Sharks Have Something to be Thankful For, I Think…

I can only speak for myself on this in regards to the pre-Thanksgiving “game” against the Chicago Blackhawks. The turkeys ended up wearing the teal jerseys.

Put it bluntly, it was a truly PATHETIC showing.

I could understand giving up a shorthanded goal, it happens every once in a while. But to give up THREE?!?! I started to get the impression that maybe the Sharks just hit the cruise control button and were already thinking ahead to the Thanksgiving holiday. Now, you would think that the Sharks would want to beat a team like Chicago to carry some good vibes into the holiday before taking on Edmonton on black Friday. If only logic actually fell in line with reality.

I won’t try to come up with excuses for this one, it was just a flat out pathetic effort.

We all know how good the Blackhawks are, and they could possibly be the Sharks opponent at some point in the playoffs. However, we also know how good the Sharks are and I am convinced that had they actually cared to show up for that game it would be a totally different story.

Take from that onslaught what you will, I just don’t understand how you can comprehend that kind of effort. Could they have been more careless with the puck? Could they have put up less of a fight on both ends of the ice? Maybe, but then we would be talking about a 10-0 defeat instead.

This can definitely be classified as the low point in the season, especially coming off back-to-back wins. Not to mention that Chicago goalie Cristobal Huet isn’t exactly a Vezina trophy contender, in fact he may even be one of the most overpaid goalies in the league.

So what was the deal exactly? Put it this way, I had no idea shark tasted like turkey. If that is the case, the Blackhawks helped themselves to a good portion early and often.

In this case though, you can say the Sharks are thankful for something as they make their way to Edmonton to try and forget about this one. The holiday only delayed the inevitable tongue-lashing that head coach Todd McLellan is sure to give them in short order. He has every reason to expect the best from his players, and has the weapons to carry out his game plan night in and night out.

In fact, Dan Boyle nailed it in his post game comments in the ESPN recap of this humiliation, “We should be embarrassed about the way we came out and played. That was ugly. Seven goals? That’s breakdowns from everybody. That’s just bad hockey.”

Kudos to Boyle for summing it up so plainly, and I wouldn’t be surprised if half of the HP Pavilion crowd left midway through to get some early Christmas shopping out of the way.

A half-hearted effort will only yield results like that one. Hopefully this is the exception rather than the norm.

Enjoy the game against Edmonton amidst all the black Friday craziness.

Tags: Opinion