12/22/07 anaheim 5, SHARKS 2

Not even Christmas could take the bitter taste from my mouth on this one, so here we go, albeit quite belated.

The three game mini series between the Sharks and Ducks mercifully ended Saturday night, as Anaheim took it to the hometown boys again with a 5-2 shellacking. Twice in the 3rd, the Sharks decided to show up, on goals from Captain Patrick Marleau and Marcel Goc, but it proved to not be nearly enough, as the Fowl were just clearly better. Evgeni Nabokov was as good as he could have been, stopping 19 shots in the loss, while starting his 35th game of the year (in 35 games).

Thankfully, the 2007 home schedule is complete. Usually, home ice carries an advantage, with the home crowd behind the team. For whatever reason, the Sharks suck at home. They've played 18 home games, and have won 6. By comparison, the 5-10 San Francisco 49ers have played 8 home games, and have won 3. So in 10 fewer games, they've won only 3 fewer contests. Yeah, it's that bad. Fortunately, the Teal travel well, leading the league in road victories, tied with Ottawa and Phoenix with 12 (Both Ottawa and the Sharks have won 12 in 17 games, Phoenix has won 12 in 20 road games).

While the home schedule is complete for the calendar year, the Sharks still have 4 games left in 2007, beginning Tuesday in Los Angeles (7:30). The Kings, despite a strong start, are now ruling the basement in the Pacific, and in the Western Conference. The season series is tilted towards the south, as the Kings have taken all three contests played in San Jose (5-2 on 11/2, 2-1 on 11/24, and 3-2 in a SO on 11/28), while the Sharks have taken the lone game at Staples Center. However their standing, Anze Kopitar, Mike Cammalleri, and Dustin Brown are still dangerous, and always a threat to score. If they don't do that tomorrow though, I somehow think I'll manage.

GO SHARKS (beat la)
-Jess