this year. However, hockey is in a few places it has no buisness being, like Nashville. Gary Bettman is just too stubborn to admit it.

Exactly, it's like the NFL scheduling games in London. Football has no place in Englad, they don't ccare about it, never have never will.

[CFH]

Well they are just stupid for putting a team in Nashville, I went to the very first game in Nashville and it's obvious it's not a town that needs a hockey team. They already have a niche, they are a country music town where the Nascar Cafe pulls in more money then any restaraunt in town. They just don't care or appreciate one.

I have heard the argument made many times though that any team not in a major market or not in cold weather should be contracted and the Sharks come up a lot. It's ridiculous.

In my experience there seem to be a fair number of hockey elitists who seem to think that hockey only belongs in Canada and the origional 6 cities. While I would like to see one or two more teams in Canada, especially now that the dollar is doing relatively well, the southern U.S. markets are great at supporting their teams. I think Tampa Bay had the 3rd highest attendance this year. However, hockey is in a few places it has no buisness being, like Nashville. Gary Bettman is just too stubborn to admit it.

Exactly, it's like the NFL scheduling games in London. Football has no place in Englad, they don't ccare about it, never have never will.

At least the NHL is an event though. I would go to a European football game just for the atmosphere and the experience even though I don't watch or follow the game. Hockey doesn't have that same buzz and excitement about it. It did briefly following the Rangers '94 cup win, but the NHL squandered it by developing into a boring, defensive league with watered down talent because of expansion. The lockout didn't help, and Bettman made a terrible decision when he took the NHL to Versus instead of staying on ESPN as well. Hockey needs to work its way back to being a major sport in the U.S. and it has a long ways to go.

[CFH]

5-3....
I'm almost positive SJ will win, but I've seen Calgary come back from 2 or 3 goal deficits against the Canucks so many times over the last few years...

[amat]

5-3....
I'm almost positive SJ will win, but I've seen Calgary come back from 2 or 3 goal deficits against the Canucks so many times over the last few years...

Sharks are doing a good job of staying aggressive though and not as many stupid mistakes out of the Calgary zone. Iginla is still giving them hell though which to me seems like it just should not happen.

[amat]

yyyyyyyeeeeeeeesssssssssss

phew, what a tough bunch that was, great series but wow. This is great.

[CFH]

How do you think the Sharks match up against the Stars? I think SJ will take it, Nabakov vs Turco should be good, and if the Sharks get Zubov back it will be interesting to see how he deals with Thornton/Marleau.

[amat]

The Sharks will never have an easy time with the Sharks and vice versa. They played the last game of the season in a throw away game and then ended up finishing their checks and fighting. It turned into a brutal game and the Sharks got like 100 penalty minutes which eventually cost the Sharks the game.

I think though that the Sharks will take it, they are a lot more talented and they tend to be able to get past Turko more then most. Should be a scrappy series but I think they get by.