I hate the loser point in the NHL.

I don't believe in points for trying.

I don't believe a good effort is good enough.

I don't believe a professional sports league should try to con it's fans into believing their team is better than it really is by fuzzy feel good loser points.

There is a right way to do things.

I don't believe a complicated "every game is worth three points system."
3 for a regulation win.
2 for an overtime or shoot out victory leaving the loser point with the losing team.

I have two problems with this idea.

Why is my overtime win worth less than a regulation win?
Why is the loser point still in the mix?

For two Sharks fans that had their first official date at The Tank (one being a Charter Season Ticket Holder from the Cow Palace days), what could be more appropriate than having a Sharks themed wedding? That was us, Karen & Ken Ruppel.

Allow us to take you through that truly magical day…

It was a beautiful October day (10/10). While the family was busy decorating the backyard of the Father of the Groom’s house, the hairdresser, the Daughter of the Groom, was busily styling the Bride’s hair. She created a beautiful ‘up-do’, while placing a gorgeous tiara made of TEAL Swarovski crystals shaped into flowers. The Groom was getting ready and the Pastor, the Bride’s Son, was meeting with the happy couple for a quick review and prayer.

The San Jose Sharks outstanding Media Relations Department is required to prepare game notes before every Sharks home contest. The print and electronic media covering the game that night use this packet of statistics and player biographies to enhance their articles or their broadcasts.

As a rule the game notes are pretty much run of the mill. But that’s not the case with the Sharks game notes. They include a little something called “Fin Facts”. Fin Facts are the things you just didn’t know about the Sharks players and probably can’t find anywhere else. Here are my favorite Fin Facts from the current notes.

Thomas Greiss “An avid cyclist, he went of a mountain biking tour through Germany last summer.”

Antti Niemi “Believes he looks like Matt Damon.”

Jason Demers “Would be Schmidt from the TV show “New Girl” if he could be any character on TV”

Joe Pavelski “Grows a red beard even though he has brown hair.”

Martin Havlat “Thoroughly enjoyed Maroon 5’s song Payphone when it came out last summer.”

Patrick Marleau “His favorite Avenger is Iron Man, but he does not own an Iron Man suit. He also has an immense respect for The Hulk.”

With only four laps to go in the regular season race, it’s a fight to the finish for positioning with no pit stop windows open for all 30 teams in the NHL. It’s been interesting to hear the perspectives of the players and coaches as the intensity ratchets up, the margins for error get thinner, and everything comes together for the men in Teal.

Case in point number one involves the search for more offense and what needs to be improved. During our KFOX/Sharks Radio Network broadcast from Dallas, associate coach Larry Robinson said, “I personally think we can get better in our D-zone coverage when we don’t have the puck.

Offensively, I think that’s going to come, getting to the net more and that kind of stuff, but going into the playoffs, I think it’s not so much about what you do offensively, it’s more about what you do defensively, and no better example than last year, when you had two of the top defensive teams in the League going at it in the Finals, so that’s the point that we want to get to.”

It was interesting to hear that, because the Sharks have been doing a good job in defensive areas for much of the season, and have gone through stretches where they couldn’t score goals. Yet in the past few games, Robinson’s mantra of continuously focusing on improving the defensive game has brought many benefits in the other area of the ice.