1/30 dallas 3, SHARKS 2 SO

****.

****, ****, ****, and ****. For those of you wanting to learn how to just stop playing after two periods, I give you Exhibit A. Yes, the Sharks are 33-17-1, but it seems like those 17 (and that stupid 1) are far more memorable than the 33. Yet again, the Sharks showed off their ability to Jekyll and Hyde in one game. They Jekylled themselves out to a 2-0 lead, and then in the third, Hyde came out to play, or hide, as the case was.

In a game that was slow offensively until the final 20 minutes, the Sharks looked to have the game dominated, holding the Stars (boo) to just 9 shots, while enjoying a 2 goal lead thanks to goals from Joe Pavelski [11] (Milan Michalek, Marc-Edouard Vlasic) and Patrick Marleau [25] (Ryane Clowe, Joe Thornton). Despite a couple chances to put the game out of reach (Curtis Brown deked goalie Marty Turco, and himself, right out of a wide open net, 1:25 of 5-3, followed by 2:35 more of 5-4), the Sharks could not improve on a 2-0 lead, and, in the 3rd, it ended up costing them. The Stars (boo), to their credit (I guess), woke up in the 3rd, working hard, hitting, shooting, and most importantly, scoring, recording a pair of goals, including a goal with the extra attacker with just 2.2 left to play that sent the game to overtime.

Yet again, there were barely any Stars (boo) fans in attendance last night, as, well, they just decided not to, I guess. The Stars (boo) are among one of the more hated teams in the Tank, and I guess their fans don't want to deal with that. There was one guy, who prided himself in acting like a moron, standing up and clapping his hands vertically, I guess trying to emulate "The Chomp", but instead just looking like a fool. Last time the Stars (boo) were here, there was almost a fight in 209 because of Stars (boo) fans standing up and refusing to sit down, just because. No one ever accused the visiting Stars (boo) fans of burning bright, an accusation they seem unable to live up to anyway.

The Sharks get a day to stew over this game, then they get to do it all over, taking on the Dallas Stars (boo) again tomorrow, Thursday (7:30 pst). Where as 2006 saw Black Thursday suck, 2007 is undefeated, seeing the Sharks maintain a 2-0 record while wearing the all black alternate jerseys. Tomorrow's game should be a physical one, at least from the Sharks point of view. If this team wants to redeem themselves, tomorrow game, location, and opponent are exactly the right match to show some redemption. With Evgeni Nabokov and probably Marty Turco in nets, it should be another close game, hopefully this one won by the good guys (shouldn't have to explain this one).

Go Sharks (don't forget to boo the "stars" in the Star [boo] Spangled Banner)
-Jess