Greetings Fin Fans and welcome to yet another year of Sharks Hockey.
This is the team's eighth season and the media has long ago stopped
calling us the expansion Sharks -- meaning we should be considered
a mainline, regular NHL team. The first two seasons, the Sharks
managed to set a precedent no other team has followed. Good thing,
since it was a precedent for losing. The next two years, management
managed to put together a group of almost over-the-hillers and
youngsters that battled back under Coach Constantine to the
"Greatest Turn-Around in NHL History". Those two years, the Sharks
made it to the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs, the
first time upsetting first-place Detroit in an amazing seven-game
series. The next time losing to a still-smarting Detroit team that
swept the Fish out in four.
The next two years saw the demise of Constantine after a dismal
start to the season, only to be followed up by an even worse middle
and end to that season. Then, under Darryl Sutter, last year the
team began to come back together. Dean Lombardi and Sutter
constructed a team with a purpose. They took time-honored vets and
teamed them with promising rookies to put together a great second
half of the season. For the first time in three years, the Sharks
made the postseason and even managed to get to Game 6 against the
first place Dallas Stars before the Stars put them in the stands
for the rest of the playoffs.
Like was mentioned last edition, Lombardi and Sutter brought in Joe
Murphy, Bryan Marchment, Gary Suter, Steve Shields and Mike Vernon
and kept Owen Nolan (did I mentioned he was re-signed? Two more
teal and white years for the top pole-banger in the league), Jeff
Friesen (re-signed for three years), and Bernie Nicholls. Then they
threw in rookies Patrick Marleau, Andrei Zyuzin, and now Andy
Sutton and Scott Hannan. All in all, a pretty impressive change.
But enough of the history lesson. What about the current year, you
ask? Ah, it's all old news.
The first two games against Calgary were without the twosome of
Friesen and Nolan. And without Rags and Suter on the blue line. So
you can give the games to Calgary for that. The home opener against
Boston, all four holdouts (Friesen, Nolan, Ricci and Rathje) were
present, albeit a bit rusty - and it showed. A 3-0 shellacking of
our Friendly Fins. Mighty Mike let in two of the first four shots,
prompting Sutter to pull Mikey and put in the recently healed Steve
Shields. Shields lasted 19 seconds before letting in his first,
though to his credit, he did make every save after that. The team
did not look ready. And who the hell is Tallas?
In the next matchup against Philly, they looked worse. Philly came
in 9-3-1 all-time and left 10-3-1, with the Beezer having only
faced 17 shots. Vernon didn't fare as well, facing 37 and letting
in three. The highlight was Jeff's first goal off a gorgeous pass
from Nolan. But that was the only highlight.
The Sharks then traveled on to Chicago to face the rejuvenated
Blackhawks. They scored the fastest two goals in team history on
goals from Nolan (his first) and Murphy (his second) in 47
seconds. The Sharks lost Murphy in the game to a pulled hamstring
and then lost the lead as Daze and Amonte tallied for the Hawks.
The overtime Chicago goal was disallowed giving the Fins their
first point since their first game.
Dallas was waiting for Marchment more than Christians are the Second
Coming. Bryan had other ideas. Despite Grant Marshall's attempt to
get him to fight, Marchment kept his cool and played the whole game.
Marshall gave San Jose a four-minute power play on which the
Fightless Fins couldn't even manage a shot. A disallowed goal - from
the video replay judge! - shot down SJ's chances of salvaging at
least a tie out of the game. The same arena saw the Sharks lose Game
5 in the first round of the playoffs last year to a goal that the
on-ice official refused to have reviewed. Now they can order it from
above. Irony in its finest form.
Word around the watering hole is that Suter may have worse than a
simple strained elbow and that the infection from the summer may
have lingered on. If true, this is yet another strike against a
team already punchless in the offensive department. Punchless too,
in the fighting department. Since McSlowly's departure, there is no
one to step up to the heavyweights. Andy Sutton (6-6, 245) may be
the ray of hope there, but he's better on the ice than in the box.
The Sharks are off to their worst start - hard as that is to imagine
- in their eight-year history and remain the one team in the league
without a win. Nine of the next 11 are at home - traditionally a weak
spot to play for the Sharks - but maybe they can surprise us all by
pulling off one win in October. With Suter out, Rags hurt and the
offense seemingly unable to pull the trigger - the average is around
18 shots per game - the Sharks look destined to spend at least the
beginning of this season in a very familiar spot - last place. Hey,
at least from there you can only go up! And next year's just around
the corner!!
