hen we last wrote about the San Jose Sharks, we were wondering where the hell captain Patrick Marleau's game went. It looks like he found it around the trade deadline (more on that below), and has been on a pretty decent stretch since then. As have the Sharks....

We're three games into the Sharks-Red Wings series, and so far it's been like watching a couple of dogs tussle in Duboce Park: it's competitive, but not exactly fun to watch. The Sharks got two quick goals in Game 1, then endured a Wings onslaught for the win, thanks to stellar goaltending from Evgeni Nabokov. In Game 2, the Sharks went for seconds, going up by two goals in the first period before going into a shell. But that second plate never is quite as good as the first, and Detroit dominated play, battled back to tie the score, and got a late goal by Pavel Datsyuk on a broken play for the win. ...

At around 3 o'clock or so on Sunday, Palo Alto gave a huge sigh of relief as the Cardinal made it into the Big Dance, being seeded 11th in the South Regional. Their first game is against the sixth seed, Louisville (23-9). No time has been set, but the game will be on Wednesday. ...