Fasten Your Seatbelts

Sharks-Red Wings. It might get loud.

You just know this series has to ratchet up. The Sharks need 3 more wins, after grabbing Game 1 on the strength of an awesome first-period offensive flurry. They scored 3 goals in 79 seconds and never let the Wings catch up.

But more importantly: the Sharks matched Detroit in the crankiness department. Joe Thornton's refreshing snow shower gave Wings goalie Jimmy Howard a facefull of fun early in the game, and Jumbo Joe played his most energetic game of the 2010 playoffs. His dive onto Evgeni Nabokov's lap in the final seconds to help secure a scary rebound put an exclamation point on the night.

But Teal People, don't relax. Detroit is still a big, deep, talented, proud bunch. Their confidence borders on arrogance, but it's honestly-earned. San Jose will need to outwork, outhustle, and outthink Detroit to win the series, just as it should be. They may well also have to rebound from something weird: a bad bounce, a weak penalty call, an injury. That, too, is as it should be.

It's on. It's definitely on.