Dead Man Walking

I did not see Kunitz's cheap shot on Cheechoo, until just now:



Wow. Someone's gonna get their ass beat. Don't miss the first 5 minutes of this one.

Road Trip!

Your General is currently holding it down in your nation's capital, Washington D.C., home of the Washington Capitals. You'd be hard pressed to know that if you lived here, though, as no one apparently gives a shit. I've seen dozens of people wearing Redskins and Nationals gear around town, and not a single Caps shirt, cap, jersey, or foam finger. Unfortunately, the Caps are on a road trip currently. I would've loved to give a rink report from the Verizon Center, mere blocks from the White House.

But I'm going to do you faithful Bucketheads one better. I'm going to take a train out to some random bar in Virginia, then try to get back safely to my hotel at 1 a.m.

As mentioned above, Washington D.C. could give two shits about the Capitals. The ONE BAR in the D.C. Metro area with NHL Center Ice is Bugsy's in stately Alexandria, Virginia. Bugsy's is owned and operated by a former Capital, Brian "Bugsy" Washington, hence, the interest in hockey. The place apparently has great pizza and holy shit, Center Ice.

The only problem is Bugsy's is a fucking pain in the ass to get to - almost 10 miles from my hotel:

View Larger Map

Now, I have no issues riding the D.C. Metro at 7 or 8 p.m. to make sure I make it to Bugsy's on time. It's getting back to D.C. at 1 a.m. that I'm worried about. So what if the bar is in tourist central? So what if Alexandria has the highest average income of any city in Virginia? I'm risking life and limb for the Sharks here.

But risk I must. Tonight's (apparently) thrilling OT victory over Dallas has put our boys in perfect position - a win Friday night vs. the Ducks, either in regulation or overtime, guarantees the Pacific Division crown and the second seed in the Western Conference. Add in the inevitable vengeance for the cheap shot on Cheechoo from last Friday, and folks, we've got a can't miss game.

I'll be bringing the digital camera and documenting the journey here on the Chum Bucket. Look for that post in the next few days. Until then, Go Sharks and Fuck the Ducks.

Playoff Magic Number - 0 - CLINCHED
Dallas Magic Number - 0 - CLINCHED
Anaheim Magic Number - 3

Do I Detect A Hint Of Gatorade?

Uh, I think I'll pass.

GOALIE FIGHT!!!!

You've probably seen this 15 times by now, in which case you're about ready for #16:



OK, so that was Patrick Roy's son Jonathan, and there's probably gonna be some suspensions and embarrassment. Whatever. That shit was great. He ripped the guy's mask off! Classic! Look for this soon on World's Most One-Sided Fistfights:

I'm Walking On Sunshine

One month ago, the San Jose Sharks were spiraling out of control. A 5 game losing streak in the midst of an 8 game road trip had dropped their record to 31-21-8, barely a .500 record.

Then, something happened.

An incredible, improbable, thrilling rush of 11 consecutive wins and 15 consecutive point-scoring games has launched San Jose into the NHL's stratosphere. The streak has given us dominating first period squashes, come from behind victories, late game choke jobs followed by shoot out victories; the streak has given us about every kind of victory imaginable.

But last night was something different. Last night, the San Jose Sharks defeated the enemy in their minds. Last night, the San Jose Sharks began their march to the Stanley Cup.




San Jose showed dominance, fortitude, and most importantly, not one ounce of fear. This Sharks team completely ignored anything that had happened in the past with the Ducks and shut them down. They played their game - puck control, solid defense, standout goaltending, threats from all lines, consistent attack. San Jose played, and won, their first playoff game last night.

One final point about the game - what a fantastic standing ovation from the crowd for the complete game effort last night. Seeing JR stand there at the end of the game, soaking up the ovation and loving every minute of it, was one of my favorite moments from this season. San Jose is a hockey town.

The victory, combined with Dallas's loss this morning, has all but guaranteed San Jose the Pacific Division crown.

Playoff Magic Number - 0 - CLINCHED
Anaheim Magic Number - 6
Dallas Magic Number - 3

Best. Cover. Ever.

Time magazine is polling their online readers to try and find their worst cover ever. And somehow, hockey gets dragged into the argument. Bucketheads, the second worst Time cover of all time:

Hello, Clarice

Really? C'mon, it's not that bad, and for some of us its a reminder of a time when hockey got an ounce of respect. Parent was an excellent choice for the ominous cover shot, winning the Vezina, Conn Smythe, and Stanley Cup later that year. Unfortunately, he got a bad bout of cover story jinx and suffered a career ending injury 4 years later (wikipedia).

Not to fear, though. The top (or bottom) spot looks safely secured by this masterpiece:

Lazy Photoshopping? Oversimplification of complicated issues? Throwing racial fuel on a political fire? TIME may well have been the world's first blog.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Playoff Magic Number: 6
Dallas Magic Number: 13
Anaheim Magic Number: 14

Giddy

I swear, I expected the hand of God to direct a shot past Nabokov, that's how badly the deck was stacked against the Sharks tonight. Consider the chippy, cheap play of the Predators, McLaren and Vlasic's penalties down the stretch, 30 minutes of deliberation on the Pavelski goal, and the all-around HORRIFIC officiating.

The Sharks definitely deserved the W, though, and I was glad we didn't have to give up a single point to those bitch ass Predators. Nabokov definitely deserved Player of the Game, as he would've had a shutout if not for the BS penalty on McLaren and Arnott's seeing-eye shot.

Amazingly, things only get better for San Jose. Next on the docket are St. Louis, Edmonton, and at Los Angeles - three non-playoff teams. From March 12th to April 3rd, the Sharks won't have a single flight that lasts longer than 1 hour (LA, Anaheim, and Phoenix). And finally, Anaheim's shoot out loss today lowers those magic numbers just a little bit more:

Playoff Magic Number: 11
Dallas Magic Number: 20
Anaheim Magic Number: 17

Which One's The Real One?

Thank you, alien overlords, for returning the real Patrick Marleau.

Playoff Magic Number: 15
Dallas Magic Number: 22
Anaheim Magic Number: 20

Magic Numbers

I'm a big fan of The Magic Number. The combination of the end of the season, your team being in the hunt down to the last day, and having one be-all-end-all number to strive for - it's what sports is all about.

Of course, the NHL likes to sabotage anything that would draw in sports fans. The ugly points system rears its head again.

I'm going to run 3 separate magic numbers here on The Chum Bucket - one for clinching a playoff spot, one for eliminating Dallas from the Pacific Division crown, and one for eliminating Anaheim from the Pacific Division crown.

For the Dallas and Anaheim numbers, subtract each time San Jose accumulates points or Dallas/Anaheim leaves points on the table (i.e. SJ over DAL in overtime would yield -3 to that magic number). For the playoff number, use the same formula except for whichever team is currently in 9th. This one will likely be in flux.

As of March 6th:

Playoff Magic Number: 21
Dallas Magic Number: 28
Anaheim Magic Number: 24

Thornton Puts Wilson Into The Boards

This is fantastic:



It's all about RW going for the high 5, but Joe having none of that. Thanks Obsessed Sharks Fan.

In other news, it looks like I have to change the blog description again... I'll take it though.

Full Game Highlights

Can you tell I enjoyed last night's game? Here's the highlight reel from last night's Game of the Year candidate:



Even with just 3 games last night, this thriller got buried as a story under Ovechkin's 1st period hat trick. Pffff, whatever. Alexander the Great scores hat tricks all the time. The Sharks scoring 6 goals? Now that's headline news.

Welcome To The Neighborhood

From today's Mercury News, the Brian Campbell awe-fest continues:

If the San Jose crowd was impressed by Campbell, the feeling was mutual.

"I loved it," Campbell said. "The crowd was loud and it was almost like a playoff atmosphere in there. I've been really, really surprised and that's in a good way. I'm very happy with the situation right now."

And later...

When [the game] ended, the crowd delivered a message to both Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson and Campbell, who becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1.

The chant?

"Sign him, sign him, sign him."

BRIAN CAMPBELL, WITH A HUGE GOAL ON A PRETTY, PRETTY MOVE!!!

Penalty Killers

Now that, Bucketheads, was a fucking awesome game of hockey. Montreal before tonight - 25.3% on the Power Play. March 3rd, 2008 - 0 for 7.

Homecoming

Our boys in teal are finally returning home tonight after a successful, albeit eventful road trip. After doing everything possible to sabotage their playoff spot, the Sharks rattled off 5 straight victories.

San Jose now sits a comfortable 6 points ahead of Vancouver, Colorado, and Nashville in the 7th, 8th, and 9th slots, with only 1 game remaining vs. those teams (March 11th at Nashville). Looking good there. Anaheim is ripe to be overtaken and Dallas isn't a lock to win the division quite yet.

Brian Campbell has reminded us that D-men are allowed to skate and pass in the NHL, Cheechoo and Pavelski have caught on fire, and everyone's favorite pariah Patrick Marleau is +3 during the 5 game winning streak. Alexei Semenov's crap even smells like fresh peaches. True story.

I'm wouldn't be a blogger if I wasn't worrying about something, so here goes: This is a team with motivation issues. We've seen bursts of greatness; we've seen droughts of lazy and mediocre play. Now that we're minus some dead weight (Bernier) and plus some new blood (Campbell, Setoguchi), I'd like to see some (get ready for it) CONSISTENCY! 3 of the next 4 games are versus playoff teams. Let's show some desire to beat the best teams in the NHL.

Go Sharks.