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Will the real Sharks please stand
up? Waiting for a statement 10/17/07 -
By
Steve Flores
Is it my imagination or did it the real San
Jose Sharks finally show up in the third period of game number six? Honestly
folks I am not sure who the team was that I watched during the first 5 games of
the season but it surely wasn't the one group that I viewed in the final period
of the team's 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.
I realize the Sharks scored 3 goals in the first period on opening night in
Vancouver. I was there I saw it. But, despite the 3 goal outbreak in that game
the team still did not have that 'look' if you will. Yeah I know it was the
first game and there are new players etc, etc, etc I am aware of all that and I
blew it off as such. But, when the team continued to lack fire and weren't able
to truly put any cohesive efforts together through the next four games I began
to wonder if maybe there was going to be a problem.
I was wrong, or at least it looks like I was wrong as the real Sharks actually
showed up in their second battle against their Pacific Northwest rivals. The
zest was there. The speed was there. The skating was more ballet-like. The
goals were hard fought and the result of good effort and positive energy and
the Sharks couldn't have chosen a better time to find themselves with the
Detroit Red Wings coming in on Thursday.
Of course, that period could be an aberration and the Sharks could, perhaps,
actually be that non-cohesive, non-finishing type of team that we saw in the
first few games but I don't think so.
Recent Sharks history dictates that this team is good. That may be an
understatement. That may be a statement that many feel only applies to the
regular season. Be that as it may, it is currently the regular season and the
Sharks do have all of the necessary skills to once again contend for the whole
banana.
The additions of rookies Torrey Mitchell and Devin Setoguchi along with a
fitter, trimmer Steve Bernier, an ever improving Milan Michalek have given the
Sharks an increase on the skill monitor. Yes, youth is still present and that
alone will be cause for some breakdowns. But, the high level of skill present
on the roster should more than compensate for the expected learning curve.
Evgeni Nabokov, now the solo number one net minder yet again, has been his old
self and has kept the Sharks in nearly all of the games played thus far.
Note to all the bloggers: Ron Wilson still has his head. I realize the fan
reaction during frustrating times is a mixture of frustration and anger that
leads to the desire and demand for changes. Coaches, goalies and superstars all
carry a heavy burden and the people in these positions on the Sharks are all
top notch folks. Believe me Wilson wants to win and is doing everything he can
to see that winning is the result of his decision making. To do anything less
would be professional suicide.
Patrick Marleau's reunited line (he, Bernier and Michalek) has played pretty
well on most shifts and looks to be gaining momentum. Joe Thornton is Joe
Thornton. Mike Grier has been Mike Grier and the youth has been, well,
youthful. Mistakes are going to happen.
Patience, patience, patience folks. Thursday will be a telling performance once
the ice is taken and the Sharks show us whether or not Monday was a fluke or a
portend of things to come.
Contact Steve at stevybo@yahoo.com
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