Mrs. PuckUpdate and I love to joke about announcers who warn against the dreaded two-goal lead, what a lot of them call ‘the most dangerous lead to have.’
A lot of times, a team will go up two goals and the announcer will talk about how it’s actually a risky lead to have, since a team [...]

David Pollak had an interesting take on the Sharks’ recent troubles, via coach Todd McLellan: The team simply wasn’t playing frequently enough to establish a rhythm.
The Sharks have won their last two, with a victory over Anaheim Thursday and a win over Dallas last night. Since there were quite a few days between the games, [...]

Good coaching is often about managing personalities as much as it’s about Xs and Os.
The Sharks had lost a step (or two) so coach Todd McLellan had an interesting idea: he shifted Dany Heatley off of the first powerplay unit.
It seems to have worked, as the Sharks earned a big win over the Rangers [...]

As I mentioned yesterday, it’s still early in the season, so it’s still hard to make observations about team problems and team successes. But having said that, some interesting ideas are already starting to emerge.
Like will the Sharks play defense this season? They went down four goals to the Kings, managed to come back, but [...]

It’s corn Friday. Sorry!

Buccigross’ ‘Heatley will be a Shark’ call is just a big misunderstanding: he’s talking about an upcoming Ottawa production of WESTSIDE STORY. Also, don’t miss Jason Spezza as Maria.
The Sabres released photos of the commemorative bricks from the Aud, which they’ll be selling. So the Sabres will hold onto bricks from demolished [...]

David Pollak had a piece discussing how much competition the Sharks have for their third- and fourth-line slots.
This seems to be the new GM move: spending an excruciating amount of time, and to a certain extent, money, on guys who will play 10 to 15 minutes a night.
At least San Jose GM Doug Wilson has [...]

David Pollak has some interesting stuff about the non-stop drama that is the Summertime San Jose Sharks Show.
In today’s chapter, goalie Evgeni Nabokov defends last season’s performance, while also admitting it could have been stronger. Pollak helpfully points out Nabokov’s five-hole often seemed to lack an off-switch last season.
Pollak also wonders if the Sharks lack [...]

Kevin Allen has an interesting piece on something I’ve been noticing: There doesn’t seem to be any market for or interest in Ottawa’s Dany Heatley.
Obviously, a lot of the disinterest is posturing by GMs, but Heatley’s contract just doesn’t make sense, financially, in a lot of places. And when you consider players like Jay Bouwmeester [...]

It’s very interesting to see how the Flyers view their status as a heavily penalized team. Tim Panaccio asked Mike Richards about the Flyers signing someone who can set-up in the crease as well as clear the crease, and Richards said the Flyers can’t afford that kind of player given the amount of penalties they [...]

How can you not be impressed by the poise and maturity of the Chicago Blackhawks?
Going into Calgary in game seven, you would think a young team like Chicago would collapse under the pressure and expectations. Instead, they went in and won the first round of the playoffs.
The Blackhawks were aided by Calgary playing without defenseman [...]