On Sunday evening, the Sharks and the Stars will do battle in Dallas. One this is for certain, the Stars are in trouble! Some might find this statement a little strange concidering the Sharks are the team facing elimination, but that has been the reality for some time now. On the other hand, the Stars have been in the drivers seat all series, and for the first time on Sunday we will get to see how they play with a little pressure and the realization that a loss means their season could well be over. For certain, the Stars need to finish this series in Big D, cause going back to San Jose for game 7 is not a good idea.

Dallas, do you like apples?

The Sharks defeated the Stars 3-2 in OT to force game 6 back in Dallas, and in the process made a little history too! Sometimes you have this eerie feeling that something special is going to happen, and this was true on Friday night in the Shark Tank. Just 1:05 into the extra period Joe Pavelski refused to give up ......... keep reading at MVN.

The Sharks were able to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Stars on Wednesday evening with a 2-1 victory in Dallas. The series now shifts back to San Jose for game 5, and the Sharks are still swimming uphill for the foreseeable future. The one comfort that Sharks fans can take from this game (and yesterday!) is that the Captain, Patrick Marleau is not about to just give in and go home. Nabokov has also played great in the crease, and with out these two players the Sharks are coming home losers. At least now the Sharks can take a little respect with them in the off-season.

I am going to make this short and sweet! Both hockey teams come into this series on a high note. The Sharks were able to stave off elimination and kill off their playoff demons against a physical and tenacious hockey team in the Calgary Flames. The Stars just eliminated the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. While I do give them credit and respect for that accomplishment, Anaheim is not the same team with the same drive and hunger as it was last season, and are a perfect example of why it is so hard to repeat a run to the cup in the NHL. Nevertheless, the are the Champs, so Dallas deserves credit.

On Friday night in San Jose, the Sharks will face their biggest rivals when they take the ice against the Dallas Stars in the Shark Tank. There is no bigger rivalry in the Western Conference, and that fact is not in dispute. Anyone that does try to refute this claim, needs a little lesson in hockey history. Lets start from the beginning, shall we?

San Jose defeated the Calgary Flames 5-3 in Game Seven at the Shark Tank on Tuesday evening, and in the process the Sharks sent their playoff demons packing. Jeremy Roenick scored four points to propel the Sharks past the Mike Keenan coached Flames, and San Jose finally played sixty minutes of grinding, attacking, Shark hockey.

On Tuesday night in the Shark Tank, it will happen. The great series out West that no one is talking about, will come to an end. For those of you that have been paying attention, you have had the pleasure of viewing a fine and glorious series, played by two teams all too familiar with one another. The match-ups have been great! Kipper vs. Nabby, Jumbo Joe Thornton vs. Iginla, Nolan vs. Marleau, Soupy vs. Phaneuf, Doug Wilson vs. Sutter, and Ron Wilson vs. Keenan! These are the match-ups that have made this series great.

Being a Bay Area fan, quick exits are unfortunately nothing new to me. The Giants and A's can't seem to make it past the first round of the playoffs, if they make them at all. The Warriors can't seem to make the playoffs. The Raiders and 49ers seasons are usually done half-way through the year recently. The Sharks are the most winning franchise in the Bay Area when it comes to major professional sports, and they can't seem to get past the first round! It's not their fault so much as I'm tired of watching these teams underachieve in the post season. Am I alone?

Outworked, out hustled, out hit, and simply outplayed. All these terms can be used to describe the play of the San Jose Sharks on Sunday evening in the Saddledome. The Calgary Flames shutout the Sharks to win Game Six, and force the first ever Game Seven in the Shark Tank on Tuesday. From the start, Calgary was the better team on the ice. They showed the heart and determination of a desperate team fighting for their playoff lives. The Sharks, not so much! The only thing that kept the Sharks from embarrassment in the 1st period and beyond was the stellar play of Evgeni Nabokov.

The San Jose Sharks and the Calgary Flames will play Game 6 tonight in the Saddledome. The Sharks lead the series 3-2, and for Calgary the word of the day is 'elimination'. Yes folks, this is when the playoffs get fun. This is the time when hockey fans get to see the measure of their teams with their back is against the wall. There can be no doubt that the Calgary faithful will come out in full force in support of their Flames, and some of the most raucous fans in the league will fill the Sea of Red. Truly, the Flames fans will do their job, but will the Flames themselves do theirs?

One question, who's leading the sharks in points through five games? Joe Thornton? No. Patty Marleau? Nope. Ok, ok, Cheech? Wrong again! The answer, if you have paid any attention the last five games, is Ryane (yes, that's Ryan with an 'e' on the end) "Big Boi" Clowe. Indeed, it's true! The man is hungry, and came to play. After missing virtually the entire season while toiling in rehab with a busted knee, who can blame him? Heck, in his first game back from injury he had an assist on the first shift 14 seconds into the game, and another one the following night. Hungry? Yea, I think so!

Patrick Marleau is dominating the Calgary Flames. Behind another scorcher from the Captain, the Sharks were able to hold off the Flames to secure a critical Game 5 victory. Marleau was vilified by the press after his struggles in the playoffs last season, and took all the blame for the Sharks quick exit. Well, there are a lot of people eating large plates of Crow this year, and Patty is working the grill.

I tuned into the first game of the first round series between the Sharks and Flames expecting to see…well the Sharks and Flames. Instead, it looked to me like I was watching the Sharks of old play the Sharks of now and it made me feel a little uncomfortable.

On Thursday, April 16th, the Sharks and the Flames will resume the up-and-down battle that has been their opening playoff series. The quest for Lord Stanley's Cup is well underway, as this epic battle shifts back to San Jose for Game 4. Kipper must have had a lonely feeling in net after Joe Thornton deflected the game winner with about 9 seconds remaining in Game 4. Much like the Sharks flipped the switch after a devastating loss in Game 3, Kipper and the Flames must put this loss behind them, or the feeding frenzy that peaked during the final 10 minutes of Game 4 will continue through the duration of Game 5.

Oh Lord!! I miss J-Rich.....

That being said.....KB (I'm not gonna cheat by looking it up, and I certainly can't spell it!!) is developing nicely and thats another notch on the belt for Donnie and his great eye for talent. He doesn't replace J-Rich's leadership, but I think we can all see his ability with the ball in his hands to this point.

Monte is best coming of the bench at this point. He can provide that key scorers mentality and ability when starters are catching a blow. He is just not your prototypical 1 or 2, he is a tweener and needs to be treated as so. Take advantage of match-ups when Donnie feels Monte can exploit them, and otherwise just let him be a spark off the bench.

Side Note: I want to see Wright thrown to the wolves. Hes got great athletic ability, and at 0-5 and riddled with injuries, might as well let him get his lumps now. Just give the kid one responsibility outside of defense.....REBOUND!, and lets see what he can do at this point in his young career.

OakFoSHo