It's fascinating to see how fast the national media will get back into your good graces. Take this week's always interesting but hardly relevant less than 10 games into a season (even a 48-game sprint) NHL rankings polls. The Sharks sit atop the food chain -and who can argue with one of these as more a predator than, um, a Predator?- and hold the No. 1 ranking from both ESPN.com and Yahoo Sports. But look where San Jose ranked way back on Sept. 24 per ESPN: 18th. Or how the Sharks somehow -during a lockout mind you- moved up four spots to 14th. And then somehow, two days before the season began, ESPN sent the Sharkies tumbling back down deep water at 23rd. This is what ESPN hockey writer Scott Burnside -who I really do enjoy reading- wrote during that poll:
The Sharks will return pretty much the same lineup that limped into the playoffs as the seventh seed and was ousted in five games by St. Louis. We're not sold on the goaltending, and someone needs to drag this team back into contention.
Fair enough. I thought the Sharks would be a who knows what they'll do wild card entering the season. But through eight games, seven wins and a shootout loss, the Sharks are now hockey royalty, and that's a bad attempt at an L.A. Kings joke. Here's Burnside as of Sunday on the No. 1 Sharks:
The Sharks will return pretty much the same lineup that limped into the playoffs as the seventh seed and was ousted in five games by St. Louis. We're not sold on the goaltending, and someone needs to drag this team back into contention.
Fair enough. I thought the Sharks would be a who knows what they'll do wild card entering the season. But through eight games, seven wins and a shootout loss, the Sharks are now hockey royalty, and that's a bad attempt at an L.A. Kings joke. Here's Burnside as of Sunday on the No. 1 Sharks:
The Sharks were the last team to slip from the unbeaten, losing finally Saturday in a 2-1 shootout at home to Nashville. Still, at 7-0-1, they are the creme de la creme with a plus-16 goal differential -- tops in the Western Conference. They have not allowed a power-play goal in five straight games.
Apparently, someone among Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Antti Niemi, Drew Remenda or Hasso Plattner apparently is that someone to "drag this team back into contention". But it really doesn't mean anything. The Sharks have thrived, excelled and dominated in the regular season before. So as I write this precursor to what would appear to be a chance to further make a statement over the next two days with a game at improving and surely revenge-seeking Anaheim tonight and then a quick turnaround and visit from Stanley Cup hopeful Chicago -so says Blackhawks icon Bobby Hull- on Tuesday night. Should the Sharks lose both of these games, and I think it's a possibility, how fast do you think ESPN and Yahoo shut off the Sharks' power in the power rankings?
Bottom line: Don't get too caught up in how these Sharks are perceived nationally, the good or bad. They're going to have to convince their critics in late spring, not a couple days removed from Groundhog Day.
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