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Sharks down the Kings and prep for the Wild

November 9, 2011, 12:24 PM ET [ Comments]
Cam Gore
San Jose Sharks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Sharks must be feeling a load off their backs after they beat the Kings Tuesday night and didn’t squander away the two goal lead. Things don’t get any easier for them when the Wild come to town Thursday night.

This will be the return of former Sharks Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley who were dealt to the Wild this summer. These players were part of the NHL’s biggest deals which shocked many in the hockey world. Partly because Setoguchi seemed like a mainstay in San Jose and signed a new contract the day before he was traded and because nobody thought Heatley and his contract could be dealt.

Seto was his nickname in the locker room, but when he scored goals the fans at HP pavilion always chanted “Gooch.” No matter what you call him the man who wore number 16 for the Sharks for the last four years was a fan favorite. And rightfully so, he was involved in the community and became a recognizable face. He took time for the media and always gave you more than clichés in post game interviews, even when the team lost he was forthright.

Setoguchi was drafted by San Jose in 2005 and grew up here in the Bay area. Many people thought that he would be part of the future nucleus of this team for years to come. However, the business side of things often get in the way as they did in this case and Seto was packaged up for Brent Burns.

Seto is off to a good start with the Wild and is getting lots of opportunities to become the player everybody thought he would in San Jose. He is playing on the top line, getting power play time and is scoring just over a half a point a game.

I’m guessing that both players will get a warm welcome when they return but Setoguchi’s should be louder than Heatley’s.

Heatley came to town and just didn’t seem to fit in as well as everybody hoped he would. His first year the sniper that was traded from Ottawa tallied 39 goals and many thought that he had found a place with Thornton and Marleau. However, after a slow start the second year he found himself getting lots of opportunities to score on the second line with Clowe and Couture but seemed to have lost his finish. Heatley’s numbers dropped while his scoring chances didn’t. After discouraging playoff numbers the Sharks said goodbye to the maligned winger and made what people here in the Bay area think was a whopper of a trade.

San Jose extended their lead against LA Monday night and renewed the rivalry that took on new parameters after the teams met for the first time in history in the playoffs last spring. Both teams made big splashes in the off-season and those changes were made for games like Monday’s.

Everyone agrees that the LA game was the team’s best full effort from beginning to end. It is fairly early in the season, however sticking to the gme plan even when the results weren’t there has been paying off for the Sharks lately who have won seven of their last nine games.

Logan Couture is looking comfortable on the wing, but more importantly he and Joe Thornton are finding some chemistry. The move to put Patrick Marleau as the second line center makes sense. The team can take advantage Marleau’s speed and skating ability in the middle, more size at the center position is a good thing considering the size of some of the centermen in the NHL, and when you split up Thornton and Marleau opposing coaches have a tough time deciding who their top D pairing will defend.

No doubt there will be some high emotions at the Sharks game Thursday night. Once the puck drops though most players at this level just fall in line and concentrate on playing their game.

The Wild come into this game two points ahead of the Sharks giving up less than two goals a game. It should be an exciting duel between offense for the Sharks and defense for the Wild. The puck drops at 7:30 pacific time.


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Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore
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