The Sharks appear to be working from a checklist.  Obviously scoring in the first period is on that list.  They have done that ever since that disappointing game in Calgary.    Also, power play goals are important, their power play lacked some shock and awe last season.   Needed to fix that.

Patrick Marleau had his two-goals-a-game objective.  Perhaps that was drawing too much public attention away from the team, so he skipped it last night.  Making NHL history would be way too high profile for such a modest guy.  Still, it was clear that the Sharks wanted to get that 2nd goal for Marleau, because historic records are fun to hold.  Too bad they were so worn out from back to back games.  

Who were they playing against last night?  I thought I heard it was some team that had a winning streak at HP Pavilion to defend.  Does it even matter who the Sharks play anymore?

I’m being facetious of course.  The Shark killers are out there, but this current winning streak harkens back to the adage: play your game, you can’t control what the other guy does.  The Sharks have a very strong game.  So long as they keep their heads together it really doesn’t matter who they play against, they will have a good chance of winning.  They just need to stick to the checklist.

During the first intermission, Ryane Clowe revealed something from his own list to Brodie Brazil:

“I needed to get a fight under my belt, it’s been a while..”

Check. I wonder how many penalty minutes Clowe has on his list?  I would guess he collected enough last night for several games to come.  Never put off ’til tomorrow the penalties you can take today!

What did Clowe say their objective was in that frenetic first period?

“I think last game even though we had a pretty good overall game, we didn’t have a good start. We wanted to rectify that tonight.  I think we had a much better start obviously, we had good legs, we had good jump.”

The Sharks did something they’ve never done before, starting the game 4 on 4.  Is that a good thing or just odd?  Shots on goal?  9-6 Sharks. Meh.  They scored two  goals in the first five minutes.  Good start: check.

On everyone’s checklist of course is the penalty kill.  I can’t remember which new coach said it, Robinson or Johnson, that they wouldn’t be changing much from last season, they would just be making some tweaks.  That is kind of like saying “no big change, you’ll still have two legs after we replace those defective ones you’ve got there.”

Last night the penalty kill was a perfect 7 of 7.  That works for me.  We would never have seen such a stat were it not for Mr. Clowe.  You never know what you can do until you have to do it!

On my list is Niemi’s puck handling. He hasn’t been doing much in that department but I was floored by his mid-first period excursion to the blue line to help out on a Sharks power play.  He sent the puck through the neutral zone right to Clowe’s stick.  He also seemed much calmer behind the net, taking just enough time, showing a good awareness of what time he had to get the puck where it needed to go.  Check?

Even the posts seem to have a plan: stop as many shots as possible.

The thing about a checklist is that you hardly ever use it just once.  You make the list because you know you will need to use it again and again.  According to one tweet I saw, the season is only about 12% over.  As many check marks as they might have already made, the Sharks will have to keep checking that list for each and every game in the 88% of the season that remains.

Guessing games

Dan Boyle left the game early, but not because the refs told him too.  That was alarming.  Even with his phenomenal resilience, having him out isn’t a good thing.  I was contemplating Petrecki’s introduction to the lineup when I saw that Boyle had been pulled due to a bloody nose that wouldn’t stop bleeding.  That’s supposed to be reassuring???  HAS IT STOPPED YET????

I don’t think any of my opinions after last season were especially far-fetched. I wasn’t alone thinking the Sharks should keep McLellan and Marleau.  I know I wasn’t in the minority thinking they needed new ACs.   It’s still nice to see it all working out so well.

I need to gloat for a second about knowing that McLellan would put Desjardins in Clowe’s spot after Clowe was ejected from the game.  He had played on various Sharks lines before, unlike Gomez or Burish. He was playing the wing last night, even if it isn’t his usual spot.  Using Wingels wouldn’t make sense, why break up the third line when the fourth line has energy to spare?  He was the obvious choice.

It only wound up being 2 shifts but after much cutting and pasting of TOI stats, I found that my eyes did not deceive me, Desi  was indeed out there with Couture and Havlat in the 3rd period:

It was just a tiny bit of rightness, but it was fun.  It also made me wonder what happened to Couture after that last mid-period shift.

Before getting into which Oilers might deserve consideration, a few notes on Ferraro’s roster:

- As is often the case thanks to Canada’s tremendous depth at centre, Ferraro has a number of converted pivots playing on the wings. Eric Staal, Claude Giroux, John Tavares and Mike Richards all qualify in that category. Tyler Seguin has spent a lot of time on right wing in Boston, or he would make that list, too.

- Last time around, the Canadian team had a pretty decent balance of right/left-handed shooters on the blue line. This time – thanks to the departures of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger – five of Ferraro’s six starters on defence are right-handed shots and primarily play the right side at the NHL level, with Duncan Keith the sole exception (both players listed reserve defencemen are left-handed shots).

Looking at that roster, which Oilers might merit consideration? Ryan Smyth has been a long-time competitor for Canada at international events, but he’s at the point in his career where he won’t crack an Olympic roster. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was a first overall pick, but given Canada’s exceptional depth at centre and his age, realistically he isn’t likely to be included either. Justin Schultz is still lacking in experience at the professional level and is handicapped by the fact that he’s a right-handed shot.

Realistically, there are only two names on the Oilers’ roster right now that really deserve a long look: Eberle and 2010 first overall pick Taylor Hall.

It’s actually somewhat surprising to me that Hall doesn’t make Ferraro’s roster, particularly since he’s arguably a better all-around player than Jordan Eberle in the here and now and was not only picked ahead of Seguin but has a 10 point lead on him in NHL points in 30 fewer games. Hall’s not really competing with Eberle or Seguin for a spot, though; he’s competing with the laundry list of converted centres playing wing.

After looking through the list of available talent (and projecting ahead a little bit – since the Olympics are a year away there is an element of projection to this roster) I found that I couldn’t disagree with the majority of Ferraro’s picks; I’m in broad agreement, with most of the quibbles coming around the edges of the roster. The following is my list:

Up front, I have subtracted Jordan Staal, Patrick Sharp and Mike Richards and substituted Ryan Getzlaf, Taylor Hall and Patrice Bergeron. All of the decisions were difficult, but I thought Getzlaf was simply too strong a talent to leave off the roster, Hall will have another year under his belt and I think he’ll do too much to be left off, and I prefer Bergeron to Richards for the role of utility forward.

On defence, Marc Staal and Brayden Coburn are replaced by Dan Hamhuis and Jay Bouwmeester. Hamhuis is an exceptional defensive defenceman and adds another left-handed shot to the top-six, while Bouwmeester’s skating and passing abilities were tough to ignore on the big ice.

In net, I have 2010 starter Roberto Luongo taking the role of backup, with the greatly overrated Marc-Andre Fleury axed from the team (Fleury was the only one of Ferraro’s picks I found myself emphatically disagreeing with). While I have the three goalies ranked this way now, any of the three could easily be starter in 2014.

Other notables who did not make my final version of the team included the San Jose Sharks duo of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, Jarome Iginla, James Neal, Jeff Skinner, Milan Lucic and Jason Spezza.

Other Oilers likely to get at least some Olympic consideration from their countries include Ales Hemsky and Ladislav Smid (Czech Republic), Nail Yakupov (Russia) and Jeff Petry (United States). Players such as Teemu Hartikainen (Finland) and Magnus Paajarvi (Sweden) could also play themselves into contention with a strong run between now and then.

One thing that is certain: there is plenty of time between now and the Olympics, and a lot is bound to happen in the meanwhile.

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With tedious regularity, Patrick Marleau scores two goals. Of course it’s not tedious at all, it’s a beautiful thing. Someone should write a song about it.

He scores two goals in Alberta,
And two in the next game.
He scores two goals before he scores two goals,
And then…*

Well, we’re not to game five yet.  But he’s already done something that hasn’t been done in nearly 100 years:

@SharksStats: “Patrick Marleau 2nd player in NHL history to begin a season with 4 multi-goal games (Cy Denneny, 1917-18 Ottawa Senators). #Elias”

They say variety is the spice of life.  Maybe that’s why Todd McLellan decided to put Greiss in net, try Scott Gomez out on the fourth line, and move Andrew Desjardins to the wing.  I mean, he had to do something to help Sharks fans tell the difference between games.  Yes, yes, there’s a need to try the new guy and with back to backs obviously the Sharks would put the backup against the Avalanche instead of the Canucks.  You don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, but in a compressed season, obviously better to get everyone going as soon as possible.

Matt Irwin’s first NHL goal put the Sharks up 4-0.  Jon Allred shared some background on that:

@Jon_Allred: “YES MATT IRWIN! Watched him do that all the time with the #WorSharks. From on top of the left face off circle is his sweet spot. #SJSharks”

I may be ignoring Joe Thornton’s goal, the third of the game, but he’s the NHL points leader and all that, so it’s hard to keep track.  At least he had the lead until Marleau took it away from him today.  Still, here’s something nice about Jumbo:

@SharksStats: With his two points today, Joe Thornton moved into 57th on the all-time list with 1,089. He passed Theoren Fleury.

It seems like Pavelski is due, even if McLellan’s stated intention is to get some points from the lower six.  It just feels out of balance with two guys on the top line getting all the glory.

I love to watch Thomas Greiss play. I like to call his style “elegant.”  It might sound like a frivolous term to use but there’s some practical value there. If a goalie keeps his back more straight than hunched over, and shoulders back instead of rolled in, he’ll be wider and taller. That means he blocks more space as well as having good posture.  Assuming he’s comfortable like that, his center of balance puts him in a better position to move quickly.  You don’t have to know anything about goaltending to know this is true. It’s just the way the human body works.  Doesn’t matter if you’re skating, dancing, or doing martial arts.

Of course, several goalies break those rules and do very well. It’s still more pleasant to watch an elegant goalie at work.  Today, Greiss got his first NHL shutout and looked good doing it.

The Avs changed goalies for the third period but it didn’t really seem like Varlamov’s fault the Sharks were up 4-0.  The Sharks didn’t score on Giguere but they did demonstrate why they scored so often on Varly. They never let up, made the Avs look like they need to check their alignment or work on their brakes.  Much was made of the fact that the Avs had a good start in the first period, despite Marleau’s early two goals.  But they only outshot the Sharks 8-7 in the first.  By the end of the game the shots were 43-24 for the Sharks.  The game never looked especially balanced, the Sharks did not back off even with the lead.

Also, the Sharks’ penalty kill got the job done.  That is a very good thing.  They seem to be getting more comfortable with an aggressive approach.

This is surreal. It’s early yet, but this is the team I knew the Sharks could be.

___________________________________________________

*Apologies to the straight-edge kids who might not know that song.

The San Jose Sharks have delighted fans with a fast start, winning seven straight to open the season before dropping a skills competition shootout decision to Nashville and a 2-1 squeaker to Anaheim. But outside of a convincing 4-1 win against Vancouver, the Sharks have yet to perform at a high level against the West’s top-tier teams.

Of San Jose’s seven wins, five have come against teams that failed to qualify for the postseason in 2012. Tonight, the Sharks will face the only team remaining that has gained a point in each of its contests – The Chicago Blackhawks.

While the Sharks boast a better goal differential than Chicago, the Blackhawks have faced a far higher quality of competition since opening the season with a decisive win over the defending Stanley Cup Champions. What makes Chicago’s 7-0-2 record even more impressive is that seven of its nine games have been played on the road, while San Jose has enjoyed home cooking for six of nine.

If the Sharks truly hope to be considered an upper echelon team, they’ll need to turn in as convincing a performance against this very good Chicago team as they did against the Canucks last weekend. Here are the keys to a San Jose victory:

Special teams

If the Sharks perfect penalty kill against Anaheim on Monday night gave them a chance to win the game, it was the flaccid power play that lost it for them. The Sharks failed to convert on six tries with the man advantage, which cost them at least a point against their division rivals. Since starting the season with power play goals in each of its first five games, San Jose has failed to register a power play goal in four straight. Not surprisingly, the Sharks didn’t win a single one of those four games in regulation. This team’s power play is its engine.

Conversely, the Sharks will need to shut down Chicago’s vaunted power play at the other end of the ice. San Jose’s perfect penalty kill has been a bright spot since stepping up big time against Vancouver last Sunday, and that trend will need to continue tonight if the Sharks hope to send the Blackhawks home without a point for the first time this season.

Scoring depth

Of the 14 forwards that have suited up for the Sharks this season, only five have registered goals. Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski have been kept off the scoreboard the past two games, which turned out to be San Jose’s first two losses of the season. In comparison, the Blackhawks have gotten goals from nine of 14 forwards. If the Sharks want to be considered an elite team and a legitimate contender when playoff time rolls around, they’ll need production from the third and fourth lines that matches the contributions Chicago counts on from its bottom six forwards.

Ryane Clowe

The only Sharks forward in the top-six without a goal, Ryane Clowe simply needs to get going. His frustration has been apparent since San Jose’s 4-1 grudge match against Vancouver, but for all his physicality and bluster, Clowe is still sporting a goose egg on the score sheet. Against an elite team and a recent playoff rival, Clowe needs to be the most effective version of himself – a big, physical, involved forward who can punish opponents on the ice and the scoreboard with equal aplomb. 

Goaltending

After a brutal 2011-12 campaign, Antti Niemi has been a consistent bright spot for the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks haven’t yet failed to register a point with their starter in net, and Niemi posted a 1.00 GAA and .958 save percentage in the singular shootout loss he suffered. Against his old squad, Niemi has posted a 5-2-1 lifetime record, including a 34-save shutout last season. He’ll need to be at the top of his game tonight against former mates Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, and Jonathan Toews, who have combined for 16 goals this season. 

Brad Stuart predicted this.

Yesterday, David Pollak published some quotes from Brad Stuart about his career and about the Sharks, what he saw while he was here the first time, and what he saw playing against San Jose later.  One of those answers might explain this mind-boggling start from Team Teal:

Pollak: “…wasn’t last year a step backward?”

Stuart: “Sometimes that can be a bit of a wake-up call and maybe that will motivate the team as a whole to not let that happen again. It all depends on how you handle it as individuals and as a team – who takes responsibility upon themselves to be better. And everybody’s got to do that.” -Working the Corners

So there you have it.  This is what the Sharks look like when they are awake.

I think there’s more to it.  I recall many times last season when Joe Thornton would throw passes to no one.  At first I thought this was a positioning issue, like he was too often in the same place or trying something new he wasn’t used to.  That doesn’t seem to be the case.  Obviously, the Sharks were having problems with their sonar:

@brodiebrazilCSN: Thornton says he’s “hearing” where Marleau is on the ice. “Sometimes as a passer you’ve got to listen”

Men are supposed to be more visual than women, so you can see how it might be a little difficult for them to adapt to a detection system that relies more on hearing than sight.  Case in point: Joe Pavelski passing the puck to a Coyote instead of shooting it or waiting for a Shark to be in position.  It’s a process.  So far we’ve seen more good than bad.

After Marleau scored his first goal of the game, my Twitter feed erupted with news that Marleau was the first player to make it to five goals this season, and  Thornton was the assists leader.  That was quickly corrected to allow for Hossa having scored his fifth earlier in the evening.  I wanted to dismiss that since it Hossa’s goal came in OT, but I knew that wasn’t fair.  Obviously the only way to fix it would be for Marleau to score another, or for Couture to get three, or Boyle or Havlat to get four more, and so on.

Martin Havlat’s goal to tie the game was wonderful, but since I was looking for the Sharks to win as many races as possible last night, I needed another goal from Marleau too.  He went out and got one.  He is such an obliging fellow.

I was so happy about the sixth that I didn’t quite register it was also the go-ahead goal.

But really, what is up with Patty?  He’s not the only Shark playing at a much improved level with an urgency we haven’t seen in a long time, but three games in a row with two goals each?  What, does he have a quota to fill?  ”Two each game, no more, no less.”  That would explain him not going for the empty-netter.  Sure, maintaining the lead in the game before padding his own stats is important too, but it’s still derned odd.

One question popped up on Twitter that made me wonder more about this:

@TheDodgerhater: Did Marleau play anywhere during the lockout?

I suggested that, having not played, perhaps Marleau did a lot of visualization during his time away from the game.  It sounds New-Agey, but what else could it be?  He couldn’t rely on his most recent game experience, that would have been disastrous.

But Marleau isn’t the only player over a certain age who jumped back in with all guns blazing.   If I recall correctly, reports about Martin Brodeur’s performance in exhibition and charity games during the lockout were not flattering.  But the season started and poof!  If I hadn’t cropped that picture the way I did, his face would be there too under GAA and Save % leader.  I don’t believe Hossa played either, he was busy recovering from a grave injury, wasn’t he?

So there goes the theory that playing during the lockout would be a good indicator of how a player would perform in these first few games.

Revel in the here and now.

There are days when I look forward to the NHL standings updates.  Yesterday was one of those:

But wait, the Sharks are tied with Ottawa? Dallas and Anaheim are up there with them?  Right, the Sharks have only played three games, try not to get too high or too low.

But the view is so nice up here!!!

It’s just three games, or, in normal season years, six.  Those are like dog years, where 1=2 instead of 7.

Double vision

The Sharks had to handle a full 2 minute 5 on 3 penalty kill last night.  That gave me flashbacks to… about two hours earlier when I watched the Flyers kill one of those.  Each team took a high-sticking double minor from one of the younger players (Tye McGinn and TJ Galiardi).  They were totally accidental but, since the subsequent minor penalties were necessarily taken by penalty-killers, they were hair-raising minutes in both cases.

The Flyers killed theirs off, the Sharks fell short by 12 seconds.  There was still a lot of good to recognize there from three Sharks who got stuck with that duty: Brad Stuart, Michal Handzus and Douglas Murray.  Two of those Sharks have been out of fan favor for a while: Handzus and Murray.  I imagine some people watched that pk and thought some other Sharks could have killed it.

Horsepucky.  I’m pretty sure the Flyers needed some help from the post to kill theirs. They were faster, they cleared the puck, chased Rangers around their own zone…

So, maybe that particular three-man unit isn’t ideal for the Sharks.  Nonetheless, those three guys made me glad they are on San Jose’s team.  I don’t even think….At least I hope, I hope they didn’t get hurt.

Signed this week: Mike Knuble, Scott Gomez.  I’ll assume no team was ever talking to both.  I’m glad Knuble found a team, Gomez made a very good impression on Sharks fans from the broadcasting booth.

In any case, both teams had nailbiting 5 on 3 penalties to kill yesterday and they both signed veterans this week.  The Flyers need Knuble more right now than the Sharks need Gomaez.  Must be the cold weather out there making players breakable, ‘cuz Flyers are breaking left and right.   How bad is it? Days ago, there was this:

‏@flyers_faithful: Hey, @fakecoatesy, can you confirm that Leighton just asked the Flyers to waive him?

Hey, a guy has to look out for his health.  Briere started injured.  Now Hartnell broke his foot,  Meszaros was wearing a sling after leaving yesterday’s game early.  They have recalled Lilja from the AHL.

Just four games in.

So cheer, Sharks fans, cheer while you can.  Cautionary tales are unfolding across the league, these early days are treacherous.

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http://blogs.mercurynews.com/sharks/2013/01/24/brad-stuart-looks-back-on-his-time-away-from-san-jose-and-what-he-sees-here-now-that-hes-back/

http://www.csnbayarea.com/blog/kevin-kurz/coyotes-sharks-glance

Joe Thornton said: “It’s a good feeling spoiling ceremonies like opening night, so we have to make sure it doesn’t happen to us tonight.”  -CSN Bay Area

:O Jumbo! What a mean thing to say.

Editor’s note: Man, there sure are a lot of oddly erotic pictures of Draco Malfoy out there on the interwebz. Seriously, conduct a Google image search of Draco Malfoy. It gets weird. Fast.

During Hockey Night in Canada’s marquee matchup between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, CBC play-by-play announcer Joe Bowen referred to pesky Boston forward Brad Marchand as “the Bruins’ Draco Malfoy.”

As a Harry Potter enthusiast and general nerd, I enjoyed the comparison (though I’m not sure I agree entirely), and got to thinking – which of the NHL’s hockey personalities would join Draco Marchand in Slytherin House? Feel free to weigh in if I’ve omitted anyone.

Kevin Bieksa – The Vancouver defenseman possesses all the traits of a typical Slytherin. He’s talented. He’s mean-spirited. He plays with an edge, but you’d never see him go toe-to-toe with a legitimate tough guy. In the 2011 Western Conference Finals, for example, Bieksa willingly dropped the gloves with Sharks forward Patrick Marleau – a man not exactly known for his pugilism. One series later, he was nowhere to be found when the big bad Bruins were running his Canucks out of Boston.

Corey Perry – Supremely talented, incredibly cheap and nasty, and never seems to get his comeuppance for it. Perry is undoubtedly the Draco of SoCal.

Steve Ott – Anyone who needs Ott’s presence on this list explained probably hasn’t watched much hockey over the past decade. The ultimate shift disturber, Ott’s mouth is as brave as his fists are shy. A general douche.

Tuomo Ruutu – Ruutu, though very talented, plays the game with a reckless abandon that’s landed him in hot water with the league offices on more than one occasion. Known for delivering hard, dangerous hits, Ruutu is the type of guy any general manager would snap up in a heartbeat. But he’s still kind of a dick.

Daniel Carcillo – From his goonish hair and toothless grin, to the devastatingly dirty hits he delivers on an annual basis, Carcillo is quintessential Slytherin material. There were few hockey fans that sympathized with Carcillo when he suffered a season ending injury while apparently attempting to murder Tom Gilbert. He was suspended for the hit AND blew out his knee.

Jordin Tootoo – Similar to Carcillo in his approach to punishing opponents, Tootoo will often defend his actions with fists. But he’s also been known to sucker punch Stephane Robidas in the face for no apparent reason.

Matt Cooke – Cooke’s career-altering hit on Boston’s Marc Savard prompted NHL officials to rewrite the rule book on what constitutes a legal body check. He appears to be on the road to reform, but has done enough in his career to warrant a spot in Hogwarts’ most hated house. Maybe he’s in store for a Snape-style redemption as his career tails off, but the jury is still out.

Steve Downie – He’s calmed down as his career has progressed, but Downie managed to rack up a mega suspension before he’d even suited up for a regular season NHL game. His preseason hit on Dean McAmmond was as scary an incident as you’ll see in hockey, and that reputation has followed Downie from Philadelphia, to Tampa Bay, and now Colorado.

Raffi Torres – If Brad Marchand is Draco Malfoy, Raffi Torres is Voldemort. He hits hard, he hits late, he hits to hurt, and generally does all of those things illegally. Despite numerous instances and multiple suspensions, Raffi just can’t seem to play the game hard and safe – which might make it reasonable to assume that Torres is just a mean and dangerous player. I’m betting it would take the Sorting Hat 1/100 of a second to stick Raffi in Slytherin, and I don’t even want to think about the Quidditch suspensions he’d rack up.

Michel Therrien – Banning low-five celebrations by his players after victory? Really? What a dick. If you don’t like low fives, go teach potions. Slytherin!

Honorable mention: Milan Lucic – Milan falls just short of a spot in Slytherin, despite running over Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller and then pretending it was an accident. Lucic is undeniably tough, but is prone to some less-than-honorable on-ice antics that are enough to make you question his maturity, if not his character. Plus, he just really has that Slytherin look. But since he’s tough enough to go tangle with the league’s best, and typically won’t take on an opponent below his weight class, we’ll give Lucic a pass. But with that giant beak and menacing eyebrows, he’s at least got to be part of the Durmstrang envoy.

In case you were wondering, Pierre McGuire would totally be in Hufflepuff. Sure, he’s still technically a wizard, but nobody takes him seriously. And yes, Barry Melrose is of course a squib. 

This past week in the NHL Toronto took focus for many fans but it was not about the Maple Leafs and their play. Instead it was focused on the question of if the General Toronto Area (GTA) could support a second NHL team. The question arose once again after the City of Markham, about a 30 minutes north of Toronto, voted in favour of funding a new arena that could house another NHL team. It was the first step in creating a new large arena just outside of one of the biggest markets in the NHL. When the arena was first proposed the idea was never to get an NHL team but that attitude has quickly changed as the project takes steps toward being finished. In the city council meeting to determine if the city would fund the arena many of the people in favour of the funding would take about another NHL team in the area. One main voice in favour of the arena project was Paul Kelly, the former NHLPA executive director who would bring up the fact that the arena could bring an NHL team to the GTA. The Kelly would bring up something that Gary Bettman had said to him when he was the head of the NHLPA. Bettman had apparently said that he was willing to expand the NHL to 32 teams and with an expansion, Kelly said, it may come down to a city with a facility. The expansion debate would immediately begin along with the numerous rumours of relocation resurfacing. The expansion debate centres around who could take the teams if there were two new teams. Seattle has regularly been rumoured to be on the path to owning a franchise after a Seattle-based group announced a plan to build an arena. The plan consisted of attracting the NBA to come back to Seattle, which is about to happen. With a new arena on its way Seattle may be the place to go for a western expansion team. Meanwhile Markham is another step towards getting a franchise if the arena is built and Quebec City who has plans to build their own arena to entice the NHL back to their city. All of these cities are possibilities to hold a new team or an existing team, say the Phoenix Coyotes. There are issues with all of these cities though as none are a real slam dunk. In Seattle the excitement of getting an NBA franchise back may dull any hope of an NHL franchise. Seattle has some tradition with hockey as the Seattle Thunderbirds have played as a part of the WHL since 1971. Will they support a major NHL franchise in Seattle where hockey is not the biggest ticket especially with the NBA back in town? In Markham the challenge will be simply if the area can support two teams. It is hard to support two teams that close with only New York able to do so, and they are double the population of the GTA. Another issue would be the fact that the GTA has very loyal Leafs fans that would be hard pressed to turn to a new team no matter what situation the Leafs are in. That is all besides the point that the Leafs are the largest franchise in the NHL and would likely have a major input if the NHL would look into putting a team in their area. Then there is Quebec City who much like Winnipeg lost a team due to the financial climate of the times. They have wanted a team back for a while but it does not have the same passion as Winnipeg had. The city will need that kind of support with such a small market if they want to survive. As the conversation about expansion continues there are plenty of options for the NHL although repairing the struggling teams should be the first priority before creating two new teams.

Overtime:
(Thoughts on the past week in the NHL)

Luongo Continues to Roll
The Vancouver Canucks has started the season shopping around their star goalie Roberto Luongo but now the trade seems to be on hold as he has been playing well and seems to be taking over the starting role although it could be a ploy to further a trade

One RFA Down
PK Subban finally got his deal done this week as he rejoins the Montreal Canadiens after sitting out for a better deal but he did not get that better deal as he remained with a short contract and will have to tone his personality down under new coach Michelle Therrien

Challenger for the Top Team
The Blackhawks have been the team that has lit the NHL on fire in this shortened season but a mostly forgotten team on the west coast is keeping up as the San Jose Sharks have gone undefeated as the only undefeated team left in the league

Three Quick starters
With only a few weeks of the season done three players have stood out to be named the three stars of the month as Craig Anderson, Patrick Marleau, and Thomas Vanek have all had a great start to the season

NHL Standings

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (10)
2. New York Islanders (9)
3. New Jersey Devils (9)
4. New York Rangers (8)
5. Philadelphia Flyers (6)
Northeast Division:
1. Boston Bruins (13)
2. Ottawa Senators (11)
3. Montreal Canadiens (10)
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (8)
5. Buffalo Sabres (7)
Southeast Division:
1. Tampa Bay Lightning (12)
2. Winnipeg Jets (7)
3. Carolina Hurricanes (6)
4. Washington Capitals (5)
5. Florida Panthers (4)

Western Conference
Central Division:
1. Chicago Blackhawks (16)
2. St. Louis Blues (12)
3. Detroit Red Wings (9)
4. Nashville Predators (9)
5. Columbus Blue Jackets (7)
Northwest Division:
1. Vancouver Canucks (10)
2. Edmonton Oilers (9)
3. Minnesota Wild (9)
4. Colorado Avalanche (8)
5. Calgary Flames (4)
Pacific Division:
1. San Jose Sharks (15)
2. Anaheim Ducks (11)
3. Phoenix Coyotes (8)
4. Dallas Stars (7)
5. Los Angeles Kings (6)

Scores:
Chicago Blackhawks 2 – 1 Detroit Red Wings (OT)
- It is a constant battle between both teams for the Central division and this year the battle has taken a different turn although that didn’t stop the game from being a good one where the Blackhawks came out on top to remain undefeated

New York Rangers 2 – 1 Philadelphia Flyers
- The old Atlantic rivalry was back but this time the look of the Rangers and the Flyers is not the same as it has been with both teams at the bottom of the division rather than on the top as the Rangers won the game and look to move up the standings with little time left

San Jose Sharks 3 – 2 Edmonton Oilers (SO)
- The Sharks have been the forgotten team this year being out on the West coast but they have been playing some of the best hockey so far this season and even though they took it to the edge against the Oilers they still remained undefeated

Vancouver Canucks 2 – 1 Chicago Blackhawks (SO)
- It is one of the best modern rivalries in the NHL and close games continued this week as the Canucks would push the Blackhawks to the edge as they would hand them one of their only two losses on the season in a shootout

Next Week:
New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils (Tuesday February 5^th; 7:00 pm EST)
- The Hudson River Rivalry is back and this year both teams are playing different roles from only a year ago as the Devils look to get back to the top of the division while the Rangers are trying to get away from the bottom as both teams are seeing the effects of this short season

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens (Wednesday February 6^th; 7:30 pm EST)
- It is a very big rivalry and for the first time this year it will take to the ice as the Bruins take on the Canadiens in another Northeast division matchup as the Bruins look to keep their hold of the division while the Canadiens are looking to make up some ground

New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders (Thursday February 7^th; 7:00 pm EST)
- The battle of New York is yet another big rivalry game this week as the Rangers look to try to get back on track with a few weeks under their belt as they try to catch up to their city rival in the Atlantic Division

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens (Saturday February 9^th; 7:00 pm EST)
- This rivalry opened the season for both teams this year with the Leafs taking the first shot but the Canadiens are a better team now and will have PK Subban back in the lineup as they look to get by the wildly inconsistent Maple Leafs

Only one week into the shortened 2013 season, we have already witnessed several exciting headlines in the NHL. Whether it’s the performance of some of the league’s “Ageless Wonders” or some quick starts by high flying rookies, we take a look at 10 surprises so far this season from a Fantasy Hockey perspective.

1) Andrei Markov

After missing the better part of the last 2 seasons to knee injuries, the Canadiens were not sure of whether or not Markov would be able to regain his old form. Now only three games into the season, and Markov is already looking like his old self. Although his skating and mobility may never be what it once was, the former All-Star has displayed exactly why he was once considered one of the top D-men in entire league. He’s calm with the puck, has a great first pass, a rocket of a shot, and understands how to compensate on defense even with his decreased speed due to three knee surgeries. Markov leads all NHL defensemen with 3 Power Play Goals in only 3 games. He has also propelled the Canadiens Power Play to 8th overall in the league. While he may not be getting any younger, there is definitely no doubting his importance to the Montreal Canadiens. With Markov in the lineup, the Habs are a completely different team. Now all he has to do is remain healthy.

2) Patrick Marleau

Patrick Mearleau being amongst the league’s top scorers is hardly a surprise. After all, he has scored 30 or more goals in 6 of his last 7 seasons. However, the pace he is scoring at this season is unheard of. Although he will likely come back down to earth, Marleau has already helped push Fantasy owners to the top of their standings with his early start. If he simply continues at around a point per game pace the rest of the way, he will finish with over 50 points in 48 games.

3) Vladimir Tarasenko

Rookie sensation Vladimir Tarasenko has started his NHL career in 5th gear. The former first round pick came out blazing in his first game of the season with two highlight reel goals vs the Detroit Red Wings. He currently leads all rookies with 4 goals through 4 games and is already a leading candidate for the Calder Trophy.

4) Steve Sullivan

Steve Sullivan showing up on this list is definitely a big surprise. The 38 year old signed with Phoenix in the off season after putting up 48 points in 79 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. So far the 5-8 forward has been a perfect replacement for veteran Ray Whitney, who signed with Dallas in the off season. Sullivan has 5 points in his last two games including a hat trick. If he can continue scoring for the Yotes he will surely make it easier for the fans to forget about Whitney.

5) Cory Conacher

If Cory Conacher is still available in your fantasy league, then please pick him up immediately! I recently wrote an article highlighting 5 reasons the Lightning will be an improved team in 2013, and Conacher was on that list. Last year’s AHL MVP has had an amazing start to his rookie season with 7 points in 4 games. He’s currently the leading scorer of all rookies in the league, and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. The diminutive forward is logging top flight minutes playing along side Steven Stamkos and Marty St.Louis at both even strength and on the Power Play. He’s a good fit on the team’s top line, and as long as he continues to produce he should remain there all season long.

6) Kyle Turris

2007 third overall pick Kyle Turris has taken quite a while to develop at the NHL level. However, after being dealt out of Phoenix last season, the 6-1 Center seems to have found a home centering Ottawa’s second line. After putting up 29points in only 49 games with the Senators last season, Turris has started off the year on a hot streak. He leads the Senators with 4 goals and 5 points in his first 4 games. While we don’t expect him to continue scoring at a goal per game pace, it is nice to see him finally find his offensive touch in the NHL. If he can continue to produce solid offensive numbers in Ottawa as a 2nd line center, then he could be someone to target for your Fantasy team. If you need help at Center, odds are he wasn’t drafted in your league and he may be worth a look.

7) Nazem Kadri

Leafs nation has been patiently waiting for the day where Nazem Kadri started to produce at the NHL level. Well, that day may have finally come. While it’s still early to say for certain that Kadri will remain and everyday NHLer, he certainly has helped his cause with an ultra hot start. The 22 year old has 5 points in his first 4 games this season, and has displayed the offensive skills that had him drafted 7th overall in 2009. If the 6-0 forward continues to put up points and create offense in the NHL, we can see him being a mainstay in the top 6 for years to come. It may be too early to add him to your fantasy teams, but he’s definitely someone to keep on your scout list.

8) Raphael Diaz

Swiss Defensemen Raphael Diaz has enjoyed a fine start to the 2013 season. With Habs star D-man PK Subban sitting out over a contract dispute, Diaz has been given an opportunity to step in to the Canadiens top Power Play unit. The 27 year old has not disappointed racking up a team high 5 assists in the first three games. He seems to have found a home along side Andrei Markov at the point, and all signs point to him remaining in that role even if Subban does sign soon. In a league where offensive defensemen are hard to find, Diaz would be a great pickup as a number 4 fantasy dman. If he’s out there in your leagues, he should be added.

9) Patrick Kane

Seeing Patrick Kane on this list may come as a big surprise to everyone, however it’s important to keep in mind that the young star only finished with 66 points in 82 games last season. While that may sound like a good season for most players, it was considered a down year after Kane had 4 straight 70+ point seasons (including 88 in 2009-10). Kane has started off the season on an absolute tear, leading his Hawks to a 5-0 start. He is looking every bit like the Kane we remember with 9 points through the first 5 games. If he keeps this pace up he will surely be amongst the league’s top scorers at the end of the season.

10) Michael Grabner

Over the past few seasons Michael Grabner has become a frustrating player for both the Islanders coaches and fantasy owners alike. After being claimed off waivers in 2010 by the Islanders, the speedy winger had a breakout season scoring 34 goals and finishing with 52 points. He followed that up with a big step back in 2011-2012 after only accumulating 32 points in 78 games played. Now through the first week of the season Grabner seems to have regained his scoring touch with 5 points in the first 4 games. He’s leading the Islanders in scoring and although it’s very early, he’s on pace to have an outstanding season. There’s a good chance that Grabner went undrafted in your Fantasy Leagues this year, so if he’s available he’s worth a flier.

Santino currently works as a QMJHL Prospects writer for DobberSports.com. He is also covering the Montreal Canadiens & Fantasy Hockey for AllHabs.net. Santino will be covering Fantasy Hockey for THW. Follow him on twitter @SantinoFasulo

FIRST STAR – CRAIG ANDERSON, G, OTTAWA SENATORS

• Anderson finished the month with a 5-0-1 record, ranking first in the League in save percentage (.967) and second in both goals-against average (0.99) and wins. Anderson has allowed one goal or fewer in five of his six starts and posted his 20th career shutout in a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers on January 21.

SECOND STAR – PATRICK MARLEAU, LW, SAN JOSE SHARKS

• Marleau led the NHL with nine goals and ranked second with 14 points as the Sharks completed a perfect 7-0-0 January. Marleau also leds all skaters with five power-play goals and three game-winners. He also became the second player in NHL history – and first since Ottawa’s Cy Denneny in 1917-18 – to record four consecutive multi-goal games to begin a season, and became the first player in Sharks history to find the back of the net in each of the team’s first five games of a season.

THIRD STAR – THOMAS VANEK, LW, BUFFALO SABRES

• Vanek led all skaters with 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in six contests, buoyed by a pair of five-point games. He opened the season with two goals and three assists in a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on January 20 and closed the month with his eighth career hat trick and two assists in a 7-4 win against the Boston Bruins on January 31. Vanek is the first NHL player to score five or more points twice in his team’s first seven games of a season since Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux in 1992-93. Vanek also is the first Sabre with at least two five-point games in one season since 1992-93, when Pat LaFontaine had six such outings and Alexander Mogilny had three.

The Nashville Predators (2-2-3, 9th in the West) will be taking on the undefeated San Jose Sharks (7-0, 1st in the West) Saturday night in San Jose in the sixth game of a grueling seven game road trip.

On Thursday night, the Predators broke through with their first shootout victory of the season, after losing their previous three attempts in shootouts, with a 2-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings.

The Sharks have been red-hot to start the truncated 2013 NHL season, winning all of their first seven games of the young season, good for top spot in the Western conference.

This is the first meeting between these two teams this season.

Players to watch: Sharks

Patrick Marleau is having a fantastic start to the 2013 season with 9 goals and 14 points already in the young season. Joe Thornton also has 11 assists on the season.

Player to watch: Preds

Brandon Yip got an early goal against the Kings on Thursday night, it will be interesting to see if he can get on the board again.

Pekka Rinne bounced back in a huge way against the Kings, hopefully the Predators’ goal tending will continue to be strong against the Sharks.

Keys to victory

• Keep up – The Sharks do not have trouble scoring goals; the Predators do. Trotz will focus on stopping the Sharks, or at least slowing them down, but in order to win, the Predators will have to score 3+ goals.
• Great goalie play – San Jose will get their shots against Nashville, and the Predators need their goalie to be on constant alert.
• Stay out of the penalty box – The Sharks can score on any team 5-5, so don’t give them 5-4 or 5-3 opportunities.

Standings at a glance

Five game forecast

Feb 2 @ San Jose
Feb 5 @ St. Louis
Feb 7 vs Los Angeles
Feb 9 @ Minnesota
Feb 10 vs Chicago

Verdict

San Jose wins with a late goal to ice it, 4-2. The Predators need superior defense combined with a solid offensive outing to take down the Sharks. I have no doubt that it can happen, I just am not sure that it will. The Sharks are playing as well as anyone right now.

With this shortened NHL season, one thing is for certain: there is going to be some interesting and surprising story lines for the year. Who could have predicted that the Blackhawks would get strong enough net minding from Corey Crawford to get them to a 6-0-1 start on the season? Or that the Ottawa Senators success last season was no fluke? Or maybe even the fact that the New Jersey Devils, who everyone counted out this season after they lost Parise, are undefeated in regulation? It’s possible to go on for a while here, but lets get to the real story line. There have been some players that have started the 2013 season incredibly well, and we’re here to shine the light on those players. Let’s take a look at the Top 5 Beauties worthy of the #BeautyStatus in January 2013.

5. Nail Yakupov (RW) – Mr. Clutch – Edmonton Oilers

The rookie Yakupov has come up with a couple HUGE goals for the Edmonton Oilers, and I don’t think that many predicted that he would have this sort of impact with the club. The Oilers, now 4-2-0, have a pair of wins thanks large in part to goals from the hot dog N64. Hey, if you’re scoring goals like that in the clutch, do a head stand on the ice for all I care. Nail makes fans forget all about the whole ‘Russian Syndrome’ bit. Yakupov scored the huge goal against the Kings to tie the game and send it to overtime with only seconds left, and then pulled the ‘Fleury-esque’ celebration, and then a few nights ago potted an almost identical goal against the Phoenix Coyotes in overtime. Fans of the Oilers have had to put up with some embarrassing products over the years, so it’s only fair for them to get a little excited. Yakupov is 5th in team scoring with 4 goals in 6 games played. If he can keep this performance up, he’ll be in the running for the Calder Trophy, but it’s not going to be easy.

4. Andrei Markov (D) – Band-Aid Turned Sniper – Montreal Canadiens

8 points in only 6 games played coming from the man who is notorious for missing NHL games due to injury? The guy has more games lost to injury than he does games played with the Montreal Canadiens, but I would say that Habs fans are getting ready to forgive the blue-line sniper. Markov has been a stud for the Montreal Canadiens with 4 goals and 4 assists in just 6 games played, and is a big reason for the Habs 4-2-0 start to the season. He stepped up in the absence of the Canadiens PK Subban, and was a real bright light for the team. Markov is logging an average of 24+ minutes a game and already has 3 game winning goals, which ties him with Patrick Marleau for the league lead (that is crazy from a defensemen). If Markov can stay healthy, you’d better believe Habs fans will be continuing that annoying chant.

3. Vladimir Tarasenko (RW) – The New Calder Candidate in Town – St. Louis Blues

Ok. I promise I don’t have a bias towards Russian NHLers; I really have no reason to. Fact of the matter is, in his first month of NHL action, Tarasenko has been everything that the St. Louis Blues hoped he would be and more. It’s crazy to think that there were 15 players selected before Tarasenko in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft – but this was a player who was said to have somewhat of a poor attitude, and a player who may have carried the ‘Russian Syndrome’ around with him. Welp, as long as Tarasenko is putting the puck in the net the way he has in his first month of play, I’m sure the Blues organization isn’t making a peep. Tarasenko has 9 points in 7 games (5G, 4A) with the Blues, who are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now. What is impressive about all of this? Tarasenko is only averaging 15 minutes on the ice a night. Imagine what this kid will do with 5 more minutes on the ice every night? It’s nice that a team who plays with such defensive tendencies can have a player with this kind of offensive upside. After a recent NHL.com poll, Vladimir Tarasenko was the front-runner for the 2013 Calder Trophy, and why not?

2. Craig Anderson (G) – Making Skeptics Believers in the Nations Capital… and Across the League – Ottawa Senators

An… American? Well, I’m certainly not going to say Alexander Ovechkin. Craig Anderson has kept up his great play in between the pipes for the Ottawa Senators, and he has now proven that he deserves to be a starter in the NHL. Disagree? Take a hike. The Ottawa Senators can thank Anderson a bunch for their 5-1-1 start, which sees them atop the entire Eastern Conference. Anderson was stellar in a game against the Penguins where the team would go on to lose in shootout – and he has been each time he’s put on the pads for the Sens in January. The team is playing great right now with a goal differential of +11, and it can be argued that a big reason for that is because the Sens are confident in their goaltender. Aside from Karlsson, it’s not like the Sens have the most solid blue line in the NHL. Anderson is first among goaltenders in wins, save percentage (.967) and goals against average (.99) – (ahhhh, yeah, you can’t count Chad Johnson for the Phoenix Coyotes with his GAA of .98 #BeginnersLuck). Andy already has a shutout for the Sens, and if he keeps this play up, fantasy hockey pool nerds will rejoice, and the Sens will be gearing up for a nice little playoff run.

1. Patrick Marleau (LW) – What’s 2 to the power of 4? – San Jose Sharks

That’s right, is there any surprise here? Patrick Marleau has had an absolutely fantastic start out of the gate for the San Jose Sharks, who are the only undefeated team left in the NHL, with a ridiculous point total of 14 in just 6 games played. In Marleau’s first 4 games of the season, he scored 2 goals a game. He has slowed down, a little bit, but that was only to be expected. Marleau’s 9 goals leads the league, and this is a player who’s got his team feeling quite confident. At 33 years of age, it would have been tough to predict that Marleau would be off to this kind of start, but everyone likes surprises, especially those who gambled on Marleau in their hockey pools. Wouldn’t it be fun to see someone like Marleau, who NOBODY would have bet money in, win the Hart Trophy? Hey, it is possible. Could this finally be the year that the Sharks come off a hot regular season and keep up their strong play in the post-season? Hmm… that’s a debate for another day. Nonetheless – Marleau is the Top Beauty of January 2013 for his crazy point totals.

Honorable Mentions: Martin St. Louis (RW) – Tampa Bay Lightning, Thomas Vanek (LW) – Buffalo Sabres, Nazem Kadri (C) / Matt Frattin (RW) – Toronto Maple Leafs

Good: Sharks had a great game and win. (explained more later)

Bad: Marleau’s “goal per game” streak has ended.

Last night there was a huge battle. On one hand was a team that wanted to get their 6th win in a row and unbeaten. On the other hand was a team who wanted to beat us and destroy the streak. San Jose was taking the lead 1-0 in the 1st with a by Pavelski (3rd goal) assisted by Thornton (11 assists) and Marleau (5 asst.). But the Ducks conquered the 2nd period as they took the lead 2-1. In the third with seconds on the clock and LOGAN COUTURE SCORES! What a comeback! That brought us to OT. But no one did anything OT! Shootout it is. That made San Jose’s 1st OT game and SO game! In the shootout, nobody scored until Handzus (1st goal) scores the 1st after that, it was up to Niemi to save 2 shots (unless the next SJS shooter scores without having ANH score before them). When the ducks tried to tie up the game, Niemi saves the Puck! Later, Sharks come up to shoot but missed the shot that would end it all. But now Niemi had to block the biggest shot of this game against Selanne. He Shoots…HE SAVES! THE SHARKS WIN IT! The only unfortunate part of that game was Marleau ending his G per G streak. Congrats San Jose on your beautiful winning streak!

By Jared Ramsden

Who’s Hot

Boston Bruins: The 2010-11 Stanley Cup Champions look to be right back where they were a couple of seasons ago. Through six games, the Bruins have yet to lose a game in regulation (5-0-1). Goaltender Tuukka Rask has quickly made Bruin fans forget about Tim Thomas with a sparkling goals against of 1.74 and a save percentage of .932. The return of Nathan Horton from a concussion and the addition of hot-shot rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton adds to already potent and deep line-up featuring the likes of Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins will no doubt be a force to be reckoned with this season.

Tampa Bay Lightning: After a disappointing 2011-12 season, the Lightning have gotten off to a blistering 5-1 start to the year. Goaltending was a major issue for the Bolts last year, which is why GM Steve Yzerman made it a priority to upgrade the position. 6’6 behemoth and former Nashville Predator back-up Anders Lindback was acquired last summer and so far, the move looks to have paid off as Lindback has won four of his first five starts with his new team. He hasn’t had to be perfect though because the Lightning currently lead the league with 29 goals through their first six games. The usual cast of suspects (Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier) are the leading the way, but they have also received early contributions from pint-sized rookie Cory Conacher, who has scored nine points (3 G and 6 A) while playing alongside Stamkos and St. Louis. It will be interesting to see if they can keep up their torrid pace

San Jose Sharks: Everyone’s favorite under-achievers, the Sharks have busted out of the gates by winning their first six games of the season (6-0) and have the best goals-for and goals-against differential at +16. San Jose has been buoyed by the play of their electric first line consisting of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Marleau in-particular has led the way with a ridiculous nine goals and five assists through the Sharks first six games of the season. He set a new record with four straight multi-goal games to start the season (eight goals in four games). The Sharks haven’t had their top scoring blue-liner Brett Burns in the line-up either, which makes their start all-the-more scary. This team has always had the talent to win it all. The question is, can they keep at up come playoff time?

Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks, like the Sharks have also won their first six games of the sesaon, thanks in part to the goaltending of Corey Crawford. Crawford has a very uneven sophomore season last year, but looks to be back to the form he showed as a rookie in 2010-11. He’s won all five of his starts while putting up a 1.78 goals against and .933 save percentage. The Blackhawks were a strong team last season, but shaky goaltending was ultimately their downfall. Crawford’s play in the early going is showing people just how dangerous Chicago can be with good goaltending. Marian Hossa’s return to full-health following a concussion, combined with a star-studded line-up that includes captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp means the Hawks should have no problem scoring goals too. The Central Divison will be tough as usual, but the Hawks should be neck-and-neck with the St.Louis Blues to take home the division crown.

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For a guy who so clearly would rather avoid attention, negative or positive, Patrick Marleau sure has managed to generate a lot of press. Some of it has to do with being the longest tenured member and former captain of a powerhouse San Jose Sharks team that hasn’t managed to win the Stanley Cup, despite that being the annual expectation. Some of it has to do with rumors of a rocky relationship with former coach Ron Wilson. Some of it has to do with the fact that he’s a remarkable hockey player who holds just about every significant record in the history of the Sharks franchise. But most of it is due to Jeremy Roenick’s gigantic and incessantly flapping mouth.

Roenick’s on-camera rants criticizing Marleau’s playoff efforts went the hockey version of viral back in 2011, and the storyline has been rehashed many times since across a variety of mediums. A chapter in Roenick’s recently released autobiography was dedicated to his issues with Marleau as a teammate. Roenick’s analysis of his former teammate seemed to carry weight because, well, they were former teammates. Marleau’s detractors jumped at the chance to use a potential Hall of Famer’s critiques against the much maligned Marleau as “proof.” The San Jose Sharks family, including broadcasters Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda, captain Joe Thornton, and a number of other teammates came to Marleau’s defense, as did former divisional opponents Marty Turco and Mike Modano, and ex-GM Craig Button.

But in a perfectly illustrated example of why politicians pay so much to produce attack ads during campaign season, the voice that shouted loudest was heard by the most. Does Jeremy Roenick have credibility? Of course he does. He’s competed at the highest levels of hockey the world has to offer. He has represented his country in a gold medal Olympic game. He’s been to the Stanley Cup finals. He played for storied franchises in Chicago and Philadelphia, and experienced hockey in non-traditional markets like Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Jose. He was Patrick Marleau’s teammate for two years. He scored over 500 NHL goals and well over 1,000 NHL points. He’s a legend. He’s also a noted and self-admitted ham.

This is a man who thrives off attention and controversy. Is he trying to stir the pot when he periodically shits on Marleau’s parade? Probably not. He has an agenda. He doesn’t like Marleau. But people who crave attention seek it even when they’re not actively attempting to create it, and Roenick’s incredibly public digs at Marleau are a direct result.

But, as Pierre LeBrun of ESPN pointed out, the facts don’t support the criticism. Marleau is, once again, smack dab in the middle of the spotlight that he’d just as soon shun as a result of an off-the-charts start to this little bastard midget baby of a season. He became the first player since World War I to start a season with four straight multi-goal games. He disappointed the hockey world by scoring just once in game five, to give him a grand total of nine goals in the season’s first five games. Nine. Toss in four assists for good measure, and Marleau is scoring at a pace that would come just two points shy of matching Wayne Gretzky’s greatest season over 82 games. So naturally, he’s turning a few heads.

But rather than simply lauding his extraordinary play, Marleau’s hot start is unavoidably being looked at within the context of Roenick’s rants. It’s too bad, but it’s also reality. It also presents an opportunity for the hockey world to ask an important question – was the criticism ever really warranted? Let’s look at the facts:

• As of January 29, 2013, Patrick Marleau has scored 396 career goals and 843 points. If he plays just 300 more NHL games scoring at his career average pace, he’ll retire with over 500 goals and close to 1,100 points.
• Patrick Marleau has scored more playoff goals than any active player besides first ballot Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr.
• Patrick Marleau is 15^th all-time in game-winning playoff goals. In NHL history. He is one of three active players in the top-15. Players just above him include Guy Lafleur, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, and Joe Nieuwendyk, all four of whom are in the Hall of Fame.
• Patrick Marleau is 24^th all-time in game-winning regular season goals. In NHL history. He is one of just four active players in the top-25. Players just above him include Ron Francis, Mike Bossy, Glen Anderson, and Joe Sakic, all four of whom are in the Hall of Fame.
• Patrick Marleau has won an Olympic Gold Medal.
• Patrick Marleau has scored three playoff hat tricks.
• Patrick Marleau scored nine goals and 13 points over nine games in back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The entire remainder of the San Jose roster scored 11 goals over the same span, and the Sharks were the only team in the NHL to reach the league’s final four in both of those seasons.
• Patrick Marleau has scored at least 30 goals and registered 30 assists in six of the last seven seasons prior to the current campaign. He has played at least 74 games every season since he broke into the league at age 18, and would have been the youngest player in NHL history to ever reach the 1,000 game plateau if not for the lockout-cancelled 2004-05 season. Funny that a player accused of inconsistent effort could put up numbers that paint such a picture of consistency.

So why does anyone care what Jeremy Roenick have to say? Why is it common practice to accept opinion and disregard fact, when the opposite value has been instilled in just about all of us since the first day of school? The reality is, Patrick Marleau is one hell of a hockey player, playing a major role for one of the most consistently excellent teams in the NHL over the past decade. If he manages to finish his career with a Stanley Cup, the Hall of Fame might very well come calling. Even if it doesn’t, he’d still have something that Jeremy Roenick never will.

With Marleau scoring goals at a record pace to start the lockout-shortened season and Thornton at his playmaking best, the Sharks have won their first five games to get off to the best start in franchise history.

The fast start comes nine months after an early finish last season when the Sharks got eliminated in five games in the opening round of the playoffs by the St. Louis Blues. The step back after two straight trips to the Western Conference finals raised questions about whether a club led by 33-year-olds in Thornton and Marleau had missed its opportunity to win a Stanley Cup.

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“Every year you have to earn respect,” Thornton said Monday. “It’s not given to you. We’ve had good years in the past. Obviously, people might be doubting us a little but this year just because people say, ’You guys are getting old, you’re 33, Joe and Patty.’ We still have lots left in the tank. We still feel like we’re one of the elites in the West. We just have to prove it each and every night right now.”

They have done that so far, winning their first five games in commanding fashion to top the previous best start for the franchise in 2008-09. San Jose has outscored the opposition by 15 goals and is the third team in NHL history to win its first five games by at least two goals.

The Sharks have the top line of Thornton, Marleau and Joe Pavelski to thank for the early success.

To have that familiarity to start a short season after a short training camp, obviously it’s given us an edge early on

Marleau became the first player in nearly a century to score at least two goals in the first four games, joining Ottawa’s Cy Denneny in 1917-18 as the only NHL players ever to achieve that feat. Marleau added a ninth goal in Sunday night’s 4-1 win over Vancouver, even though the record streak came to an end.

“It’s something that was fun,” Marleau said. “It was helping the team. It was kind of special. The pucks are bouncing right at the right time and going off me. It was fun.”

Marleau has gotten off to the fast start despite not playing any games during the four-month lockout in contrast to Thornton and Pavelski, who went to Europe.

Instead, Marleau skated with teammates in San Jose and went to camps on Phoenix and Colorado to play with other NHL players where he put more time into working on skills like stickhandling and shooting than he normally can during a season.

But still, he expected it to take time to get back up to game speed, but that wasn’t the case after the one-week training camp.

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

“I thought it might take me a little bit,” he said. “But obviously playing with two guys who had been playing overseas, that helped me out a lot out there.”

With nine goals and four assists, Marleau is tied with Thornton (three goals, 10 assists) for the NHL scoring lead and has single-handedly outscored San Jose’s opponents.

Marleau is the first player in 20 years to score at least two goals in four straight games at any point in the season and the only Sharks player ever to accomplish the feat.

“You want to keep feeding him because he’s so hot,” Thornton said. “It just seems like he was always around the goal and the blue paint. That’s where he’s scoring a lot of his goals. For it to keep going in like it has, I haven’t seen anything like it. It’s real fun to watch.”

Thornton has seen plenty of Marleau over the years. The two have been linemates for much of the time since Thornton arrived in San Jose in the 2005-06 season in a trade from Boston.

They also played together on Canada’s gold-medal winning team at the 2010 Olympics and coach Todd McLellan made a conscious decision to keep them together with Pavelski to start the season in hopes the chemistry would pay off in a season with a shortened training camp because of the lockout.

It sure has with Pavelski also off to a fast start with two goals and eight assists. Eight of the 14 goals for the trip have come on the power play, where the Sharks are converting a league-best 37.5% of their chances.

“We’ve played together for how many years now off and on again,” Marleau said. “To have that familiarity to start a short season after a short training camp, obviously it’s given us an edge early on. I think we can still build and get better as a line, but things are going really well right now.”

Crawford has a .933 save percentage through five starts as the Blackhawks have jumped out to a franchise-record 6-0-0 record. The week culminated in a 29-save performance Sunday night as the Blackhawks held off the Red Wings with a 2-1 overtime victory at the United Center.

San Jose Sharks left-winger Patrick Marleau was named first star, while Tampa Bay Lighting right-winger Martin St. Louis was named third star. Marleau already has nine goals and 13 points through five games as the Sharks have a 5-0 record. St. Louis has eight assists and 11 points as the Lightning have jumped out to a 4-1 start.