It's 8:30. You really think I had time to gather links?

Enjoy the game.

	@ 9:30 PST
31-18-7, 69 points		40-17-2, 82 points
3rd in Western Conference		1st in Western Conference

Well, there's no better opportunity than this to find out.

Losers of five of their last seven games, the mercurial Sharks are having one of their worst stretches of the year. Not surprising, this slump coincides with their season-long nine game road trip and their frantic schedule of lat. Still, for a fanbase that asks for the stars and is disappointed with anything but, excuses aren't going to cut it.

The last two games, which should have been a simple and painless jaunt through the softest part of the Southeast division saw San Jose earn just a point. Doug WIlson made a trade, acquiring Dominic Moore from Tampa Bay, but the new face didn't bring any luck with him.

Instead, the team has played an extremely sloppy brand of hockey lately, with turnovers and poor defensive zone coverage leading to unfortunate goals against. Neither netminder has been helping matters much, with Niemi allowing six goals in Tampa and Thomas Greiss giving up two quckies to Carolina and a clinching goal in the third.

Tough sledding right now.

In honesty, there would be no better way to get back on track than with an early morning win against the rival Red Wings. While the dislike these two teams have built for each other over the past 20 years doesn't carry as much weight as the Montreal-Boston rivalry, it is in my opinion one of the best in all of hockey. It's starting to gain national traction too, as their two seven-game playoff series in the past two years almost led to the Sharks being the first West Coast team in the Winter Classic.

The Sharks always get up to play the Wings, and they will need that kind of game this morning, as the Red Wings have recently made history, winning 22 consecutive games on home ice. Wouldn't it be great if the Sharks could be slump-busters and streak-busters at once? Before many of us even get up?

Regardless of if the Sharks win or lose, I think it's a lock that Doug Wilson makes another trade before the deadline strikes on the 27th. There are some holes on this team, evidenced with the injury to Martin Havlat, that have to be addressed before the home stretch. Dominic Moore is a nice depth piece, but Doug WIlson sees that his team needs more than that.

I don't think the Sharks have the ammunition to pull off a trade for Rick Nash without getting worse in the process. That is to say that I think they could acquire him if they didn't have an issue with the return, but for now, losing players like Vlasic or Pavelski would hinder the team more than it would help.

Players like Mikhail Grabovski or Ales Hemsky are likely better fits for this team, but with contract talks muddying their status, it's tough to think a deal goes down this weekend.

I'm all for surprises, though.

Prediction: Sharks win 4-2. Goals by McGinn, Burns, Desjardins and Marleau. Niemi has 2 assists.

So, Moore, Moore, Moore. How do you like it? How do you like it?

• In the midnight hour, Plank cried Moore, Moore, Moore. Here are his thoughts on the trade if you haven't read it.
• Pierre LeBrun has Moore than a feelin' that Moore is going to be Moore than useful for San Jose. He called it a "terriffic pickup".
• Hit you, baby, one Moore time? How about this. Dominic Moore said that if he could choose one team to be traded to, it would have been San Jose. He'll suit up between Mitchell and McGinn. Handzus will play somewhere else, another forward will sit.

I don't have a prediction for the final score but I do have a feeling Logan Couture scores an early power play goal.

Go Sharks!

• David Pollak helps all of us pick up the pieces with some glowing words from Blues Head Coach Ken Hitchcock.
  
• Al Stalock will be headed back to play in Worcester while Tommy Wingels gets activated from the IR. As a result The Jim Vandermeer Experiment at forward is probably no more, which comes to the dismay of no one.
• This isn't to say Vandermeer played poorly at forward, it's just to say at the end of the night you would forget he even played at forward. It's weird, I know.
  
  Thomas Greiss goes up against Michal Neuvirth tonight in a battle of the backups. With so many back to backs on this road trip it's safe to assume Greiss gets at least two (and probably three) starts, which is good to see before San Jose plays like 45 games in 30 days during March.
• Douglas Murray vs. Alex Ovechkin. Never gets old.
• This bullet point is being added solely to beef up the word count.

Puck drops at 4:37 PM.

SHARKS FANS..........WE ARE LIVE! From the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., IT'S TIME!

Before the puck drops tonight, here are some juicy appetizers before tonight's main course.

• David Pollak of "Working the Corners" previews tonight's Blackhawks vs. Sharks game.
• CSN CA Kevin Kurz previews what to watch for in tonight's game.
• Kurz discusses how the Sharks will have Dan Boyle back in the lineup tonight.
• Kurz reports that the Sharks are interested in the last original San Jose Shark, Ray Whitney.
• CSN CA Ray Ratto reports that Jeremy Roenick is interested in buying the Coyotes.
• GameDay Blog from San Jose Sharks website.

Remember, tonight will be the last Sharks home game as they embark on a lengthy road trip.

GO SHARKS!

Here are some of today's news stories in what is likely going to be a game which sets national TV viewing records. Sharks v. Coyotes at 5:00 on a Saturday... do you have all your snacks ready for the big game?!

> Antti Niemi is back in goal tonight, according to David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury.

> Don't let that worry you too much, though, as Greiss is being recognized by his coaching staff and will get more starts down the stretch, via Kevin Kurz of CSN.

> Owen Nolan is holding a press conference Monday at HP, likely to announce his retirement.