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Sharks Entertain the Dynamic Duo |
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Offensive woes will take a backseat to stopping the Pens lethal first line tonight as Crosby and Malkin come to town. Expect a standing-room-only carnival atmosphere as hockey fans mix with curious observers to jam the Tank tonight.
The NHL's scheduling issue has been burning up newsprint and talk radio the past week. Ovechkin took his swing through western Canada, while Crosby and Malkin have made their west coast debut, causing an outcry over the fact they won't be back this way until newborn babies are speaking in complete sentences and dressing themselves.
Really, everyone just needs to take a step back and analyze the situation a little. Yes, it's great to see Eastern Conference superstars live, but changing the entire schedule so the Washington Capitals can visit every town each year doesn't make much sense. I'm not a hockey purist like some, but altering the schedule would cater to fairweather fans who only show up when the marquee names are in town. Meanwhile, John Q. Hockeyfan is stuck with an appearance by the New York Islanders. Nobody, not even the Islanders, gets excited for that game.
The argument is made that players get tired of playing the same division foes all the time. Well, they could play each other 25 times a season, but there's always a lot more excitement coming from a Sharks-Ducks game than a Sharks-Panthers game. Please, don't change the schedule. My wife loves boco burgers, but she's not going to become a vegetarian over them. (Boco burgers are these vegetarian hamburgers. They're filled with plant-material, some type of edible glue, and seeds rather than actual beef. They taste like stale poop.) If she did become a vegetarian, I'd be visiting In-N-Out Burger much more than I already do, and nobody wants that.
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Grier received a promotion to the first line alongside Thornton and Michalek, while Cheechoo was demoted to the third line with Goc and Rissmiller. Hopefully Cheechoo gain regain the work ethic that built his NHL career. Meanwhile, it's the first time Grier has had a sniff of anything resembling a scoring line in over 10 years, and could prove to be an unmitigated disaster. Toskala will get the start and he'll have to be on his game. The Pens are averaging 3.7 goals per game.
No coach wants to go there, but the Sharks have entered "shoot from anywhere" territory. The team has scored three goals in their last two games, each of them innocent-looking shots from 40 feet out. It's hard to call this a must-win game, but the Sharks need to show some improvement. It only gets tougher after tonight, with the 10-2 Wild coming to town on Tuesday.
Michalek-Thornton-Grier
Bell-Marleau-Bernier
Rissmiller-Goc-Cheechoo
Nieminen-Brown-Smith
McLaren-Carle
Hannan-Vlasic
Ehrhoff-Murray
Toskala
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