@ 4:30 PM PST
39-12-9, 87 points		27-21-11, 65 points
1st in Western Conference		9th in Western Conference

"The demons weaving amongst the rafters above. The cold, unforgiving sheet of ice below. The Red Army lining up eye to eye, wooden bayonets poised at the ready. Many have fallen here, torn limb from limb under piercing lights, casually thrown aside like the masses before them. And if history repeats itself? If history has provided a compass to navigate this treacherous terrain tonight?

Then history has damned our very souls."

- Fear The Fin, November 5th

At some point in the season, there comes a time when a team is faced with an opportunity to make a statement.

Tonight is one of those nights.

The Sharks have yet to register a win against the Red Wings this season, a team that has struggled with injuries for the majority of the year and currently sits two points out of a playoff spot. They're definitely a potential opponent in two months times, and a dangerous one at that; with the success San Jose has had at Joe Louis Arena over the years there's very little here that would make a seven game series appealing on any sort of level.

Discluding a sadistic obsession with pain and suffering of course.

I'm no psychologist, but I have a theory that a small pocket of Sharks fans actually enjoy the losses more than the wins on some primal level. If heartbreak is your escape than I'm sure you'll be tuning in tonight eagerly pinching your nipples and biting your lip in anticipation of what, if the past eighteen years are any indicator, should be a prime opportunity to find some sweet sweet solace.

Assholes.

At any rate, I would go as far to say that Detroit is the second most dangerous team amongst the Western Conference pool of contenders, with Chicago obviously taking the crown in that regard. Niklas Lidstrom may have a receding hairline but is still the best shutdown defenseman in the league today, Pavel Datsyuk makes your deity of choice green with envy, and Henrik Zetterberg is always available to pick your pocket like Winona Ryder on a Tuesday afternoon at the mall.

They're a damn good team on paper, and with Johan Franzen making his return from a knee injury this week, they just got even better.

So I guess, if I were to sum this up, I would say this-- with the history at Joe Louis, current playoff picture, middling record against playoff teams, and performance against the Wings this season, tonight is the biggest game the Sharks have played in 2009-2010, the closest thing a team not fighting for a playoff spot can consider a must-win.

Grab your jockstrap. It's time to make a statement.

Prediction: Sharks win 3-2 in overtime. Goals by Marleau, Pavelski, and Clowe. The sky doesn't fall, angry Fanposts without proper punctuation are put on hold until April, and some guy in south San Jose continues to massage his nipple, all the while wondering what could have been.

Go Sharks.