Sharks & Ducks

Well, Tuesday night the Ducks made their way to Northern California where, in the 2nd period, they quickly set up several scores to go up 6-1. San Jose would eventually score 3 more times to close the gap but the final shorthanded, empty net score by Getzlaf led to the Ducks win over a Sharks team that frankly, didn't deserve it. I was nervous before this game, wondering much like Ron Wilson, how the Sharks last week could go from playing great to just plain "awful" within a 48 hour period. At least I was sitting at a bar in Dana Point, sipping a Guinness to deaden the pain somewhat, while watching the Ducks skate to victory. (And frankly, it was one time I was very happy to have few fellow hockey fans around, as I figure they would most likely be Ducks fans...luckily, I ran into a fellow SJ fan and I was hanging out with a Buffalo fan). I did see a few things during the game that gave me some hope for the future though, especially Cheechoo's 2 goals. However, in my opinion, Toskala did not play well, regardless of the defensive slip-ups.

So, that left my sojourn to the former Pond, now known as "The Honda Center." I was still nervous as both teams made the southern trek for this game, but held out hope for the "good" SJ team to show. I even wore my Marleau sweater and faced the slightly obnoxious Ducks fans. (Most were ok, but the guy who kept saying "Visa" for "Vesa" should figure out which is a credit card). Anyway, sitting in the section directly above the visiting goal for periods 1 & 3, I had a great view of the Cheechoo goal that took over a minute and a half to get posted. That was one I thought I saw but couldn't figure out why the lamp didn't light while play continued on. Oh well, at least it was figured out. Things were continuing to look ok, though the quick up and down led to some scary moments, though at time, exciting play. The nervousness returned when the Ducks killed the 1:55 min 5-3 penalty kill and increased greatly when Selanne scored to tie it up. Then, shortly after, thanks to the recent track record, I held out little hope for the Sharks to win when Thornton, Shawn, not Joe, scored to put the Ducks up by one just 43 seconds or so into the 3rd. I mean, I felt the momentum shift. That goal, to me, was just symptomatic of the defensive problems that have led to the recent slump by the Sharks. Hannan made a careless play and next thing you know, we're down to the top team in the Pacific division. Let me tell you, the young kid and fellow Sharks fan sitting in front of me, and I were pretty deflated at that point. But, the Sharks decided to show a little resiliency and Vlasic made a great shot toward the net that Michalek deflected in to bring us Sharks fans to our feet. Man, what a silence in that arena expect for the pockets of Sharks fans cheering. But, my nerves took another hit when Rissmiller dumped the puck over the glass while clearing it, to give the Ducks the last minute on the power play. Thank God the Tiburones held on, but man, are my nerves shot from that game!