Round 2 of the NHL playoffs is going just like the Sharks planned. The team is up 2-0 on Detriot.
Sunday's win was not without controversy. Critics point to a 10-4 penalty advantage for the Sharkies with accusations of the teal diving on the ice.;
Next up is two games in Motor City, a town some Sharks fans call heartbreak city. It's a town that loves hockey so much they started the tradition of throwing an octopus on the ice back in 1952. That is the year they won the Stanley Cup.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Octopus
For now the Sharks are leaning on talent and not luck. The club had a secret weapon for a while, but after a nine-goal explosion in just eight playoff games the Joe Pavelski secret is out.
"Whatever planet he's on, I think everybody wants to get on it with him," said center Joe Thornton
The last time the Sharks took a 2-0 lead in a conference series was in the 2006-2007 conference semi-finals against Edmonton—and we all remember how that turned out. The team lost four in a row and was out of the playoffs.
A new Coach, a new philosophy, and some new players sometimes changes the mojo and that is the hope for 2010.
"It's just an easygoing feeling in the room right now with a lot of confidence," said Sharks forward Ryan Clowe.
The team might want to start looking for flying octopus once they get going in Detroit. It wouldn't be the first flying fish of the series.
Sunday night at The Tank a fan threw a real, once living, shark on the ice at HP Pavilion after the first Sharks goal of the game. The team went on to win.
Who knows. If the Sharks win the series, baby sharks could be our answer to the octopus. Bay Area fish markets might want to order some.
