If I'm a San Jose Sharks fan, I am feeling pretty good about my team right now. Following an eye-opening shellacking from Tampa, the Sharks responded with two very solid victories.
San Jose is hiding its offensive deficiencies with suffocating defense. (Logan Couture is the only Shark with double-digits in points). After blanking Vancouver 5-0, the Sharks shut down Los Angeles long enough for Joel Ward to do what he does best - score timely goals. Two of his three goals this season are game winners.
The Sharks are on quite a roll having won six of their last seven games and finally the rest of the league is taking notice. Most NHL power rankings show SJ making a noticeable jump up. I've seen them ranked as high as second in one poll.
That said, the Sharks rank near the bottom of the league with 2.69 goals per game and they will they must find some type of offensive upgrade to or run the risk of losing relevancy out West. So far the lack of fire power hasn't hurt because the defense has only surrended 36 goals to date. That's tops in the NHL.
San Jose does not play a pretty brand of hockey. It's actually fairly boring, but it works. Hockey is not a beauty contest. You do not have to score five goals a game to be successful. All ypu have to do is score one more than the other guys. Over the last nine games only Tampa Bay scored more than two goals against the stingy Sharks. Two points is two points regardless of how you get there.
Tonight they host the Florida Panthers (6-9-2). The Cats are looking for back-to-backs wins for the first time since the opening week of the season. Florida may have a shot tonight. Thry have been a thorn in the Sharks gills lately, winning eight of the last 12 meetings between the two clubs and they have a little extra motivation tonightt. Former assistant coach Bob Boughner is facing his former team for the first time. An assistant under Head coach Pete Deboer the last two seasons, Boughner was hired as Panthers head coach last off season.
A win tonight would push San Jose's point total to 22. They would move ahead of Vegas for second place in the Pacific Division and two points behind the LA Kings with a game in hand.
Thanks for reading, Steve