Woohoo...its hockey season and the San Jose Sharks are
are doing okay. The team just completed their mega-stretch of games (each team
has one). They currently stand in eighth place overall, third in the Western Conference,
and first in the Pacific Division. The team has a new app for those who live in
CA, which lets folks watch games live (providing you have the CSN Bay Area tv).
Again...Northern Nevada is considered ‘Sharks Territory’
when it comes to streaming games for the various pay-per-view services (Center
Ice and NHL Gamecenter). If I order the games via either service, Sharks games
are blacked out. So, it would only make sense (and be fair) that if I live in
Sharks Territory for paid games, I should qualify for Sharks contests but NO! I
CAN’T ENTER ANY CONTESTS BECAUSE I DON’T LIVE IN CALIFORNIA!
What is wrong with this picture? Either those of us who
live across the border are in the Sharks Zone or we’re not. If so, then we
should be able to fully participate in all Sharks offerings. If not, let us get
the games black-out free.
It should be one way or another.
I wonder how this will change in the 2017-2018 season
when the Las Vegas Golden Knights come on board.
Of course, the trade rumors are already flying about
Patrick Marleau. Will he stay or will he go? Can San Jose afford to sign him
and Joe Thornton to another contract considering their ages? Patty and Joe may
not put up the numbers of their younger days but no one can dispute the player’s
contribution to the team.
Sharks team stats at the end of the first two months (as
of 12-5-16).
15 games won out of 25 played. 9 lost and 1 overtime win
for 31 points (tied with two other teams). Their point percentage (.620) puts
the team in ninth place. The team could be scoring a lot more, as their 21rst
ranking shows with 60 goals scored. They are doing better in the goals against department,
allowing their opponents a miserly 51 goals. This has the Sharks tied for seond
place with two other teams. They haven not had a game go to a shoot-out yet. As
for overtime, they have one ot win. The team is averaging 2.40 goals per game,
ranking them at the 10th spot. Going along with their goals aganst, the Sharks
goals against per goal is the Laegue’s best at 2.04.
Special teams are important. When San Jose’s Power Play
works, they are monsters. Unfortunatley, it hasn’t quite clicked yet. The team’s
power play is at 18.7% (mid-pack at #14) while their penalty kill is a little
better at 83.6% (for 11th place). At least the team is shooting at the net,
averaging 31 shots per game but only letting their opponents try 26.2 shots per
game. Finally, winning face-offs is a key to getting chances to score. The
Sharks are winning about 48.6% of their face-offs.
How do the players rank in stats? They have two players
in the top twenty in points and both men are not new to the list: Captain Joe
Pavelski (#14) and Brent Burns (#17). The next closest player is Logan Couture who
comes in at #74. Goalie Martin Jones is tied for second place in wins with
three other goal-tenders. He has a goals-against of 1.99 and a save percentage
of 0.924.
Finally, something fun. I just received two books books
about the Sharks. The first one is a light-hearted joke book, published in 2013
that I only heard about the other day. It is “The Best San Jose Sharks Joke
Book Ever” by Bud Princeton. The content is all hockey-related and many are
silly but I was laughing anyway. The next book is “100 Things Sharks Fans
Should Know & Do Before They Die” by Ross McKeon. This book was just
released and includes black & white photos. Book books are definate ‘must-haves’
for the die-hard Sharks fan. I bought mine through Amazon. This brings the
total number of books about my favorite team (that I’m aware of) to seven in my
library.
Stay safe out there and thank a First Responder. He or
she puts their lives on the line every day to keep you and your family safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment