2/12/08 calgary 4, SHARKS 3 OT

Well, at least it wasn't Owen Nolan again.

Ok, so that's not very decent silver lining, because really, there isn't any. Jarome Iginla did it again in OT, and the Sharks dropped another game that they had won in the final minute of regulation. Sure, Marcel Goc had a pretty goal. Sure, Milan Michalek's goal and Patrick Rissmiller's goals were nice too, but they had the game won. They totally dominated the Flames all game long, outshooting them 43-18 throughout the course of the night. Evgeni Nabokov made some decent saves, only making 14 in all.

You notice my tone is a bit different while writing this one, and it's because this stings. Too many times we've seen the Sharks choke away a victory by ceasing to play offense towards the end of the game, opting to just sit back on D. Whether it's a saying someone else has or not, here it goes. "If you're not playing to win, you're playing to lose." So profound, if it's never been said before, I now trademark it as my own. Now, I'm not gonna get too ranty, because it is just one game, and there is another one tomorrow, but still, folks around here, and not just me, are starting to get unhappy. Teal Town is stirring, and not with anything happy.

The Sharks finish their homestand tomorrow with a game they really should win, when the Edmonton Oilers stumble into San Jose (7:30). Edmonton comes to San Jose winners in 3 of their last 5, but still toiling around the bottom of the Western Conference standings. With leading scorer Shawn Horcoff is out for the year, leading red-headed jerkface Raffi Torres is out for the year too, and leading big-giant-seemingly-overpaid-defenseman-with-a-shot-that-could-penetrate-a-tank Sheldon Souray out for an indefinite amount of time, the Oilers have thrived on their youth, just as they've done all year long. Get used to names like Gagner, Brodziak, and Cogliano, because they're good, and they're young, so they'll be around for a while. This is the last Sharks home game until they host the Montreal Canadiens on March 3rd, having to leave town for the SAP Open tennis tournament. That roadie, of course, is an 8 gamer, the longest of the year, and I'm proud to renew the Odyssey if just for this short time, hitting 7 of the 8 games (Sorry Columbus).

GO SHARKS (make this last home game a good one)
-Jess