@ 5:00 PST
44-13-10, 98 points		32-30-6, 70 points
1st in Pacific Division		3rd in Pacific Division

The Sharks play a back to back today, and if you've hung around here long enough you're aware we don't do back to backs on the weekend. So this post is going to suck.

Oh, what's that? Ronnie Van Zant's in the house?

Gladly.

• Should be interesting to see Moen back at the Pond. Does he get a lengthy round of applause? I don't know and honestly don't care.
• Lo and behold Chris Pronger eluded a seemingly inevitable trade deadline deal, and will be suiting up tonight for the Quacks. Is it just me or is there not as much excitement to play Anaheim this go around? Granted it probably has a lot to do with the schedule and lack of a Pacific division race, but I wasn't counting down the days like I have in the past. This changes once I wake up of course, but it's still kind of peculiar. Feel free to backhand me like Chris Brown if you feel I've broken the "Revved Up For Rivals" code of fandom.
• Some talk last night about the lack of traffic on the power play. Took a look at Tivo, and have to say that while we could have gotten more bodies in front of the net, it wasn't atrocious by any means. Clowe was camped out front, Joe did a semi-decent job of getting there etc. In reality, this comes down to our defensemen unable to get shots through right now. If that's not happening we're pretty much forced to spread their PK unit out with guys on the sideboards because launching rockets into skates and shins isn't going to amount to anything. Didn't help that Ersberg played out of his mind either.
  
• As for Thornton, it was floated around last night that he may be playing through an injury. Thoughts? I didn't think he had that poor of a game through the first half of the tilt, but he has tended to go unnoticed in the third lately (doing so last night). Honestly, it just seems like a matter of time till he gets back in the groove. If he is playing injured (completely hypothetical, I have no idea if that is/isn't the case), I hope McLellan would have sat his ass down and scratched him for a game or two. Yeah he's a huge part of the team and the lines would begin to look thinner than Ryan Getzlaf's hairline*, but I'd much rather have a 100% Thornton and a 2 seed than a 75% Thornton (who would be regressing due to playing on it) and a 1 seed.
  Maybe it's just blind optimism when compared to all the negatives, but there was probably three shifts in the game last night where the Sharks looked on their heels. Not the best team to measure up against of course, but the Kings have played us tough all season; we managed to control the vast majority of that game. If you look at it from that standpoint, I don't mind taking two points out of the shootout (even though the shootout sucks). Chicken Little has officially been booted from the Plank household until further notice.
• Hey what's up bitches, it's Chicken Little back for one last shot. The first ten minutes along with the third period scare me a bit tonight. San Jose hasn't fared too well against desperate teams lately, and coupled with a back to back on the road we might get jumped early and lose steam late. It ain't gonna happen, but it might./

* It really never gets old.

Prediction: Sharks win 4-2. Goals by Clowe, Cheechoo, Thornton, and Blake.

Go Sharks.