Since last issue, the cool stuff includes:
* The gang threw a surprise birthday party for Margaret -
that's a WOW type of cool.
* Leslie and Emily B. got over a bad case of that ugly flu
thingy that's being going around - that's a relief type
of cool.
* Got to see my sister for Easter - that's a family type
of cool.
* The Moovers beat up on the opposition - that's a "Way to
GO" type of cool.
* The Sharks are still on course to play Colorado in the
playoffs - that's a good news/bad news type of cool.
Another Rent-A-Player
Sharks GM Dean Lombardi again made the rent-a-player-for-the-
playoffs deal when he got the Montreal Canadiens to cough up
their captain, Vincent Damphousse, for a future a 1999 fifth-round
draft pick and a year 2000 second-round draft pick. Very much
like last year's acquisition of John MacLean, there's little
chance of Vinny staying with the Sharks since he too is one
of those UFAs (unrestricted free agents) at the end of the
season, and the Sharks will throw their money at Theo Fleury.
In another deal at the deadline, the Sharks acquired right wing
Greg Pankewiecz from the Calgary Flames for the always interesting
"future considerations". The guy has less than 30 games of NHL
experience, and leaves this correspondent wondering "HUH??!!!"
One can only assume that Greg somehow qualifies for the Expansion
Draft so that Sharks can expose him.
Road trips - they're not so bad!!
After the tie in Boston, the Sharks headed off to Montreal to
play the almost-out-of-the-playoffs Canadiens. The Habs fired
shot after shot, but Steve Shields was awesome. On the other
hand, the Sharks were held to a measly 17 shots, yet the final
was a 2-2 "we were lucky to tie" tie. The trading deadline came
and went, and as they headed to Toronto...
They found a gift - Vincent Damphousse. And in his debut,
Damphousse paid immediate dividends by scoring two goals, as the
Sharks scored eight goals (Yes, that's right folks, EIGHT GOALS) and
beat Toronto 8-5. Granted these are the Sharks, so instead of
making it easy on themselves with a 7-2 lead in the third period,
they allowed Toronto to score three goals in four minutes to make
things interesting. But they also did have three power-play goals,
and considering their power play ranks next to last, that ain't
too shabby.
Mike Vernon started his first game in over a month against the
Sens, and he was sharp. Murray Craven scored short-handed after
excellent work by Marco Sturm, and the Sharks looked like they
were going to hold on despite being outshot and outplayed again
by Ottawa. Alas, with less than a minute remaining, Wade Redden
found himself all alone in front of Vernie and scored. In OT,
both sides had their chances, but it ended in a 1-1 "damn we
almost had it won" tie.
Talk about your ex-Oilers on the Sharks!! Joe Murphy, Vinny
Damphousse, Bryan Marchment, Jeff Norton and coach Bernie
Nicholls (it still sounds weird to call LCS Hockey favorite Bernie
a coach!) were all in the building against the Oilers (who
featured ex-Shark Pat Faloon). A slow boring game suddenly
got interesting in the third period as the Oilers and Sharks
traded goals. However, Murray Craven's turnover led to the
Oilers' fourth goal, and Edmonton came out with the 5-2
win. The unbeaten streak for the Sharks ended at eight games.
Is there a worse referee than Richard Trottier? Single-handedly,
he turned what could have been an exciting game between the
Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche into an exercise in frustration.
By not calling penalties when he should have, and letting the
physical play get to the point where there could have been
some serious injuries, Trottier made himself the lightning rod
for both sides. The game ended in a 3-2 Colorado victory, but
again, the referee made himself the focus of the game. Please,
let hockey be the focus!!!
The first of a home-and-home against the Vancouver Canucks was
over early. At GM Place, the Sharks scored four times in the first,
three in the second, and Steve Shields recorded a shutout in a 7-0
victory. Vancouver hit the post five times in the loss, which set
the stage for the game back at the Shark tank the following night...
And the Sharks came out victorious again, this time by a 5-2
score. Vinny Damphousse was the man again as he notched a
hat trick, including an empty netter. The home fans littered
the ice with hats and computer floppy disks (this is after all
Silicon Valley!) after Vinny's goal. The other highlight of
the night was Canuck Matt Cooke running over ref Terry Schick
after Owen Nolan sidestepped Cooke with a nifty move.
When all was said and done, the Sharks were 7 of 25 on the
power play since Vinny Damphousse's acquisition, scored 25
goals in six games, and were now seven points ahead of Calgary for
the seventh playoff spot, AND still within two points of St. Louis
for the elusive sixth spot.
Trivialize This, Buddy!!
The Sharks appeared in a movie that came out earlier this year.
They of course lost that game. The Sharks, or more specifically,
their arena and Zamboni appear in another movie that came out on
March 26th. Can you name those two movies?
Offensive Prowess
Patrick Marleau has been playing well the last four weeks. He now
has 20 goals and 20 assists, and the kid is still only 19. Playing
with Alex Korolyuk and Owen Nolan has given Marleau the ability to
use his speed with the skill (K-yuk) and the grit (Buster). With
Vinny Damphousse's addition, Patrick won't have to take up the
burden of first line responsibility and can settle down and do
his thing. And since we mentioned Owen Nolan...
My fellow LCS Hockey correspondent in Boston seems to have a beef
with the Sharks captain. Despite the fact that he's not scoring as
much as he used to, he's elevated his overall game to the point
where the man is leading by example. Buster also seems to have
recovered his scoring touch in the last couple of weeks. AND,
when he's on the top of his game, he's one of the awesome
power forwards in the game. And speaking of forwards...
Shawn Burr cleared waivers yet again and got sent to Kentucky.
The T-blades, already missing Steve Guolla and Andy Sutton (who
were with the parent club), were locked in a do-or-die struggle
with the Flyers' farm team for first place in their division
in the AHL. With the arrival of Damphousse, and the need to free
up a roster spot, and with so many grinders fighting for time
on the fourth line, Shawn was the odd man out. And speaking of
grinders...
With Murray Craven and Stephane Matteau returning from injuries,
Coach decided to sit Ron Sutter and Dave Lowry, despite their
excellent play over the last month. With Steve Guolla and
Brantt Myhres itching to play, and Tony Granato due back soon,
it's getting mighty competitive for roster spots. Who gets
to play should be based on performance, not reputation or
favoritism, and talking about performance...
Last week your humble correspondent wondered about the
performance of Joe Murphy. Joe seems to have elevated his
game (finally!), and a lot has to do with the arrival of
Vinny Damphousse. With Jeff Friesen, the newly formed first
line of the Sharks has proved to be lethal.
Defensive Gestures
Andrei Zyuzin's absence for personal reasons turned out to be
Andrei going AWOL. The Sharks couldn't contact him because his
new agent was not certified by the NHLPA. Complicating the whole
situation were allegations that Andrei's new representative was
connected to the Russian Mafia, leading to rampant speculation
that Andrei's family might be in trouble. He finally broke his
silence in a TV interview with his agent, saying he wouldn't
return to the Sharks because he couldn't work with coach Sutter.
In his absence, Bill Houlder returned, although not 100%
recovered. And speaking of recovery...
Bryan Marchment also hasn't recovered 100% from his injury
suffered in February, but he and Billy are playing through their
pain. Andy Sutton has been the healthy scratch on defense, but
Coach might want to rest Rouse, Marchment or Houlder as soon
as the Sharks clinch a playoff spot. Give the older dudes a
chance to catch their breath and recover. Also that would give
Andy more time to play, and since we mentioned Andy...
Earlier this year, Coach Sutter had the defensive pairing of Mike
Rathje and Andy Sutton, this year's version of the twin towers.
Coach indicated that one of them had experience but needed more
emotion, while the other had emotion but needed more experience.
I wonder which is which???
More things that make you go hmmmm...
So you want another one of those useless unscientific facts that have
no merit but are fun to mention? Every year the Sharks have made
the playoffs, there has been at least one French-Canadian on the
team. The first two playoff teams had the "Duke" - Gaetan
Ducshene. The Sharks then missed the playoffs for two years, until
we got New York's favorite ex-Ranger, Stephane Matteau, and the
Sharks made the playoffs again. This year the Sharks have both Matteau
and the recently acquired Vinny Damphousse.. Coincidence?? Hmmm...
Die Hard..
Our Ex-Shark news update concerns John MacLean. MacLean was with
the Sharks for most of last season after being traded from the Devils
for Dougie Bodger. Since he was becoming an UFA, and indicated
that his family preferred the East Coast, there was little
likelihood of him re-signing with San Jose. However, the man
played his heart out with the Sharks, and was the key element in
the stretch run to guarantee the team's third ever playoff
appearance. Johnny Mac signed with the Rangers, and at last
check, had 26 goals and 26 assists. We miss ya Johnny Mac, and
good luck to you and the Rangers in your playoff drive.
Eight degrees of the San Jose Sharks
You heard about the game that allows you to link one actor via
another through Kevin Bacon since he's been in so many movies.
Since I can't remember what the game is called, I just call it
the "7 degrees of Kevin Bacon" game. Here's a variation for
the San Jose Sharks...
Japan is an Island.
My brother Mike works in Japan.
He calls my sister all the time. Her nickname is Mia.
Which also happens to my cousin's nickname too.
And cousin Mia's son's name is Marco.
Who shares the same first name of Sharks player Marco Sturm.
And your humble correspondent writes about Marco Sturm's team.
And his friend Harry's last name translates to "Sharks Island".
Neat, huh???
The Morgan Stuart Award
Named after my very cool, most excellent Goddaughter, the award
goes to the best Sharks player since the last issue. Candidates
include Patrick Marleau, Marcus Ragnarsson and Owen Nolan. But
the winner hands-down is the newest Shark, Vinny Damphousse.
Vinny's winning tradition, plus his ability to make the right
decision at the right time, gives the Sharks a true playmaker
and team leader. His arrival elevated the play of the entire
team, and the man has seven goals and four assists in only six games.
Congrats Vinny!!!
Lights, camera, and... Answers..
"At First Sight" with Mira Sorvino and Val Kilmer features a
scene where the Sharks are playing the Rangers. Filmed in early
1998, the Sharks lost to the Rangers that day. The San Jose
Arena and one of its Zambonis shows up in the movie "EdTV"
with Matthew McConaughey that came out March 26th.
P.S. Happy Birthday Jen!!
