Who said home-ice advantage was dead?
The San Jose Sharks are unloading their bag of tricks to mess with the visiting Edmonton Oilers, by getting them off their practice routine.
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For the second day in a row, the Oilers had to start their practice before Game 4 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series in the dark and without nets.
The Oilers were forced to practice in the dark, with no nets in San Jose today. pic.twitter.com/KVP5BEyUwv
— Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) April 18, 2017
According to TSN's Ryan Rishaug, the Sharks are doing this so that media can cover both the Sharks' practice at 10:30 a.m. PT and the Oilers' session at 11:30 a.m.
"The catch is, the Sharks have been starting their practices early. Joe Thornton was off by 10:15 today," Rishaug said. "While they're saying it's for the media and our benefit, the Oilers are a little frustrated — they like to start their practices early."
TSN's Darren Dreger spoke with a member of the San Jose ice crew who said he routinely turns the lights on when visiting teams want to practice early. But moving forward in the playoffs, that's a different story.
"There's a mandate here in San Jose, effective Game 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs Round 1," Dreger said. "That comes from above where this guy is told, 'You do not turn on the lights before 11:30 a.m. sharp. You do not put the nets out there.'"
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Rishaug said there were rumors in the past that former Oilers coach and general manager Glen Sather would order decaf coffee to be put in the visitors' dressing room to keep players sluggish before puck drop. Dreger added that Sather would have the training staff crank up the heat in the visitors' locker room, as well.
Does any of that really have a big impact on the game? Probably not. It's still a fun little story to follow — especially Thursday when the Sharks visit Edmonton for Game 5.
Better watch your back, San Jose.