The End of a Road Trip

The Sharks are now 5-4-1 (W-L-T), after going 4-1-1 on a two-week road trip that featured tough-fought wins over the Bruins, Predators, and Red Wings.  All in all, it was a pretty confidence-inspiring trip!  Havlat looks good, Joe Thornton is taking control, and Joe Pavelski is scoring like a madman.  Brent Burns continues to make conspicuous defensive errors; I continue to have faith in our coaching staff to coach the crappiness out of his game by the end of the season.

Tonight, the Sharks are at home to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Even though he is still not playing in NHL games, Sidney Crosby is travelling and practicing with the team, which means that he will be in the building to witness the Penguins' soul-crushing defeat.  I recall fondly the Penguins' last visit to San Jose, in which they were handed a 5-0 loss so devastating that it gave their team president a heart attack.  Obviously, I wished him a full and speedy recovery, but damn that was an epic win!

It is a disservice to Sharks fans that we don't get to see the Penguins every year, but it does contribute to great statistics like this one: The Penguins have not won a game in San Jose since October 22, 1997.

Only 9 games have been played at the Tank in that time, but that still seems incredible.  I only wish I got to brush off that statistic every year.

Here are the highlights from last season's game between the two clubs, which ended pretty dramatically:

SJ @ Pittsburgh, 23 February, 2011

I look forward to these games.  Go, Sharks!