Shark Disaster

After last night's embarrasing loss to the Flames, the Sharks are starting to hear the "choke" label being applied by everyone who covers the team. Looking at these columns, they look almost identical to ones written about the Senators before they went on a Cup run in 07. Mark Purdy of the Mercury News is turning as red as Bruce Garrioch at the sight of Ray Emery:

"On a Sunday night that will live in franchise infamy, the Sharks repeated their familiar and lousy act of playoffs past. They wasted away their excellence. Again. They didn't respond well to a physical challenge. Again. ...

This is the classic behavior of our beloved Los Tiburones. It has been their behavior for the past four years. They raise Stanley Cup hopes by looking dynamic and great for a while. Then some adversity hits them and they go down in, yes, Flames."

Evgeni Nabokov also ripped into his team:

"It takes men to play this sport, not a bunch of boys," the Sharks goalie said Sunday night. "And we looked like a bunch of boys out there and they looked like a bunch of men. Now we have to turn it around and respond."

The Flames beat writers are not shying away from plunging in the knife either:

"The Sharks had the Calgary Flames, near helpless, by the short-and-curlies Sunday night, and didn't have the sense to squeeze.

When in desperation the Flames pushed, hard, often harder than the bounds the law or etiquette allow, the Sharks didn't push back.

They simply wilted. "

Here's the Cory Sarich hit on Patrick Marleau that seemed to spark the comeback (courtesy of Illegal Curve. ) Vicious.