Game 19: A Good Game for Shopping

Well, it looks like the Sharks have "reset the bar" again, only a lot lower. And that's not a limbo metaphor, I should clarify. I think it's a high-jump metaphor. Or pole-vault, maybe.

This was a terrible 3-0 loss to Columbus. I don't even want to talk about it. The Sharks are now 8-10-1.

I expect bad things for the Sharks on Wednesday vs. the Blackhawks. They've repeatedly shown that 1. they suck after a break and 2. they suck against the Blackhawks. But hey, things change; the Sharks were an elite-level team last year.

In a totally disheartening loss against the Blue Jackets, I pick three stars:

3rd Star: Mike Commodore.

This guy committed a dozen penalties and only got called for one. Good job, Asshole!

2nd Star: Todd McClellan.

How he retains his composure right now is beyond me. If it were my job, I'd be shitting a brick after they lost two consecutive two-goal leads and then got shut out at home by the Blue Jackets! It's the BJs' first regulation win in San Jose ever! But Todd's still got that calm, assured manner that makes me think we're going to make the play-offs after all. The man should be a dentist.

1st Star: No question, it's Jason Demers' mustache.

It's not the most manly mustache on the team, which has to go to Niclas Wallin or Ryane Clowe, but it works for him. I think he looks a lot cooler with it and I can't say that about most of the players. Plus it fights prostate cancer! So good going, Jason. Way to make "Movember" work for you!

One positive note before I sign off: shopping at the Sharks Store doesn't get any better than after a shut-out loss! Hooray for no waiting in line!

Game 2: "Holm Opener"

Well, the Sharks lost, but it was a big bounce-back game for the fans! Maybe it was because our seat arrangements were a little different or because everyone was primed from the first game, or maybe because the referees' wives weren't sitting directly in front of us (they didn't like their husbands' terrible calls criticized). Anyway, good show, Fans! I couldn't help but notice a lot more of the calls were going against the Jackets in Game 2. Also, way to get Mike Commodore benched for the third period! Of course there's no way to prove any connection, but that's the kind of self-important, fan-aggrandizing guy I am.

Speaking of fans, the attendance to the Saturday game was even worse than Friday's! There had to have been under 10,000 people in there! It looked like the United Center two years ago. Greg Jamison was at the game; I regret not asking him when I had the chance why it is that the NHL seems content to let so many seats go empty. One would think that to "grow the game" abroad it would be best to keep the seats cheap (like, maybe, have some available for under $100) and make a killing on merchandise. The SAP Arena in Mannheim was packed and I couldn't get a scarf because the last two were sold to the people directly in front of me in line. My family and I walked around the whole arena looking for another one, but the entire place was sold out of Sharks merchandise by the second intermission!

Having now seen a regular season game from each of our two new goalies, I am not feeling very strongly one way or another. Niemi definitely outperformed Niittymaki in this pair of games, but Niittymaki did have a number of strong saves and Niemi's play wasn't overly confidence-inspiring. Certainly not enough to make me forget about the thin team defense. The words "defense by committee" scare me. I can only cling to my confidence that Doug Wilson knows what is up and that he's only waiting for the right guy...

I apologize for the lateness of this post, but I've been without internet from the end of the game until now. My throat is still sore from screaming (these back-to-back games are brutal), so I feel like I can sneak in under the statute of limitations.

Last Night's Game: Season Opener

I am happy to be typing, rather than talking, because my voice is not happy with me today. But before I begin talking about last night's game I should mention the guided tour of the city and the queens' palace, Drottningholm. Our tour guide was the same who gives tours to the Nobel Laureates and she began by telling us that she had requested to do the Sharks tour group because her daughter is best friends with Douglas Murray's sister. She even called his mom to see if we could drop by. Awesome. Also before the game my family and I hit up a thrift store two blocks from the hotel. My aunt found a Tre Kroner jersey for under ten bucks and I got a Djurgardens IF beanie for five. Tre Kroner is the Swedish national team and Djurgardens is the local team that plays in the Globe. Dan Boyle played for Djurgardens and I hear that Douglas Murray's legendary grandfather, Lasse Bjorn, was the long-time captain of the team. Lasse Bjorn has won 9 Swedish ice hockey championships, more than any other man. Marcus Ragnarsson is the current captain of Djurgardens.

And Now The Game:

The NHL doesn't seem to be concerned much with filing the seats at the Globe for these games. The cheapest tickets available are over a hundred dollars, so they couldn't even sell out the 13,500 seats there.

The atmosphere couldn't have been more different from the game in Mannheim. That exhibition game in Mannheim was riotously loud and the packed house and the beating drum sent my heart racing. As I said before, I had been expecting to be the loudest fans in attendance and to make an impression on the German fan base. Instead I found we had to speak into each other's ears just to have a conversation. The Swedish fans were cool enough, as much as you can expect for a game with no local team playing, but the fans here make me sick for home. Here in Stockholm we've got almost a whole section of traveling fans sitting together and I still don't know what to do to get more than ten of them chanting and jeering. I screamed myself hoarse that whole game at the refs, Mason, and Mike Commodore in the third period after he almost killed Jamie McGinn, but alas, it was almost all calls and no response. The fans seemed content to listen and laugh. At least our seats were above the glass and the arena was quiet; I could hear the refs calling "two minutes for charging," so I'm pretty sure those Blue Jackets heard every word and when it came time for the Sharks to give their fan salute, Joe Thornton knew exactly where we were.