Last Train to Sharksville, I'll Meet You at the Station

So the night started out with this find in Firehouse #1 downtown.

Ok, so I took a blurry picture, but I was trying to be stealthy and also wanted to avoid getting the heads of the people at the table next to me in the shot. The jersey says goofunov.

I was expecting pouring rain so I had an umbrella all ready to go in my bag. I really wasn't just happy to see you.

Best way to make a man panic and take a sip of his drink is to dare him to guess your weight. I suspect asking one to guess your age might do the same.

The game was fun, even if the play was a little sloppy. Some surprising uncalled penalties on each side. One goal was waved off for the Sharks due to unintentional goaltender interference. The crowd was less that pleased.

Sharks came out pretty strong in the first, not so much in the second, but much like that guy who was turned into a newt once, they got better. The third was back and forth. Oddly, Phoenix was able to score both of their goals right at the start of the second and third periods respectively. It was like clockwork. Weird, eerie clockwork. The Sharks scored in the middle of the first and second. There were way too many turnovers on both sides, and some rather amazing giveaways that lead to some scary scoring chances. Thankfully Nabby was on. There were some longer moments of sustained pressure in the Sharks zone where I swear dumb luck was all that saved us from going down a goal. Well, ok, dumb luck and an alert Nabby.

I really really really was not eager to go to OT against the 'Yotes. The looming possibility of the shootout tested the ice in my veins.Of course, having made the mistake of voicing a portion of this concern, thus dooming us to an OT game. The OT period was a nail biter, but thankfully, no one scored. To the shoot out we went. The last of this regular season. Now there's a happy thought!

Every soul in teal was standing for the Sharks shooters. Every time they scored it was like they'd won the game. Sharks shooters were JoePa, Clowe, Boyle and Couture iirc. Clowe fell down and still managed to score. That was pretty fantastic. The minute the Sharks won the place erupted. It was a great was to end the regular season.

The last time the Sharks won a fan appreciation night game was 2004. One could argue that such a record shows a general lack of appreciation for fans, but that's a fairly bitter hearts approach. I won't forget JR skating around giving a speech after the game last year, and  I have to say, his speech beat the hell out of Blake's. Blake said he hoped the fans would bring it to the next level during the playoffs, because the team would. The entirety of fans left in the arena at that point all shared the same collective "You damn well better." thought at his statement. You have home ice (for at least a round), now use it!