Owen Nolan out

[Pam]

Last night CO told me I could do a Sharks post. TY, CO.  

I'm sure all of you know Owen Nolan has a bad back. Most of the time he will play with it hurting him. The only time he sits out is if it's really bad.

Monday night during the Sharks/Oilers game in SJ, Nolan left the game after only 7 min 17 seconds and never returned. We found out about his back after the game. On Tuesday, the Sharks traveled to Detroit for last night's game with the Wings. Nolan stayed behind in San Jose to see the Doctor. The update we got on Tuesday was that Nolan would be in Detroit to play, but then the update yesterday said he would remain in SJ and would miss the Detroit and Columbus game. At this point they think with the 5 days rest he will be able to rejoin the Sharks in Montreal for the game with the Habs, but there is the chance he won't be in the game against the Habs on Sunday. Hopefully he can be, but his back is more important than playing these games right now. I have back problems. They aren't fun, so this rest is for the best.

[Pam]

I'm not going to give a play by play description of last night's Sharks/Wings game. I couldn't if I wanted to. I'm not good at that kind of thing.

Last night, I had Period 3 of the Habs game on the Internet, the Sharks/Wings on ESPN with the sound down, and the Sharks/Wings game Radio broadcast turned on with our commentators to hear the game. Believe it or not, between the TV, Radio and the Internet I was able to keep track of both the Habs and Sharks.

Usually Nabby starts in net when the Sharks play the Wings, especially in Detroit. I was very surprised that Kipper was in net for the game. I believe the Sharks have only won 2 games in Detroit since the franchise began. When the Sharks played in Detroit in December, Nabby was in net and the Sharks lost. Last night Kipper was in net and the game ended in a tie after OT. I was very pleased with Kipper's performance. Sure the win would have been better, but to have Kipper keep the game at a tie was very good.

In recent weeks, the Sharks have had 3 defensemen injured. First Marcus Ragnarsson with a broken finger. They didn't bring anyone up that time, but his presence on the ice has been missed.

Next came Shawn Heins during the Sharks/Islanders game in San Jose. Shawn Heins' injury occurred during a fight with Jim Cummins in the second period. The potent punch came when Cummins was able to pull Heins' jersey above his head and throw punches with Heins defenseless to see the oncoming hits. They brought up Bancroft from the Barons after Shawn's jaw was broken.

Then last night, Mike Rathjie was injured during Period 1 of the game with the Wings. They are expecting to recall Jeff Jillson to replace Mike. Jillson is the Rookie who filled in the beginning of the season while Rathjie was unsigned. Jillson is the only defenseman on the Sharks with a right-handed shot, so he helped them alot during the first part of the season.

So....the Sharks and Habs game on Sunday may be a different team than I've seen all season so far. If Owen is still out and the addition of Bancroft and Jillson, we may not get the game I would like between the Habs and Sharks. Too bad all this had to happen. It definitely weakens the Sharks. Still, I'm hoping for a close and exciting game, with the Sharks winning of course.  ;D

A word on Miikka Kipprusoff. I'm a big fan of Kipper's. I feel he is being wasted as a backup goalie because I really feel he has the potential of being a great starter. If he stays in SJ that will never happen with Nabby here. I would hate to see Kipper gone but I feel it would be best if Kipper was traded to a good team that needs a good starting goalie so he'll get the chance he deserves. IMO, it is a shame to waste a good starting goalie as a backup goalie.

[habmeister]

Sorry pam but this is great news!!  This means that Joe Thornton has a spot on the team.  What a laughing stock team canada would be if the leading scorer in the league was neglected to be brought along with us on the way to gold.  We've all been waiting for someone to go down, i was hoping it was the psychotic fleury, but i'll take thornton over nolan.  

[Pam]

habaroni said:

Sorry pam but this is great news!!  This means that Joe Thornton has a spot on the team.  What a laughing stock team canada would be if the leading scorer in the league was neglected to be brought along with us on the way to gold.  We've all been waiting for someone to go down, i was hoping it was the psychotic fleury, but i'll take thornton over nolan.  <br>

Sorry to ruin your day, but the reason they are resting Owen so long is so that he won't miss either the All Star game or the Olympics.

[habmeister]

Alright you had me believing you there pam.  But you can't honestly tell me that a team is resting their player for the ALL STAR game!!!   ;D


That would be one of the worst moves in sports history.  What kind of injury does he have??  I just want thornton on that team at all costs!!!!!!!!!

[Pam]

Nolan has had a back problem for a long time. He has to sit out everyone once in a while with it. He plays with it hurting but if it gets too bad then he has to take a rest.

The Sharks organization is really pumped that Owen is in the All Star game AND the Olympics, so they are happy to rest him so he can participate in both of them. It's a really big deal to the Sharks that they have 3 starters in the All Star game and that one of them is also in the Olympics. They are still a young (in length of fanchise) team, so this is pretty big for them. I may not agree with it but I do understand it. I wouldn't want him to miss the Olympics, but I'd be okay with him sitting out the All Star break.

habaroni said:

Alright you had me believing you there pam.  But you can't honestly tell me that a team is resting their player for the ALL STAR game!!!   ;D


That would be one of the worst moves in sports history.  What kind of injury does he have??  I just want thornton on that team at all costs!!!!!!!!!