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Here's a twist: For the first time in a long time, the Sharks are not going to be seen as a young team with something to prove. After giving Colorado everything it wanted in a seven-game second round playoff series, San Jose has arrived.
The Sharks lost their final two games after taking a 3-2 lead in the series against the Avalanche -- losing 1-0 in Game 7 -- and have carried that disappointment all summer. Look for the team to be quietly focused in training camp and come out with a businesslike attitude.
There are few job openings and few questions to be answered -- only the daunting task of improving their record for the seventh consecutive season. That would mean 100 standing points.
Is Miikka ready?: There are those in the Sharks organization who believe the race between established No.1 backstop Evgeni Nabokov and quiet No. 2 Miikka Kiprusoff is much closer than anyone outside the team knows. Fans might get a first hand view of that during training camp as Nabokov has not signed a new contract and Kiprusoff could get a lot of preseason playing time. In truth, the two goalies are only a year apart in age (Nabokov is 27 and Kiprusoff 26) and posted similar save percentages (Nabokov .918, Kiprusoff .915) last season. At the very least, this should heat up any goalie controversy that might have died down last season.
Still under the gun: While general manager Dean Lombardi and his staff received four-year contract extensions from the new ownership, coach Darryl Sutter was signed to a one-year deal. That hardly seems fair with everything Sutter has done for the Sharks, but it's the high cost of being an unyielding disciplinarian. Because Sutter runs a tight ship and might sometimes butt heads with a superstar like Teemu Selanne, he's always going to leave a little bit of himself hanging out in the open. Will the soft-spoken farm boy continue to handle the pressure without cracking? Or will we see the edgy part of Sutter who never believes his team's performance is good enough?
Who's right?: It's a nice problem to have, but the Sharks have a captain (Owen Nolan) who plays right wing and superstar (Selanne) who plays right wing. Nolan saw his goal production fall off last season after the acquisition of Selanne, so you can't help but wonder if he ever quietly believes he is moving around to accommodate his new teammate. With Vincent Damphousse, Patrick Marleau and Mike Ricci at center ice, both Nolan and Selanne should be able to find a spot. That said, his ice time has dipped about two minutes a game from the 21:49 he posted two seasons ago.
Preseason schedule
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DATE
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OPPONENT
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TIME (ET)
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Thu., Sept. 19
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at Los Angeles
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10:30 p.m.
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Sat., Sept. 21
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at Colorado
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9 p.m.
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Sun., Sept. 22
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at Phoenix
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10 p.m.
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Fri., Sept. 27
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at Anaheim
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10:30 p.m.
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Sat., Sept. 28
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Los Angeles
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10:30 p.m.
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Mon., Sept. 30
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vs. Vancouver at Sacramento, Calif. (ARCO Arena)
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TBA
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Wed., Oct. 2
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Colorado
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10:30 p.m.
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Sat., Oct. 5
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Anaheim
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10:30 p.m.
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Sun., Oct. 6
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at Vancouver
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10 p.m.
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