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olePigeon · Oct 21, 2009, 04:02 PM

It's that time of the year again. Sharks are still looking pretty strong. I just hope they aren't chalked up as the third team in NHL history to not make playoffs after winning the President's Cup.

Go Sharks!!!

SpaceMonkey · Oct 21, 2009, 04:05 PM

I am cautiously optimistic about the Sabres' chances.

ort888 · Oct 21, 2009, 04:46 PM

I can't wait to see what new and unique way the Blues will find to crush my soul this year.

Will they be amazing and choke? Painfully mediocre? Completely terrible?

olePigeon · Oct 21, 2009, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Will they be amazing and choke?

You can't complain about choking in a Sharks thread.

CreepDogg · Oct 21, 2009, 07:22 PM

There have been high expectations here, but there's also a big goaltending problem brewing.

ort888 · Oct 21, 2009, 10:29 PM

Uh no, the Blues are like the Montreal Canadeans of choking. The sharks have nothing on them.

NYK Ace · Oct 21, 2009, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

I am cautiously optimistic about the Sabres' chances.

i agree - they are looking pretty good so far...

ShortcutToMoncton · Oct 23, 2009, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Uh no, the Blues are like the Montreal Canadeans of choking. The sharks have nothing on them.

Uhhh what? Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

The Blues were a rebuilding team last year and did quite well for the players they had. You guys still might need a goalie - Mason's undeniably good, but it's a question whether he's a legit starter at this point - but you're a solid, middle-of-the-road team. What else do you expect? You make it to the playoffs, you cheer, you lose and go home.

The Sharks have to legitimately be considered one of the biggest choke artists in the history of pro sports. So no, you're not even in the same league.

greg

olePigeon · Oct 23, 2009, 07:14 PM

Sharks have made it to the playoffs nearly every year. They still haven't won a single Stanley Cup. Not too many teams can claim the President's Cup and get a first round elimination.

Stogieman · Oct 23, 2009, 07:39 PM

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton

The Sharks have to legitimately be considered one of the biggest choke artists in the history of pro sports.

Nope. That title is still held by the 2004 New York Yankees.

KCrosbie · Oct 23, 2009, 11:02 PM

I remember the Seattle Mariners winning like 120 games during the season and choked against the Yankees in the first round about 10 years back. So the Sharks having the best regular season record and going out in the first round is nothing new in sports.

I too hope for the Sharks to win a cup sometime soon.

klb5090 · Oct 26, 2009, 10:31 AM

Well my defending stanley cup champs are 9-2 with 18 points (tied for 1st in the NHL w/ the Avalanche...what?!?!?!)
I hate to speculate this early in the season but i'll make sure to put my .02$ in now while its early,
My picks for the cup are divided but i'll go with

2010 Stanley Cup Final

Penguins v Blackhawks

ort888 · 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton

Uhhh what? Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

The Blues were a rebuilding team last year and did quite well for the players they had. You guys still might need a goalie - Mason's undeniably good, but it's a question whether he's a legit starter at this point - but you're a solid, middle-of-the-road team. What else do you expect? You make it to the playoffs, you cheer, you lose and go home.

The Sharks have to legitimately be considered one of the biggest choke artists in the history of pro sports. So no, you're not even in the same league.

greg

Er, yeah, no. You must not have been following hockey in the 80s and 90s. The Blues were sucking and choking for decades before the Sharks even existed. They were chokemasters while the Sharks were just a glimmer in Bettman's eye.

This whole rebuilding thing only goes back about 4 years. Before that the Blue's philosophy was to burn the candle at both ends to WIN NOW for about 20 years in a row.

You might be able to make an argument that another team has been a more spectacular failure then the Blues, but it would not be an argument for the Sharks.

The biggest chokers in the history of sports? The team has existed for less than 20 years. Give me a break.

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Sharks have made it to the playoffs nearly every year. They still haven't won a single Stanley Cup. Not too many teams can claim the President's Cup and get a first round elimination.

Uh, the Blues can claim that. Is your memory really that short? The Blues won the Presidents trophy in 2000 lost to the SHARKS in the first round.

Also, the Blues recently held the record for most consecutive playoff appearances (in all of sports) at 25 years straight. That's longer then the Sharks have existed.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/column...t&lid=tab3pos1

olePigeon · Oct 26, 2009, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by ort888

Uh, the Blues can claim that. Is your memory really that short? The Blues won the Presidents trophy in 2000 lost to the SHARKS in the first round.

Also, the Blues recently held the record for most consecutive playoff appearances (in all of sports) at 25 years straight. That's longer then the Sharks have existed.

With playoff run coming to end, Blues come full circle - NHL - ESPN

Oh, good point. I thought they had won a cup; guess not. Thanks for cheering me up.

Suck it Blues!

ort888 · Oct 26, 2009, 11:54 AM

The Blues winning the cup... that's funny.

Mrjinglesusa · Oct 26, 2009, 12:37 PM

Looking forward to the Capitals vs. Flyers game tomorrow night - should be an entertaining matchup.

Wife and I got Capitals season tickets this year. GREAT seats, buffet before games, good times had by all.

If the Capitals can keep the pressure on late in games when they usually have a lead they will be challenging for the Cup this year. 3rd Period let-downs are our nemesis right now. Scoring is NOT. LOL

I really like the Aucoin/Giroux line and hope the Capitals can find a way to keep these two guys up here for the entire season.

1) Backstrom(C)/Ovie(LW)/Knuble(RW)

2) Laich(C)/Semin(LW)/Clark(RW)

3) Aucoin(C)/Giroux(LW)/Bradley(RW)

4) Morrison(C)/Laing(LW)/Gordon(RW)

Make it happen Coach!

ort888 · Oct 26, 2009, 12:46 PM

Are the Caps more popular now? When I lived in DC (about 8 years ago) I was shocked at how indifferent the town was to the Capitals. All anyone there cared about was the Redskins. I never saw anyone in Caps shirts or hats. The local news and sports radio guys never talked about the caps. The fans at the games were not into it at all... etc... it was pretty sad.

SpaceMonkey · Oct 26, 2009, 12:50 PM

The Caps have gotten a lot more popular with Ovie and their success the last couple of seasons. The atmosphere at Verizon Center is good.

Exhibit A.

ort888 · Oct 26, 2009, 12:55 PM

I'm so jealous of teams with young franchise players. The Blues haven't had one since Brett Hull.

We have Erik Johnson now, but he's a few years away from being a force, and he's never going to be as entertaining as a Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, Kovalchuk, etc...

I want an offensive dynamo, so I can at least be entertained by something when we lose. The Blues have a lot of promising young forwards, but none of them will ever be franchise guys.

Mrjinglesusa · Oct 26, 2009, 01:05 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Are the Caps more popular now? When I lived in DC (about 8 years ago) I was shocked at how indifferent the town was to the Capitals. All anyone there cared about was the Redskins. I never saw anyone in Caps shirts or hats. The local news and sports radio guys never talked about the caps. The fans at the games were not into it at all... etc... it was pretty sad.

Infinitely more popular now. Expecially considering how much the Redskins suck these days and their fans being fed-up with Dan Snyder.

It's electric around the Verizon Center on Caps game days now and the fans are REALLY into the games.

There are high hopes for this season and seasons to come. The Capitals are young, well-managed, have an excellent AHL team, and have a front office that knows how to run a franchise.

We have a couple of young up and coming goal tenders. Varly needs to mature a little and learn how to keep his head in the game after a team scores on him. We need to be better in 3rd period and play 60 minutes instead of 40. Other than that, the Caps look really good so far this season. Tomorrow night will be a good test of what they have learned from their mistakes in the first 10 games. You can't be up 5-2 in the 3rd and end up winning 5-4 if you expect to go far in the playoffs.

SpaceMonkey · Oct 26, 2009, 01:08 PM

Remembering how to run a power play would be helpful, too.

olePigeon · Oct 26, 2009, 01:20 PM

Sharks are still an excellent power play team. One of the best.

ort888 · Oct 26, 2009, 06:15 PM

Just for some context, this is my sig on a Blues board I post on...

Mrjinglesusa · Oct 30, 2009, 12:44 PM

Caps are looking really good this year. 6 game win streak, going for 7 tonight vs. NYI. Our first back-to-back of the year so we'll see how that goes. But it's the NYI so I'm not too worried.

Ovie is...well Ovie. That guy is freakin' amazing.

Bummed they sent Giroux back to Hershey but they did keep Aucoin up here - he's playing well.