The Fifth Liners

This year was one to forget for San Jose Sharks as they crawled home only 11th overall in the Western Conference. For the first time in over a decade, the Sharks failed to make the play-offs. This lapse in form also led to sacking of Todd McLellan as Head Coach. What exactly went wrong? Well not having a clear leader seemed to affect the direction on the team. Long time leader, Joe Thornton had the 'C' removed from his jersey in the off-season. Copying Montreal, the Sharks went with four alternates instead. While the Habs made it work, production seemed to slow at the SAP Arena. Joe Pavelski was top scorer with over 70 points and the other big four Logan Couture , Brent Burns , Thornton and Patrick Marleau all contribute around the 60 point mark. But outside of these guys, the higher points score was 36 points. The Sharks need to find a way to round the side more, because right now it is just a party of five. Former Devil's boss, Peter De Boer has been installed ...

The Dallas Stars produced a great performance last night to edge the San Jose Sharks 4-3 at the American Airlines Arena and in doing so they bring an end to the Sharks 100% start to the season! But at the start most of the home fans thought it would be business as usual for visiting San Jose as Tyler Kennedy put them in front after only 9 seconds of the first period! Dallas goalie Dan Ellis helped stem the flow of goals with a couple of smart stops before Tyler Seguin tied the scores at 1-1 after 16.44 played. But then Matthew Nieto siezed on a breakaway chance and slotted home to push the Sharks 2-1 ahead after 17.52 of the period! Stars didnt have to wait long for the tying goal though as after only 1.53 of the second period, Trevor Daley scored past Niemi to make it 2-2! But then Mr Consistent Patrick Marleau again put San Jose in front after scoring a wrap around chance on 12.32, though he was made to wait until after a video replay confirmed the puck crossed the line! But Dal...

The San Jose Sharks are currently proving to be very dangerous to the LA Kings' hopes of retaining the Stanley Cup. Last night the Kings were given a royal welcome to the HP Pavilion but the monarchs were made to look like mere pretenders to the throne. Two games ago, the Kings were 2-0 up in the series and it looked like nobody was going to take their crown. San Jose however has firmly nailed its colours to the mast. The sharks dictated the pace immediately and in the sixth minute Brent Burns and captain Joe Thornton were on hand for a little rally culminating in the Sharks' first goal. The shot was blocked initially but Burns was able to tap the rebound past Jonathan Quick and score.  In the second period Colin Fraser was penalised for roughing and the resulting powerplay allowed Logan Couture to tip in Dan Boyle's pass.  The weight of the crown may be weighing heavy on the Kings' shoulders because discipline is starting to slip, that's not to say t...

Well my eyes have finally dried after the Canucks 4-3 overtime defeat against San Jose last night which ensured the Sharks took a deserved clean sweep of the series. Sadly it seems that Mike's decision to back them was the correct one! Brent Burns put San Jose on their way early in the first period but the Canucks quickly leveled through Dan Hamhuis. But Logan Couture's powerplay goal restored the Sharks' one goal lead towards the end of the period. After a scoreless second period, Vancouver made a brighter start to the third period of action with Alex Burrows' powerplay goal  and Alex Edler scoring midway through and their fans were hopeful of us putting a win on the board- but as is tradition, Joe Pavelski scored on a powerplay four minutes before the end to once again send this tie to overtime! After 13 minutes OT Patrick Marleau knocked a rebound past Cory Schneider to send the Sharks through and leave the Canucks to the chants of "Sweep Sweep Sweep...