King me!

If you didn't watch the matchup against the Queens...I mean Kings on Thursday night, you need to watch tonight's game to see the second act.

Last week we saw multiple Gordie Howe Tricks and I'm calling one of those a Clowe Trick.  Ryane Clowe, whether you love him or hate him, brought his game and fought for the win. Literally.  He had 2 fights, a goal, an assist, and broke up a play from the bench.  He'll be a huge target tonight.

What tonight means:
1). We find out who the Sharks play in the first round.  It will be either Vancouver, St. Louis, or Chicago (Yikes!).  I can't tell you who I would rather play.  I might say Chicago, because their goaltending is the weakest and Captain Serious (Toews) hasn't played, yet.

2). We find out if the Sharks truly are ready for the playoffs.  The last game they looked terrible in the first half.  The guys on CSNCA were talking about how they were in the penalty box too much and couldn't get a rhythm going, but they were a few steps behind a hungrier team, but they did prevail in the end and stole the win in the shootout.

Here's what to look for tonight:
1). Big Hits!

2). Fights!

3). Not nearly as much scoring.  10 goals was a lot to ask for and I don't imagine that replaying itself out.

4). Clowe will back himself up and maybe we'll see some more feistiness from the Sharks like Thornton again.  Loved seeing him go at it with Doughty.  Neither are fighters, but it was just cool to see them go at it for once.

I expect the lineup to stay the same, with the minor change of someone filling in for Mitchell tonight.