A couple random thoughts after digesting Thursday night's thrilling home opener victory by the Sharks:
*The penalty kill continues to be a concern, and the Sharks have yet to face what are considered to be the most dynamic and skilled offensive opponents in the Western Conference. In three games -all wins mind you- San Jose has allowed five power play goals in 14 total short-handed situations. The 64.3 percent success rate currently ranks 27th in the league. But there was good and bad in the Phoenix game on Thursday. The game was tied 1-1 at the end of the second period when Marty Havlat was boxed for a slash.
The Coyotes took themselves out of a power play early in the third thanks to Steve Sullivan's double minor for an interference call and then complaining about it to draw two more minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. But Joe Thornton's hook toward the end of the Sharks' man advantage again put his team short-handed, but just for 17 seconds by the time Sullivan's four minutes expired. Phoenix needed just one rush down the ice; Sullivan, who I thought was the best Coyote on the ice Thursday, took a shot Antti Niemi saved, and though Niemi and Coach Todd McLellan had an argument the goalie was interfered with just as Antoine Vermette followed up the miss, the Sharks allowed the Coyotes to get down the ice far too easily at the end of a 4-on-4 situation when it started in the deep in their zone.
Phoenix did get another power play goal earlier in the game, but the Sharks didn't go down quietly. Two high sticking penalties -one a four-minute variety- gave Phoenix a full two minutes worth 5-on-3 time. That left Niemi and the Sharks' penalty killers Douglas Murray (who overall just looks a little too slow to continue being a regular once injured Brent Burns and Jason Demers are both healthy and ready to play), Michal Handzus and Brad Stuart laboring to keep the puck out of the net. They blocked a couple shots, they were clearly exhausted and Niemi made at least two difficult saves toward the end when his teammates looked clearly gassed. But Sullivan finally beat Niemi with just 12 seconds left on the two-man advantage. If anything, McLellan should turn to that trio again in another situation. Handzus, who's been outstanding in the face-off circle, is giving his coach an interesting decision to make once Scott Gomez gets to make his Sharks' debut.
*Conversely, the Sharks' power play has been buzzing so far with seven goals in 18 tries, and the only real concern is just five players have combined for 19 total power play points:
Joe Thornton: 1 PPG, 5 PPA
Patrick Marleau: 2 PPG, 2 PPA
Logan Couture: 2 PPG, 2 PPA
Joe Pavelski: 5 PPA
Dan Boyle: 2 PPG
And as CSNCalifornia's Kevin Kurz pointed out today, those five comprise the first power play unit. The Sharks' second biggest concern going forward after improving the penalty kill percentage has to be scoring depth. The Marleau/Thornton/Pavelski top line has been wicked, while Havlat/Couture/Clowe have scored a couple key goals 5-on-5. But the Sharks especially need Havlat and Clowe to start contributing on the power play, because there's no way the quintet above is going to be this productive as frequently as it has thus far on the man advantage. Kurz also reported in the above link that Scott Gomez would likely make his Sharks' debut for Saturday's game and suggested he'll center the second power play unit with Clowe and Havlat as the wings. Brent Burns and Jason Demers should also add some scoring from the point on the PP when they return from injuries.
*It will be interesting how much legs the Sharks will have during their first back-to-back games of the season: Saturday afternoon against Colorado and Sunday night with Vancouver coming to town. Both games will be at HP Pavilion, but it will be test nonetheless.
*The penalty kill continues to be a concern, and the Sharks have yet to face what are considered to be the most dynamic and skilled offensive opponents in the Western Conference. In three games -all wins mind you- San Jose has allowed five power play goals in 14 total short-handed situations. The 64.3 percent success rate currently ranks 27th in the league. But there was good and bad in the Phoenix game on Thursday. The game was tied 1-1 at the end of the second period when Marty Havlat was boxed for a slash.
The Coyotes took themselves out of a power play early in the third thanks to Steve Sullivan's double minor for an interference call and then complaining about it to draw two more minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. But Joe Thornton's hook toward the end of the Sharks' man advantage again put his team short-handed, but just for 17 seconds by the time Sullivan's four minutes expired. Phoenix needed just one rush down the ice; Sullivan, who I thought was the best Coyote on the ice Thursday, took a shot Antti Niemi saved, and though Niemi and Coach Todd McLellan had an argument the goalie was interfered with just as Antoine Vermette followed up the miss, the Sharks allowed the Coyotes to get down the ice far too easily at the end of a 4-on-4 situation when it started in the deep in their zone.
Phoenix did get another power play goal earlier in the game, but the Sharks didn't go down quietly. Two high sticking penalties -one a four-minute variety- gave Phoenix a full two minutes worth 5-on-3 time. That left Niemi and the Sharks' penalty killers Douglas Murray (who overall just looks a little too slow to continue being a regular once injured Brent Burns and Jason Demers are both healthy and ready to play), Michal Handzus and Brad Stuart laboring to keep the puck out of the net. They blocked a couple shots, they were clearly exhausted and Niemi made at least two difficult saves toward the end when his teammates looked clearly gassed. But Sullivan finally beat Niemi with just 12 seconds left on the two-man advantage. If anything, McLellan should turn to that trio again in another situation. Handzus, who's been outstanding in the face-off circle, is giving his coach an interesting decision to make once Scott Gomez gets to make his Sharks' debut.
*Conversely, the Sharks' power play has been buzzing so far with seven goals in 18 tries, and the only real concern is just five players have combined for 19 total power play points:
Joe Thornton: 1 PPG, 5 PPA
Patrick Marleau: 2 PPG, 2 PPA
Logan Couture: 2 PPG, 2 PPA
Joe Pavelski: 5 PPA
Dan Boyle: 2 PPG
And as CSNCalifornia's Kevin Kurz pointed out today, those five comprise the first power play unit. The Sharks' second biggest concern going forward after improving the penalty kill percentage has to be scoring depth. The Marleau/Thornton/Pavelski top line has been wicked, while Havlat/Couture/Clowe have scored a couple key goals 5-on-5. But the Sharks especially need Havlat and Clowe to start contributing on the power play, because there's no way the quintet above is going to be this productive as frequently as it has thus far on the man advantage. Kurz also reported in the above link that Scott Gomez would likely make his Sharks' debut for Saturday's game and suggested he'll center the second power play unit with Clowe and Havlat as the wings. Brent Burns and Jason Demers should also add some scoring from the point on the PP when they return from injuries.
*It will be interesting how much legs the Sharks will have during their first back-to-back games of the season: Saturday afternoon against Colorado and Sunday night with Vancouver coming to town. Both games will be at HP Pavilion, but it will be test nonetheless.
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