Thursday Morning Coffee- Shark Bait... Not this time.

Well... your guess is as good as mine.  Is this going to be one of those gritty performances we've seen from the Canucks this season?  Or another lackluster effort, where the defense lets the team down?  Who knows? 

According to past performance against the Sharks, the pattern shows we will win this one 3-2.  Problem is the Canucks rarely do what you expect them to.  It's likely that Andrew Raycroft will get the start tonight, so perhaps a little bit of rest for Roberto Luongo and a more focused effort on team defense will move them 1 step closer to the 50 win mark. 

It starts tonight in the Bay Area...

When I think of the Bay Area, I think of one thing: Metal.  The American thrash metal scene was born there, so today I am gonna throw some Bay Area brutality back in their faces as we look at tonight's match.  On paper these two teams match up pretty solidly, the big difference being the loser points San Jose has are the difference in the standings.  Other than that, these two teams are fairly evenly matched.  So why does there seem to be a mental block when it comes to beating them?  They need to take a more ferocious attitude into this game, and let them know they're not intimidated by the Sharks.

They can certainly run and gun with this team, I don't care what others say, the stats bear it out.  There are few teams in the NHL that can score like the Canucks.  The only problem is the Sharks have much better defensive depth than we do at the current time.  That means its unlikely we see that kind of game from them.  So lock it down and send them a message physically: Get through the first round, you're gonna face us... and it ain't gonna be pretty, bitches.  Time for a lesson in violence...

I like that Paul Baloff (RIP) is wearing a Sharks jersey in that clip... but maybe we should not be setting the stage to beat them with their own music?  The whole point is this time the Cup comes home to Canada, so a little Canuck metal might be what gets them fired up!  They need to take the fans in the Tank outta this one early, so coming right out of the gate and being relentless is the key...

I expect a strong, physical game tonight.  The Sharks need to know that should a miracle occur and they actually string together 4 wins after this weekend, they're in for a hell of a fight.  And oh yeah, there will be blood...

Meanwhile, behind the facade of this innocent looking bookstore...

Jarome Iginla has been telling the media he wants to stay and believes in the team they have in Calgary.  He pointed to the Canucks missing the playoffs 2 seasons ago as a reason to think they could return to form.  I guess he forgot to mention that it was bookended by Division championships, and we didn't have guys like Ales Kotalik and Matt Stajan locked into ridiculous contracts.  If he thinks that team can bounce back next season, he's obviously still suffering concussion symptoms from getting his bell rung during the Olympics.

The Red Wings have lost just 3 regulation games in their last 19.  Anyone who thinks they can continue that pace with a rookie goaltender is certainly drinking their koolaid.  I am going on record as saying they're one and out.  I don't care how much talent they have.  They're not even the same team they were last year, let alone two years ago.  I do not fear them. 

The Los Angeles Kings will be taking on a tired Phoenix Coyotes squad tonight as they look to move past the Nashville Predators into 6th place in the West tonight.  The Coyotes handed Nashville a 5-2 loss last night, and with only one game remaining appear destined to take on either San Jose or Chicago, once the battle for first is settled.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are playing their last regular season game in the Igloo tonight.  Oh yeah, and That Guy still trails Henrik Sedin by one point in the race for the Art Ross trophy.  Shane O'Brien is a go for tonight for the Canucks, and we could see Nolan Baumgartner and Matt Pettinger tonight. 

The Victoria Salmon Kings kicked off their 2010 ECHL Playoffs at the SOFMC last night with an impressive 6-3 win over the Bakersfield Condors.  Captain Wes Goldie and Chad Painchaud both had a pair, and also got goals from Dirk Southern and Olivier Filion.  Game 2 goes Friday in Victoria, the S-Kings lead the series 1-0.