Friday's Baker's Dozen - 12/23/2011
Friday, 12.23.2011 / 1:03 PM
By Jamie Baker - Sharks Radio, Color Commentator / The Daily Chomp
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Time for my weekly Baker’s Dozen.
- Win the first battle, be a good defensive team, be strong 5-on-5 and your winning percentage will benefit. These rankings for the Sharks are in the following order; NHL, Western Conference, Pacific Division:
Winning Percentage: .629 (9th, 6th, 1st)
5-on-5 GF/GA differential: 1.50 (T3rd, T2nd, 1st)
Goal Against per game: 2.42 (9th, 6th, 1st)
Face-off Percentage: 54.0 (2nd, 1st, 1st)
#WinThePacificAndGuaranteeTopThreeSeed - NHL coaches all have a ton of pressure and are expected to win. 'Tout le monde est dans le meme bateau' is French for 'Everyone is in the same boat', except if you coach in Montreal because the fans, apparently, expect the HC to also speak multiple languages.
#WouldTheFansBeOkayIfCunnyworthSpokeSwedishAndFrenchButNotEnglish? - When it comes to special teams, at a minimum, you would like the PP and PK percentages to add up to 100%. Consider that the break-even mark. Currently 16 teams have a combined PP+PK percentage over 100. Here are the top five and bottom five in the NHL:
1. Vancouver 112.4
2. Boston 107.2
3. Pittsburgh 106.3
4. New Jersey 105.9
5. Edmonton 104.0
26. Toronto 94.8
27. San Jose 94.1
28. St. Louis 91.8
29. Carolina 91.6
30. Columbus 89.7
#It'sNotASecretSharksNeedToImproveSpecialTeams - Guy Boucher, after his team lost 7-2 to the Sharks. “We always think that when your leader (Marty St. Louis) is coming back its going to help your team but one guy is not going to make much a difference when you (have) got everybody so soft. That’s probably the best team we’ve seen this year.”
#DidHeSayTheSharksWereTheBestTeamHeHasSeenThisYear? - Captain Joe Thornton after the Lightning game speaking about the Sharks special teams: “Our special teams overall has to get better. Lately, it’s been getting better, but it’s a work in progress. But tonight, hopefully, we made a good step in the right direction.”
#CorrectamundoJumbo - Mike Modano had an interesting tweet this week: "We had more 100 point seasons for players when there was clutching and grabbing."
#AndLessPlayersOutWithConcussions - As we know, Brendan Shanahan has been telling players who are naughty and who are nice all season long. This isn’t new for Shanny though, because he’s been doling out constructive criticism for years, as this video proves.
#HoHoHo,It’sSheriffShanny - Twitter quote of the week, Christmas edition from @PrayInFaith: "God only gives three answers to prayer; 1. 'Yes!' 2. 'Not yet.' 3. 'I have something better in mind’.”
#Trust - Worcester Sharks head coach Roy Sommer is a big part of the Sharks organization because he has brought stability, leadership and is a great teacher to the Sharks minor league affiliate. Sommer is coaching in his 14th season (1998 - present), is 4th all-time in AHL wins. As of a week ago he coached 1,062 games and had 488 wins.
#InItToTeachAndDevelopWithoutLookingForTheSpotlight - If you are a hockey player, at any level, and have asked Santa for better hands or a better shot, I have some disappointing news for you: not gonna happen. I tried every year for many, many years.
#SantaDidBringMyTwoFrontTeethThough - Sneaky smart Santa gave me a pair of huge green hockey gloves one Christmas when I was a kid. Problem was, I played for the Nepean Raiders and our team colors were red, black and white. Alas, that's where the sneaky smart Santa part comes into play. My mom said she always knew when I was on the ice, and where I was, because she could pick out the only player wearing huge green gloves.
#What,NoGoldHelmet? - Christmas cooking tip from your neighborhood Baker: good gravy is essential. Give me dry turkey, average mashed potatoes and great gravy and you have a delicious meal. Give me juicy turkey, good mashed potatoes and average gravy and you have a decent but not great meal. If you don't like gravy, do not read this.
#TooLate - Take some time in the next few days to say a prayer for all the families who lost someone very special this past year.
#Lokomotiv #Belak #Rypien #Boogaard #ManyOthers
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