Patrick Marleau and Fucktards With Short Memories

"Since Patrick Marleau has lost his captain's "C," the theory goes, the pressure is off: That's why he scored a flurry of goals to start the season, with five in the first five games"

If I hear this fucktard stupid comment one more time I'm going to punch my goddamn eye out. Comments like this make my blog look like a paragon of journalistic integrity.

I don't mean to pick on the Chronicle's sportswriters (who knew they'd heard of hockey?), but they're giving credence to this ridiculous sentiment floating around San Jose. Just google "Marleau Captain Pressure".

How quickly we forget. Patty had one of his most statistically-relevant seasons last year, netting a career-high 38 goals. That furious pace he's set so far, 5 goals in 6 games? By my count, he matched that 4 times last year:

• 10/14 - 10/24 - 5 goals in 5 games
• 12/4 - 12/23 - 7 goals in 9 games
• 1/3 - 1/27 - 8 goals in 9 games
• 2/10 - 2/19 - 7 goals in 6 games

Yes, folks, it's that all-time favorite nerd pet peeve: correlation does not imply causation. Just because Patty lost the C does not mean he all of a sudden figured out how to skate fast and shoot well. In fact, it's pretty clear, he's been doing that for a very long time.

Now don't get me wrong, I've been a big a critic as anyone of Marleau over the years. But regular season statistics have never been the cause of concern (well, maybe once). It's those stinkers he drops in the playoffs. Since the 06/07 season, Patty's averaged 0.85 points per game in the regular season versus 0.57 in the playoffs, a 34% drop-off. As always with this team, impress us when it counts.

But for now, C or no C, keep pouring 'em in.