Christian Ehrhoff tied for scoring lead by defenseman, Sharks blueline combines for 9 points and 15 shots on goal in 6-1 blowout of Calgary Flames

SAN JOSE SHARKS DEFENSEMAN #10 CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF - FILE PHOTO SJ'S CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF TIED FOR/nhl D-MAN SCORING LEAD - YAHOO SPORTS The San Jose Sharks blitzed the Calgary Flames in the first period en route to a 6-1 blowout win Thursday night at HP Pavilion. Three power play goals by Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, and an even strength tally by Milan Michalek, provided all the offense San Jose would need in the first period. "Iron" Mike Keenan was forced to pull former Sharks goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff for Curtis McElhinney after 20 minutes, but the move did little to spark a listless Flames squad who limped to the finish without any of the intensity the Sharks saw in the first round of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series last year. San Jose put an end to a brief 2-game losing streak after Nashville and Phoenix, but they extended an 11-game point streak at home (10-0-1). It is a distinct reversal from 2007-08, where the Sharks stumbled out of the gate 4-5-2 at HP Pavilion. They finished 22-13-6 overall at home. One area where the Sharks needed to improve was on the power play. Last season the Sharks finished 70-372 (18.8%) with the man advantage, tied for 8th in the/nhl. This season the Sharks have generated more offense 5-on-5, with a power play 14-87 (16.1%) that has been less effective putting points on the board. The Sharks added Rob Blake and Dan Boyle during the offseason, and along with Christian Ehrhoff and Marc-Edouard Vlasic the Sharks have a quartet of offensive-defenseman who can initiate from the blueline. It all seemed to come together on Thursday night as the Sharks finished 4-9 on the power play. The Sharks defense combined for 15 shots on goal, and Christian Ehrhoff, Dan Boyle and Rob Blake combined for 3 assists each. Ehrhoff (2G, 13A) is now tied with Filip Kuba of Ottawa (1G, 14A) and Shea Weber (7G, 8A) for the/nhl scoring lead by defenseman. San Jose's power play was effective using shots and excellent movement from the point to create mismatches and 2-on-1's down low. Joe Pavelski's first power play goal came on a bomb of a shot from Rob Blake on the left point. With Ryane Clowe parked in front of Kiprusoff, the puck deflected off a mass of bodies in front and Pavelski buried the rebound. The second goal came off the rebound of another Rob Blake point shot, this time with Marleau converting a rebound from the right side of the net. The Sharks third and fourth power play goals were initiated by shots from the point, but took a more circuitous route through traffic to find the back of the net. Seconds after writing that the Michalek-Pavelski-Clowe second power play unit was actually playing and getting ice time like a first power play unit, Sharks radio analyst Jamie Baker made the same observation. He also noted that Marleau's power play goal in the first period was his first power play point of the season. Patrick Marleau does have 18 non-power play points (7G, 11A) in addition to 2 short-handed goals and 2 game winning goals this season. Baker was on fire with his analysis of the game. After the fifth San Jose goal in the second period, he said of the Calgary Flames lack of speed "I don't want to say the Flames are running on sand, that would imply they are skating slow. They are running on bare feet while the Sharks are running in brand new track shoes." The Flames did look like they were skating in bare feet, and the Sharks gave considerable ice time to the third and fourth lines in the final 20 minutes which still did not improve how Calgary looked. Sluggish. Also from Baker imagining himself as a Calgary Flame in the second "I don't want to lose by 10-12 goals", and in the third period "utter domination is the story line of this game." Jamie Baker may be one of the best analysts in the game, constantly picking up subtleties and big picture concepts on the ice and relaying them to his listeners. The Sharks outshot the Flames 20-5 after the first period, 46-24 for the game. Calgary outhit the San Jose 32-24, and briefly in the first period it looked like some of the playoff intensity would rub off on this contest. Robyn Regehr leveled Devin Setoguchi behind the net, and Dion Phaneuf chalked up another big hit. The physical play did not phase the Sharks. In addition to the largest lineup in the/nhl, San Jose also ices one of the fastest skating rosters in the league. Milan Michalek's two goals were a direct result of the team speed. His first came off a nice feed by Joe Pavelski. Michalek blew by Aucion and Phaneuf in the neutral zone, faked a shot, and lifted the puck over Kiprusoff's leg pad short side as he went down early. His second goal came on a Christian Ehrhoff rush down the left wing. Ehrhoff slid a centering pass with Pavelski and Michalek outnumbering a lone Calgary backchecking forward. Michalek tipped the puck and converted a rebound for his 5th goal of the season. Michalek also created another scoring chance on a breakaway in the second period. While Patrick Marleau accelerates smoothly with powerful strides, Michalek is a physics exercise in wasted energy. Marleau glides on the ice, Michalek churns, both use their speed to put defenseman on their heels and force forwards to waive sticks at them in the neutral zone. The Sharks team speed generated several more breakways with Pavelski, Plihal and Marleau creating more scoring chances as the Calgary defense could not adjust. It raises a question of how do you play the San Jose Sharks? Last year early in the preseason teams rolled out the hack-a-Shaq strategy on Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. It worked sporadically, but with the trade deadline addition of Brian Campbell the Sharks were able to skate their way out of any problems to finish with an 11-game winning streak and a 20-game point streak. The hack-a-Marleau strategy was employed by Calgary in the first round, with Dion Phaneuf and Cory Sarich taking shots at Marleau's head in game 3. This Sharkspage post on game 3 earned over 40,000 page views, the most viewed post not involving Danica Patrick or Sumo wrestling in this blog's 10-year history. General Manager Doug Wilson added Dan Boyle and Rob Blake this offseason. Boyle is argueably a better stick handler than Campbell, and is light years ahead of Campbell with his anticipation and ability to pressure opposing teams into making mistakes. Rob Blake adds a much needed power play howitzer on the point, but it has really been the development of Christian Ehrhoff that deserves mention. Ehrhoff is hands down the Sharks best defenseman at this point in the season. He has always had the physical tools to be an elite offensive defenseman, but under Ron Wilson at times Ehrhoff appeared as if he was hesitant to make a mistake. Under Todd McLellan, mistakes are going to happen but they are not going to limit his puck moving potential. In addition to tweaking the backswing on his slapshot for a quicker release (a half cock instead of a full windup), Ehrhoff's speed is as explosive as anyone on the team. He uses that speed to transition the puck up ice as well as chasing down opposing breakaways. Marc-Edouard Vlasic is a young intelligent defenseman who can glean the finer points of the offensive-defenseman game from Boyle and Blake this year, but it is Ehrhoff who is leading the blueline attack on the best offensive team in the/nhl. With the mobility and speed on the blueline, and finally the addition of killer instinct from Blake and Boyle, how do you play the San Jose Sharks? Do opposing teams try to trade scoring chances with a team that has 7 legitimate top-6 forwards and several players who can put up points on the third and fourth line? Do teams try to play the body and wear down the largest lineup in the/nhl a la any Anaheim-Sharks game over the last 3 years? The answer is no, and no. Moving forward, look for more teams to tighten up in the defensive zone, and flood the neutral zone trying to mitigate the Sharks team speed. Given the number of chances the Sharks generate, eventually the power play is going to click consistently. Teams will need to cut down on penalties and rely on solid goaltending. The Detroit Red Wings are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, but many opponents are circling San Jose as well as Detroit on the calender this year as teams they want to knock off of the pedestal. San Jose goaltender Brian Boucher stopped 23 of 24 shots to earn his 4th win of the season (4-1-1, .940SV%, 1.49GAA, 2SO). The win also gives Boucher enough starts to qualify for several goaltending statisical rankings. Boucher leads the/nhl in GAA at 1.49 and is third in save percentage at .940. Evgeni Nabokov is tied New York's Henrik Lundqvist for the/nhl lead in wins with 10. Miikka Kiprusoff made 16 saves on 20 shots in the first period, and backup Curtis McElhinney stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced in the final 2 periods. The Sharks have registered 40 shots or more 9 times this season, and have limited shots against to 20 or less 4 times. Evgeni Nabokov, Jonathan Cheechoo and Alexei Semenov were scratches for San Jose. Patrick Marleau's first period power play goal ties him with Owen Nolan for the franchise lead with 75. Jonathan Cheechoo is third with 59. Right wing Mike Grier left the game in the first period with a lower body injury. [Update] Sharks defense earns record nine assists in drubbing of Flames - Ehrhoff.com. [Update2] Calgary Herald reporter Scott Cruickshank notes on the Flames Insider blog that there was a gunshot outside of the Sharks practice facility on Thursday. Nothing furthur was reported by the local media. In a post-game report Cruickshank relayed several comments from a defeated Flames locker room describing San Jose as "top of the class", as a "measuring stick", and as a team always looking to shoot the puck "everything goes to the net, funnels to the net" similar to the Red Wings style. The Calgary Herald posted a photo gallery from the game by renowned Calgary photographer Robert Galbraith. Scott Cruickshank's post-game article quoted Joe Thornton on San Jose's 46-shot effort against Calgary, after the Sharks registered a team record 57-shots Tuesday against Nashville. "We're going for 60, that's what we're hoping for." Thornton said. [Update3] One complete Tanking, Flames fall flat in first visit to San Jose since playoff loss to Sharks last season - Randy Sportak for the Calgary Sun. If that was a game to use as a measuring stick, the Calgary Flames had best find a bigger ruler. Actually, after facing the San Jose Sharks and being thumped 6-1 last night, you'd need a depth finder to find them. "You play a team like this and wonder where you are in terms of your own development," said Flames head coach Mike Keenan. "You got a good sense of reality when you end up quite not on the same level." It was the first return to the Shark Tank since the disappointing Game 7 loss that snuffed their Stanley Cup hopes a few months ago. It was also the Flames' first chance at a Sharks team that's clearly the class of the/nhl right now. It ended up a debacle. [Update4] Flames’ hopes hinge on Kiprusoff - Ross McKeon for Yahoo Sports. “They pushed us out of it in the first period,” Calgary captain Jarome Iginla said. “We all know the importance of how much more we have to bring in our game. Our game is competing and we’re not bringing enough right now. We’ll get it back.” Thursday night’s meltdown came almost without warning. Kiprusoff was quick as a cat on a flurry of early Sharks chances. He slid on his knees to his right, anticipating a Ryane Clowe shot. He denied Devin Setoguchi twice in close, too. Maybe asking him to make three solid saves in the opening two minutes was foreboding evidence of what was to come. [Update5] David Pollak notes on his excellent Working the Corners blog that a scoring change took away an Ehrhoff assist on Pavelski's first goal and gave it to Ryane Clowe. This gives Ehrhoff two assists on the night instead of three, tying him with Dan Boyle, Chris Pronger, Andre Markov and Daniel Giradi for 3rd overall in scoring by a defenseman. The scoring change also gave the Sharks 8 assists by defenseman on the night, tying an earlier franchise record 8-point performance by the blueline.Source

Free to enlist, but not choose

By Rob Breakenridge, via the Calgary Herald:On this Remembrance Day as we honour the courage and sacrifice of Canada's bravest, it's an illustrative reminder of a glaring contrast that exists in this country.For indeed, we are a nation that asks so much of so few yet expects so little from so many.Our appreciation of valour seems a strange anomaly when coddling and condescension are the order of the day.It is rather paradoxical that in a country where one can volunteer to put one's life on the line in armed conflict, that same citizen is entrusted with far less authority in making far less dangerous decisions.It represents what is often referred to as the "nanny state" -- the notion that we need to be protected not only from others, but from ourselves as well.To use "nanny" as an analogy is to speak to the line that's seemingly been erased when it comes to safeguarding children and allowing common sense to prevail among adults.We're so accustomed to this by now that further examples of it seem inconsequential.Whereas the notion of forcing adults to wear helmets of any sort might have once seemed a demeaning encroachment on individual liberties, we're now haggling over the particular exemptions of a new worry-free society where helmets are ubiquitous.It's become a no-brainer that motorcyclists or professional hockey players would be obligated to wear helmets in such potentially hazardous conditions.We give little thought, however, to whether providing one form of protection leads to risky behaviour in other ways -- would an unhelmeted motorcyclist drive more safely? Did unhelmeted players play with more caution and less aggression?We also give little consideration to how many motorcyclists or professional hockey players would stop using helmets if the requirement was no longer there.Probably very few, but again, such decisions must not be left to the individual.But that Rubicon was crossed a long time ago; we're no longer debating mandatory helmet use for playing hockey, we're debating it for anyone who sets foot on or near an ice surface.It won't be long before proof of helmet ownership is needed to purchase a pair of skates. But then again, merely leaving the house to make such a purchase might require a helmet anyway.Read the rest here.Source

Canucks vs Leafs: My favorite game of the season!

Sure, Mats Sundin no longer plays for the Leafs and the team is rebuilding, but I don't think the Canucks-Leafs game will lack intensity. It could/should be a war. There is still going to be blueshirts scattered all over GM Place. That atmosphere will still be present. The Leafs have not played in Vancouver FOR 3 YEARS! Good gad the schedule used to suck.QUICK NOTES-How will Wellwood respond playing against a team that gave up on him? Answer: About as well as he played for his current team when they gave up on him. Go Woody!-I don't know how many people would have thought that the Canucks would only have 1 more point than the Leafs at this stage in their preseason thoughts and predictions. I think it's fair to say that both teams are exceeding fan/pundit expectations for the most part.-The Leafs' season success is like a roller coaster ride. They have not found any consistency yet except for being consistent in being inconsistent. (yikes) They can thump on Montreal one game, lose to the Flames 3 days later, and then beat the Oilers handily 2 nights after that. That has been their week. The Leafs have 2 wins in their last 5 games.Ron Wilson is behaving that way I thought he would. He'll bench any bum who doesn't play hard, including the higher-paid guys like Jason Blake. I wish more coaches would do that. As a result, we could draw a hard-nosed Leafs squad tonight and cannot take them for granted.-The Canucks are coming off a shootout loss to the Avalanche and should play inspired right off the bat. They have 3 wins in their last 5. They must bury their chances this time. Put it top corner, boys. If you thought Budaj was great...Toskala can play the same way.-I wonder if Sami Salo saw my Glass Joe Photoshop, because he is slated to play tonight. "I felt pretty good out there so I should should be ready to go," said the 34-year-old Finn, who revealed it was actually his upper back, not his shoulder, that was ailing him. "We've done a lot of work on it the last couple of days and the practice went well."Oh geez. Maybe there is something wrong with your head! Regardless, it's good to have him playing.The same Vancouver Sun article also stated that Rob Davison will replace Kevin Bieksa. Davison is not known for playing a ton of minutes, so expect a guy like Alex Edler to get more ice time. That is a good thing.-It looks as though Pavol Demitra is a game time decision.-Watch for Mikhail Grabovski. He is on a 6 game point streak and has scored 7 goals and 3 assists in that span. He reminds me of Sergei Berezin in almost every way. He has come alive.-Tomas Kaberle is kicking it lately as well. After starting the season off slowly (2 points in 9 games), he has 11 points in his last 8 games. He has 6 points in his last 3 games.-The Canucks will be sporting their new 3rd jerseys tonight. I have not said this yet but I like the new design. You gotta have Johnny Canuck on there! The stick in rink logo looks modernized and less boring than the original.I like our chances against Toronto. This isn't a lock, but we should be able to inch past these guys or blow by them if they are not ready. Don't expect any quit out of the Leafs though. They have a guy with a huge whip coaching them.GAME TIME: 4:00 PST (gotta make sure the Torontonians get to watch the Leafs lose before they go to bed)TV: TSNT Tags: Canucks, Leafs, game+preview, November+2008 Grabovski Kaberle Salo+returns new+3rd+jersey Source

Avalanche Streaking Again, Down Oilers 3-2 in Shootout

(Associated Press)When I woke up this morning I had a great opening line for this recap. Unfortunately I promptly fell back asleep and forgot it. Something about wanting to be called Ishmael while a man in black fled across a desert.Anyhoo...last night the Avalanche grabbed their fourth of six possible points on their current road trip - and third win in a row - with their 3-2 shootout victory over the Edmonton Oilers.Heading into the third period, the Avalanche were down 2-1 and didn't appear poised to score the tying goal any time soon.But then the rarest of rarities happened. The Oilers took two penalties leading to a 6-on-3 advantage for the Avalanche with just 25 seconds left.It started when Fernando Pisani got called for hooking at 18:01. The Avalanche pulled Peter Budaj for the 6-on-4 advantage but couldn't get anything together.Then Marek Svatos decided to take matters into his own hands and stickhandled past half a dozen Oilers and their moms leading to an Ethan Moreau tripping penalty.So in a smart - if not obvious - move, Granato sent out Smyth and Tucker to stand in front of the net and annoy Roloson. Roloson was frustrated and distracted by Smyth all game long so why not toss an extra body in front of him and see if he snaps.It worked superbly as Jordan Leopold fired a shot from the point and while Roloson was hacking, slashing and punching at the pesty pair, Tucker managed to get a stick on it and tip it past Roloson.Roloson quickly went screaming over to the refs to protest the undoubtedly legal goal. Smyth and Tucker stayed out of the crease, the tip in happened well below the goal line and nobody had touched Roloson.Seriously Dwayne, grow some stones and quit whining to the refs whenever opponents get within a meter of you. And don't think we didn't notice your dive when Smyth breathed on in the third period. We noticed and we loved it.That tied the game with 11 seconds to go and as OT solved nothing, it was off to the shootout.Wojtek Wolski and Sam Gagner both scored to start things off but the next six shooters couldn't get anything past the keepers.Then Darcy Tucker stepped on the ice. And I said "WTF?" Then Tucker scored. And I said "WTF?" Then Budaj stopped Horcoff. And I said "Yippee!"The Avalanche now head into Calgary to complete their trip. The Flames got spanked 6-1 by the Sharks on Thursday and don't play again until Tuesday. I think it's safe to say that they will come out pretty fired up. Of course you never know what Iron Mike has up his sleeve.NotesPeter Budaj stood tall in net once again. He has allowed just three goals in his last three games. Coincidentally, those all equated to wins. He is on his way to proving what many believed all along - he has the technology. He can play bigger, stronger, faster.Liam Reddox drew in tonight as Dustin Penner and Kyle Brodziak were in street clothes. And in true Avalanche fashion, he scored the first goal of his.nhl career. Is somebody willing to look up how many players scored their first career goal against the Avs? Because offhand...it feels like a lot.Ryan Smyth got his first goal against his former team as he drove the net hard and banged in a rebound. Remember kids, it's never a bad idea to go hard to the net. And it's always fun to score against your former team no matter what anybody says.Darcy Tucker is getting back into everyone's good books as he scored the game tying goal as well as the winner in the shootout.Joe Sakic sat out for the second straight game. The Avalanche are hopeful he will join the team in Calgary. But don't worry, they were hopeful he would join the team in Edmonton too.Brett Clark was the ice-time leader with 24 minutes last night. He shouldn't be playing that many minutes as it became evident late in the game that he was gassing and making poor plays.Late in the third, he was circling behind the net being chased by an Oiler when another Oiler started coming at him from the other direction. Rather than dump the puck past the oncoming Oiler, he tried to cut out in front of Budaj which was nearly disastrous. Mostly because my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.David Jones spent a grand total of 6:41 on the ice tonight, most of that in the first and second periods. What happened to the dynamo from the preseason? If he doesn't wake up soon, he'll be heading back to Lake Erie to hopefully regain some confidence. He's got none at the moment.Milan Hejduk took the draw to start off the 6-on-3 advantage and won it handily. Paul Stastny was on the ice but had only won 8 of his 20 draws while Hejduk was a perfect 3-for-3 leading up to that crucial draw.Ian Laperriere, Cody Mcleod, Cody McCormick, Zach Stortini, Jesse Boulerice...and no fights? Bizarre.Game highlightsPost-game CommentsRelated LinksIn the Cheap Seats RecapRocky Mountain News RecapDenver Post RecapBudaj, Avalanche stun Oilers in SOAvalanche defeat Oilers in shootoutSource

San Jose Sharks highlights after 20 games, a Sharkspage video

Twenty games in to the 2008-09/nhl season and one thing has become blindingly evident, adding a pair of allstar offensive defenseman to a potent West Coast offense is going to produce more goals/nhl teams have yet to find an answer for the Sharks offense. The addition of Dan Boyle and Rob Blake, and the breakout season by defenseman Christian Ehrhoff has helped San Jose pile up an/nhl-best 73 goals. That is almost 10 more than the next closest offense (Detroit, 64 goals). The Sharks have built up an 11-point lead over the Anaheim Ducks in the race for the Pacific Division. The scary thing for opponents, they are still not playing their best hockey. No longer top heavy, the Sharks are scoring by committee with eight players registering 4 or more goals. Second year forward Devin Setoguchi leads the team with 11, but both Setoguchi (6th) and Patrick Marleau (9th) have entered the league's top 10 list for total points. With his 225-pound frame parked in front of the net, Ryane Clowe has delivered 5 of his 9 goals on the power play in addition to picking up 3 fighting majors. The Sharks stumbled out of the gate with the man advantage, regsitering their worst power play percentage in 5 years after 5 games (3-25, 12%). The second power play unit headmanned by center Joe Pavelski created more scoring chances and was given more power play time by rookie head coach Todd McLellan, but in the last 5 games everything has clicked for the Sharks special teams. Both power play unites have combined to score 12 goals in 34 power play opportunities (35.3%), including 8 PP goals in back-to-back games against Calgary and Chicago. The Sharks penalty kill has not peaked, but it is trending up at 84.6% (12-78) and the team is only 16th in total penalty minutes (266). The Sharks have been inconsistent in spurts defensively. It is a departure from 2007-08 where the team focused on cutting down shots against, and used a stiff defense and solid goaltending to lock down 1 and 2 goal leads. The inconsistent defensive play started with a rare home-at-home against Philadelphia, allowing Briere to tie the game late in each game before emerging with a pair of overtime and OT shootout wins. After dominating the Stanley Cup Finalist Pittsburgh Penguins (holding them to a record low 11 shots on goal) and Detroit Red Wings, the Sharks let up against St Louis and made the 5-4 shootout win more difficult on themselves. The Sharks looked shaky and inconsistent at times en route to a 6-5 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Boucher had his worst start of the season, misplaying a puck behind his own net that directly lead to Kris Versteeg's short-handed goal in the first period, and remaining out of position after a save allowing Versteeg to bank the puck off his goalie stick from behind the net for his second goal. According to Sharkspage contributer Max Giese, who was in the stands in Chicago, Boucher was fighting the puck and not seeing the play clearly in front of him. The Sharks responded in the same way they have responded all year, by pressing the action offensively. Dan Boyle scored his second goal of the game on the power play, and Devin Setoguchi notched his team leading 11th goal to win the game late in the third period. Adam Gretz notes on AOL's Fanhouse that Brian Boucher has been an anchor in the net for San Jose in 6 consecutive starts while Evgeni Nabokov has been injured. Against Nashville, a scary injury to Predators captain Jason Arnott quieted the arena as he was carried off on a stretcher. San Jose scored 4 unanswered goals on Dan Ellis in the first two periods, and then whethered a storm of fights as Scott Nichol, Jordin Tootoo and Greg de Vries dropped the gloves with Joe Thornton, Brad Staubitz and Jody Shelley respectively. The defense has turned over 50% from last season, with the addition of Rob Blake, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich. It will take time for them to adjust to Todd McLellan's system. It will also take time for the forwards to adjust from former head coach Ron Wilson to McLellan. Instead of collapsing the points down low on every play to provide support for the defense, the forwards are often releasing up ice with speed and creating breakaways and 2-on-1's taking advantage of their team speed a la Detroit. It remains to be seen what adjustments will be made going forward in the season, McLellan has described it as a process that will not always be pretty. The Sharks to this point have responded to every problem by skating hard and scoring goals. Sometime in mid-December they will get one of their best checking forwards and penalty killers back from a leg injury, second year center Torrey Mitchell. A player who rivals Patrick Marleau for sheer speed. That is not a good omen for the rest of the/nhl. The song in the highlight video above is "I am the night, colour me black" by the Montreal band Priestess, suggested by a reader at the Battle of California. [Update] Comparing this year to last: A 30-team look - James Mirtle. For example, the Sharks are currrently on pace for 27 more points than they had last season, and the Senators are on pace for 26 fewer. The Sharks are on pace to score an incredible 75 more goals than last season, and the Senators are on pace for 67 fewer. And in goals against, the Wild and Kings are on pace to allow 51 fewer goals, while the Stars and Marty Turco are on pace to allow 90 more. [Update2] Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Ducks - Japers Rink. [Update3] No game till Saturday, so time to revisit the good, bad and ugly in Nashville - David Pollak on his Working the Corners blog. That said, (Scott) Nichol wasn’t nearly as charitable when talking about the Sharks in general. "We just bottom line don't like them," he told Nashville reporters after the game. "We've played them a lot and it's left a bitter taste. They are a good team and at the top of the league, and that just makes you want it more." [Update4] The Biggest Difference Between Todd McLellan and Ron Wilson - Ryan Garner for Hockeybuzz. Todd McLellan stepped into the coaching job this summer and he’s produced strong results during his short time in San Jose. The team is strong up front, icing three lines that can score and control the play, and he trusts his players enough to let them wheel and deal, taking risks while playing an up-tempo style. McLellan doesn’t have a reason not to trust his players. He hasn’t spent a summer searching for answers after scoring goes in the tank, or agonized over the reasons behind a second-round collapse. Shark fans are hoping he never has to, but would he respond any differently than Wilson had? Late last month, McLellan shared a story from his time as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. During an overtime game last season, Pavel Datsyuk attempted a brilliant move that would have left him in the clear with a breakaway opportunity. He almost pulled it off, but the puck was tipped away and resulted in a scoring chance for the opposition. After the game, as the players were boarding the team bus, Chris Chelios called out, “Where’s Pavs?” Everyone tensed up a little, wondering what was about to come next. Chelios didn’t blast the talented forward, or rebuke him in front of the team, he simply told him, “That was an excellent chance, and the next time you have a chance to do it you do it again.” McLellan explained that, as a coach, his advice might not always echo Chelios’s but you have the give the special players chances to err sometimes. “Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich play together, but they approach the game quite differently,” McLellan said. “If Lukowich steps into Danny’s style of play we’re in trouble. Coaches don’t treat players equally, but they have to treat them fairly.”Source

Avalanche Punked by Flames, Lose 1-0

Once again, Peter Budaj showed up and the rest of the team decided to take a vacation. How does that saying go? Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. But fool me can't get fooled again. Or something like that. Either way, the Avalanche are looking like fools with their latest efforts.How is it that a team can come out with the same piss-poor effort two games in a row? Players can keep calling it an accountability issue all they want but at some point they have to *bleeping* do something about it. Talk is cheap, actions win games.And where has Tony Granato's "up-tempo" offensive style been? I see no life from the offense. They look like they're going through the motions. The wrong motions. This is what was such a sure hire that no other candidates were even interviewed for the job?And how about the defense? Can I get a clear? Or a rebound clear? Or a time when you're not all overloading one side of the ice? Or a time where you don't look as confused as a pee-wee team on what your defensive assignments are?If I was Peter Budaj right now, I'd be right pissed off at my teammates. At one point midway through the third, Curtis Glencross coasted past Scott Hannan - and it wasn't hard to do - forcing Budaj to make a big save. You'd think that would spark the team right? Nope. TJ Hensick picked up the rebound in the corner and promptly turned it back over to the Flames.Where is the emotion? Where is the will to win? They're playing like they could give a rats ass about being in the right now and it's completely unacceptable. And it shouldn't require some giant movie-style speech from the coach or captain. It requires the players to wake the hell up and play some damn hockey.If things don't change soon, then things are going to change. Whether it's a roster shakeup, a staff shakeup or just a good, hard kick in the ass for every player in the room, this team needs something to wake them up. You'd think their pride would do it but apparently not.And in keeping with my angered mood, I once again have to get annoyed at the Flames announcers. Not for being overly biased - they were as biased tonight as any other home announce team - but for saying things that make no sense. The ultimate one was when they stated:"You can tell how disciplined the Flames have been by the number of penalties they didn't take".Yeah, ok, umm...NO SUCH NUMBER EXISTS! if you really must put a number on it, your best choice is infinity. As an example, I ate 4 eggs today but there were INFINITY EGGS I DIDN'T FLIPPIN' EAT!Damn the Avs for putting me in this foul of a mood.Notes- Svatos left with an abdominal injury midway through the game- the Avalanche fired off a gigantic 18 shots on the night- the Avalanche won 31% of their faceoffs-the Avalanche are directly responsible for global warming- Joe Sakic skated in practice but was out of the lineup for the fourth game in a rowSource

Players of the Week

WHL Press ReleaseCALGARY, AB. - The BOSTON PIZZA WHL Player of the Week is forward Andy Smith of the Chilliwack Bruins.Smith picked up seven points, scoring four goals and three assists to go with a +4 rating, in three games over the past week, helping the Bruins post a 2-0-1-0 record in that span.On Tuesday, November 11th, the Chilliwack Bruins played host to their west coast rivals, the Vancouver Giants, at Prospera Centre. Smith scored two goals and added an assist in his debut with the Bruins, since being traded from the Prince Albert Raiders, as Chilliwack downed Vancouver 3-2. Smith was also named the games 2nd Star.On Saturday, November 15th, the Prince George Cougars rolled into Chilliwack to face the Bruins. Smith picked up a goal and an assist in a game that saw the Cougars tie it up with five minutes remaining, and then take it 5-4 in overtime. Smith was also named the games 3rd Star.The next evening, Sunday, November 16th, the Bruins travelled to the B.C. interior to take on the Kamloops Blazers at the Interior Savings Centre. Smith netted one goal and added another assist to his weekly total as the Bruins defeated the Blazers 5-2.With the Bruins collecting five out of a possible six points versus WHL B.C. Division rivals this past week they find themselves just three points back of the Kamloops Blazers for 3rd place in the Division with an 8-11-2-2 record.Smith, a 19-year-old from Rosetown, Saskatchewan, is currently in his third full season of play in the Western Hockey League. He was selected by Prince Albert in the 6th round of the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft and went onto play 139 games for the Raiders before joining the Chilliwack Bruins last week.The WHL has also nominated Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen for the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week Award. Jones posted a 3-0-0-0 record this past week, allowing just three goals on 66 shots for a 1.000 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage.Jones, an 18 year-old from North Vancouver, British Columbia, is in his third season with the Calgary Hitmen. After going unselected at the 2008 Entry Draft, Jones was offered a free agent try-out with the Los Angeles Kings later in the summer. Following a great rookie camp and tremendous main camp the Kings decided to sign Jones to a three year entry level contract.Boston Pizza WHL Player of the WeekSept. 18 – Sept. 21: Jordan Weal, Regina PatsSept. 22 – Sept. 28: Joel Broda, Moose Jaw WarriorsSept. 29 – Oct. 5: Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver GiantsOct. 6 – Oct. 12: Evander Kane, Vancouver GiantsOct. 13 – Oct. 19: Jay Fehr, Brandon Wheat KingsOct. 20 – Oct. 26: Jamie Benn, Kelowna RocketsOct. 27 – Nov. 2: Dana Tyrell, Prince George CougarsNov. 3 – Nov. 9: C.J. Stretch, Kamloops BlazersNov. 10 – Nov. 16: Andy Smith, Chilliwack BruinsQMJHL Press ReleaseBOUCHERVILLE, Monday, November 17, 2008 – Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Yannick Riendeau and Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Després today were named the TELUS offensive and defensive players of the week for the period extending from November 10 to 16.In three Voltigeurs wins, Riendeau collected three goals, including a game-winner, and added four helpers while posting a +2 rating. He enjoyed his best game of the week on Friday, recording four points in an 8-3 victory over the Lewiston MAINEiacs. Moreover, he was named the game’s first star. Riendeau is currently tied for seventh in the QMJHL scoring race with 32 points.Kelsey Tessier (Remparts), Paul Byron (Olympiques) and Payton Liske (Sea Dogs) were also considered.Simon Després is the award winner on defense. The Sea Dogs’ defenseman played a key role in three Saint John wins, registering one goal and five assists. He contributed balanced scoring with two points in each contest. Després was also a healthy +3. He will be in uniform for both ADT Canada-Russia contests this week.Antoine Tardif (Voltigeurs), Hugo Laporte (Olympiques) and Nicholas Champion (Titan) were also strong candidates.QMJHL makes another roster change for the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.The OHL hasn't released its Player of the Week yet.(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Saturday Sports Betting Preview

College football hogs the sporting spotlight Saturday, with top-ranked Alabama looking to pound Mississippi State . Here's a look at all the action in your Daily Sports Roundup. The world's best professional bettors know that today is one of the strongest cards from the standpoint of the bettor. Keep in mind that GodsTips, already 4-0 in college basketball, has added a box of puppies to the hoop card since that report was filed. The Gridiron Spotlight The Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-3 ATS) remain atop the AP Poll and BCS rankings, and they'll be looking to stay ahead of idle Texas Tech this weekend by taking care of business against Mississippi State (5-4, 5-3 ATS). Alabama , a 22-point favorite on Saturday, beat 27-21 LSU last game. The Bulldogs are coming off a loss to Kentucky . No. 3 Florida continues to climb the rankings, and they're pegged as 22.5-point favorites on Saturday against No. 24 South Carolina. No. 4 Texas is favored by 13.5 points in their game against Kansas , while No. 5 Oklahoma is also on a bye this week. As well, it's No. 6 USC (-24) vs. Stanford , Indiana vs. No. 7 Penn State (-35.5), No. 8 Utah (-30) vs. San Diego State , No. 9 Boise State (-36.5) vs. Idaho , and also No. 10 Ohio State (-9.5) vs. Illinois in what should be the closest game on the schedule for Top 10 teams. Other Notable Events LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers will play host to the Utah Jazz in one of eight games on the NBA's schedule for Saturday. The Cavs are coming off a 110-99 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday which improved their record to 7-2 (6-3 ATS) on the year. James had 22 points to go along with 11 assists and eight boards that day. The Boston Celtics are also in action on Saturday, as they'll play on the road in Milwaukee . As well, the Warriors and Clippers will meet in a 3:30pm ET matinee in Los Angeles . The rest of the NBA's Saturday schedule: New Jersey at Atlanta , Oklahoma City at Philly, Portland at Minnesota , Indiana at Chicago , and New Orleans at Houston . The Rest of the Schedule The slumping Stars will be looking to get back into the win column in action on Saturday night - Dallas has been tagged with a loss in four of their five November games. The Stars will play in Phoenix on Saturday in one of 10 games on the league's schedule. Rounding out the slate: Boston at the Rangers, Toronto at Vancouver, Philly at Montreal, Washington at New Jersey, Ottawa at the Islanders, Buffalo at Pittsburgh, Columbus at Minnesota, Colorado at Edmonton, and finally Nashville at Los Angeles. The Canadian Football League stages its last games before the Grey Cup on Saturday, with Edmonton at Montreal in the East Final, and British Columbia at Calgary in the West Final. The Alouettes are listed as 6-point home favorites in the first game, with the total at 56.5 points. The Stamps' line is the same - 6-point favorites with a total of 56.5. Finally, there is plenty of college hoops on Saturday as teams start to get their schedules underway. Most notably, top-ranked North Carolina will play host to Pennsylvania on Saturday, while No. 10 Gonzaga will go up against Montana State-Billings. Neither of those early-season matchups are expected to be very competitive. A Peek at the Future Tony Romo will return to action for the Cowboys on Sunday, as they play in Washington as road favorites . . . the Titans will be looking to stay perfect on the season on Sunday when they take on the division-rival Jaguars; Tennessee is also a road favorite . . . Jimmie Johnson will be looking to wrap up the Sprint Cup Series championship on Sunday afternoon when NASCAR closes its season with the Ford 400 down in Florida. Top Handicappers We give credit where it is due and the Jim Feist Proline Free Pickphone internet show does have good gambling discussion. But was we listened while we worked today, we see they do have a west coast bias. Clearly the Las Vegas based handicappers know Pac 10, West Coast Conference and Big West teams. That's the magic of MasterLockLine.com, which has the top plays from the top sports services in their highest ranked sports. They know there are regional specialists in handicapping. Mark the Shark is the best Las Vegas based handicapper. Leo Getz dominates the Big East and Atlantic 10. Bill Tanner is easily the top Big 10 betting expert and all are monitored by power of 620 sports services behind every selection.OffshoreInsiders.comSource

Oscar Moller a late scratch for the Kings

Rookie winger Oscar Moller, one of the Kings' most pleasant surprises this season, was scratched from the lineup because of what a club spokesman said were flu-like symptoms. His spot in the lineup went to Derek Armstrong, who had been scratched from the previous four games by his coach. Earlier on Tuesday, Kings Coach Terry Murray had said Armstrong was maintaining a positive attitude, and added that one reason he hadn't played the veteran forward is becuase Armstrong doesn't play the power play or kill penalties. "Army is a five-on-five player," Murray said, "and we needed to try and change the look of our makeup and our chemistry." Murray said that Armstrong would get an opportunity to return -- and that turned out to be true sooner than he might have predicted. -- Helene Elliott Photo: The Kings' Oscar Moller shoots the puck against the Calgary Flames during a Nov. 1 home game. Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty ImagesSource

Pre-game thoughts: Streaking Habs come to town

The Montreal Canadiens make their 3rd ever visit to Nationwide Arena tonight - a place where they have won their previous two visits.The Canadiens are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and make no mistake about it, they are a legit Cup contender and a favorite among many to come out of the East this season. They are 8-1-1 and are undefeated on the road. They are winners of their past 3 and boast a high powered offense and strong defense that has only given up a league best 24 goals (granted, they've also only played 10 games). To top that off they are well rested having not played since last Saturday.If the Jackets want a challenge they've found one. The Jackets however are on a little run of their own. They are 2-0-2 in their past four and although they are having problem keeping puck out they are certainly finding way to bury them averaging 3 goals per game which is good for 14th in the (now if they could only get the PP going!).The good news if your a Jackets fan is that this team tends to play to the level of their competition.... look for that to trend up tonight.KEYS TO LIGHTING EM UP* The Habs can bring scoring throughout their lineup. They are fast and move the puck exceptionally well. They can burn you quick in alot of ways. The Jackets will be fully aware of this and will have to neutralize it and counter quick of rushes of their own. * Mason is going to have to play better than he did in his previous outing. Its certainly trial by fire you don't want to expect to much out him... he just needs to make the saves he should to give the Jackets a shot at this one. He's got to be our best penalty killer.* Halak gets the net for Candadiens. He's got 2 wins and has a 2.52 GAA and .918 Save%. In other words he's played well when he's gotten the shot. The Jackets can't assume just because Price is out that its going to be any easier to score on these guys.* PP. Its been well documented the struggles in this area. I really liked the past game how Hitch put 5 forwards out on the 5 on 3 -- it didn't produce anything that time but I think its a step in right direction given our offensive problems on the blueline. I also like how they were trying to utilize Modin's ability with the one timer. I think we need to keep trying those kinds of things to find a spark here.* Jackets must continue to stay out of the box like they have been the past few games. They've been really good at limited penalties and that's a trend that needs to continue.* Special teams. Montreal comes in with the 20th ranked PP and 13th ranked PK. The Jackets are 27th on the PP and 17th on the PK. In other words neither have been great on special teams to this point but should one get hot -- there is your game.* Got to contain Markov on defense. He is a tremendous offensive d-man and leads this team in points with 13 in 10. * Tanguay, Koivu & Kovalev are off to nice starts. Guys like Plekanec and Kostistyn brothers are struggling out of the gate and are just waiting for a breakout game. Can't let it happen.* Offensively the Jackets have to keep doing what they are doing. Pretty much everyone is working well at even strength and Nash showed signs of breaking out whatever slump he was in the 3rd. * Defensively there is still plenty of work to do to shore things up. We can't keep giving up short handed goals and we need to watch the turnovers. The puck movement and breakout has been better from the blueline back which needs to continue.GAME SPOTLIGHTI'm going to say attendance. A Friday night with an original 6 team we won't see very much....would be really nice to get a decent sized crowd in the confines. At the very least the Jackets have been playing an entertaining brand of hockey (even though I've come close to death about 4 times so far this season b/c of it) and scoring a lot of goals -- casual fans dig that stuff so if your on the fence, grab a friend or family member and head on down to the arena tonight.This is the 2nd game of the Canadian hat trick. We've beat Edmonton, we have Montreal tonight and then tomorrow night its those nasty Calgary Flames who come to town.See you all at the Garage Bar and I'm being told two weeks til the new R Bar Arena opens -- can't come soon enough!GO JACKETS!-LTLSource

Keep Moving On

A huge event today. Life changing, if you will.It's [Charlie's Birthday]::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::We don't want to talk about it.We should known better than to take two teams we hate more than anyone.Does A.O. still play?Alex Auld will ruin your life.We called kstewy16 out in good fun yesterday.We're saving a spot for him in the sewer with us.It was a strange night. The Islanders beat the Rangers, and the Flames got smoked by the Coyotes.Both the Rangers and Flames have previously owned the two teams they lost too.7-2 ain't bad, but whatev.Three games on the slate tonight, we refuse to force anything, but certainly we are open to suggestions.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Really, we used to try and touch upon the/nhl as much as possible.[PUCK DADDY] takes it to the bank every day.This is a Pens blog, after all.These extended layoffs are garbage.If you want to hurt your eyes, /nhl-reveals-all-star-ballo">[From The Rink]We'd breakdown how Satan has had a quiet 10 points in 12 games, but that would take some actual effort.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::[SI] has a cool look at every goalie mask in the/nhl. Thanks to Sarah U for the tip.That kind of looks like a penis, no?dumb.MAF'S and Sabu::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::MATTY WATS found Semin's lookalike:We're open to any suggestions that people havein regard to what contest we'll hold to give away those shirts OILERS NATION is gonna buy us.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Go PensSource

GAMEDAY [10] -- SAN JOSE SHARKS

The Pens are coming in 5-2-2.We all know who they have played.The Sharks are coming in 7-2-0.Three of those wins came at the expense of the 3-4-1 Los Angeles Kings.So don't look at San Jose's record at all.THE CONFLUENCE has a nice preview.EMPTY NETTERS brings home the bacon.The last time the Pens were in HP Pavilion, Cheechoo Hines'd Eaton: If you want to kill yourself, read the game recap that we did for it back in November 2006.It was our 11th recap ever. OUCH.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::HCMT robbed Pens and Sharks fans everywhere from seeing a supreme goaltending matchup between Nabokov and MAF. PENS No idea what the reasoning is. But we're not coaches.Given the way that Sabu played against the Bruins, though,maybe we are in fact gonna see a solid goaltending matchup.Last time Sabu was on the West Coast, he stunned Vancouver in his first start after MAF went down in Calgary: Inspirational performance by Sabu.Legame.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::+ Hal Gill is no dice tonight.Zigo-Godard-Biz will be the fourth line.The top 9 are always everywhere.+Darryl Sydor will be in the lineup tonight.He recently requested a trade from the Penguins.Which means he is putting his skills on display for prospective teams to want him.Expect him to play as lights-out as a role-playing d-man can play.+ Max Talbot is not suiting up tonight due to an undisclosed injury. PG+ Here's another article discussing Talbot's role on the Pens. PGSpeaking of Mad Max...Is his foot still bothering him from blocking a shot in last year's playoffs?Here's a pic from a preseason game this year:And here's one from the Canes regular-season game:He wore those covers on both skates when returning from his foot injury during the playoffs,explaining that if he only wore one, people would target it. Wearing two was gonna make it harder for opponents to target the bad foot.Anyway, if he was wearing those covers in the postseason, maybe the injury was still nagging him.He blocks shots for a living.If they aren't uncomfortable, you got to consider keeping them on all the time.Or does that makes us pansies?::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::PUCK DADDY went inside the most shocking stats accumulated so far this.nhl season.He put the Pens 22% power-play unit on the list.Which we guess would be a shock to everyone expecting the PP numbers to suffer.Pens fans aren't shocked by the number at all.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Since there were no (zero) rebuttals posted in our comments in regard to us labeling Gregor and Brownlee as hypocrites, we consider it a done deal.We're waiting for their fanboys to catch wind of it.Point Pensblog.The Pens will handle the rest on 11.06.Crosby better keep his head up, apparently.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::TIMKO found this pic:JVM found this Coffey jersey online that breaks the space-time continuum::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::GREG N. dropped us some great news today:Verizon Fios is offering Center Ice and.nhl Network. LINK:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::So, who do we turn to in the big Hacksaw battle?To someone who we feel can make a big impact this season:dude in the chairGo PensSource