@ 7:00 PST
12-5-1, 25 points		14-5-4, 32 points
5th in Eastern Conference		1st in Western Conference

Hey San Jose, long time no see. Sure there’s those highlights on sjsharks.com that are available, but as soon as I witnessed Jamie “I’m your biggest fan” McGinn get upended ten seconds in I didn’t even bother watching Scott Nichol trolley track some poor defenseman with his head down, and I sure didn’t see his first goal as a Shark (wild guess here, but I bet our favorite Patrick Marleau look-alike beats his man wide to the right circle, cuts to the middle, and throws the puck on net for a nice little set play that Nichol ends up deflecting past Rrrree-nay. After the goal, Nichol probably looks at Ortmeyer, smiles, and pumps his fist as if to say “Here’s what you missed out on Mr. Poile.” This is all in theory though).

It’s hard to really make comments based off game video (alright, I did end up watching the entire thing), but here’s three I’d like to throw into the mix for the sake of conversation:

• Thomas Greiss didn’t have much of a chance on 3/4 of the goals against, but one thing I’ve noticed before is that he’s very aggressive when attacking the shooter and leaves himself out of position because of it. That backdoor play ends up being open a lot, and sometimes after an initial save he’ll be so far out of his crease that he’ll have to abandon the butterfly and attempt to skate back towards the net. That being said, I’m still an advocate of him getting more starts as we make our way into the season.
• Pretty set of hands by Frazer McLaren on that Thornton goal. Role-reversal to be certain, and if that’s something we can expect out of him going forward, this kid should be more than a serviceable replacement for Jody Shelley next season on the fourth line.
• When game videos cut out without showing the end of the tilt I leave oh so unfulfilled. Please show the last three seconds of the game no matter how uneventful they may be. It’s like watching a formulaic Hollywood movie– you know how it’s going to end, but dammit, you have to see the dog euthanised and buried in the backyard just so you can let the tears flood down and feel like a tender human being for the fourth time in your life.*

*Whatafilm.

As for tonight, the Flyers roll into town with one loss in the month of November. Ray Emery has been more imposing in net than a Hummer (the joke doesn’t flow all too well but I had to work it in there somehow), while contributions from young guns like James Van Reimsdyk have helped out with Simon Gagne tending to a double hernia in his groin. And, of course, Chris Pronger makes his first appearance at The Tank since game five of last year’s postseason series with Anaheim. I’m sure he will be treated to a hearty chorus of boos and other judgements concerning his moral character. That’s why we love him right?

Anybody?

Prediction: Sharks win 17-1. Goals by Heatley, McGinn, Clowe, and a whole bunch of others. Matt Carle’s league-leading +/- drops like a stone.

Go Sharks.