The San Jose Sharks won three consecutive home games before traveling to Arizona only to lose another road game.Ten games in and the narrative for this season is quite different from the one in 2015-16.
The boys in teal are 6-4-0 through 10 games and in second place in the Pacific Division, three point behind the Edmonton Oilers, yes, those Edmonton Oilers.
BTW, I don't know if I want to live in a world were the Oilers are in first place...but, I digress.
The Sharks are off to a decent start but they are definitely showing some cracks in the armor.
About last night....
It wasn't a terrible road game. The Sharks threw plenty of rubber towards Coyotes goalie Louis Domingue in the 3-2 loss. Domingue stopped 39 of the 41 shots against for just his second win in seven tries. Arizona also blocked 27 other shot attempts.
Brad Richardson, Lawson Crouse and Jamie McGinn scored second period goals for the Coyotes who improved to 3-6-0 on the season. Patrick Marleau and Mikkel Boedker scored the Sharks goals.
Stat of the night....
The game marked the fifth time in 10 tries the Sharks scored two goals or less and the first time the Coyotes held an opponent to two goals or less this season.
Thoughts and opinions....
- The extra work load form the World Cup of Hockey may be having some lingering affects of the Sharks vets. With a slew of players north of 35, Pete Deboer may want to break his own rules and give the vets a few nights off this season. Let some of the younger guys that impressed in the preseason see some ice time. The NHL is a marathon, not a sprint.
- It's still early but the Sharks rank in the bottom half of the league in goals scored (25 in 10 games). A potent offense has been the Sharks calling card for several years. Last season San Jose ranked 4th in goals scored by averaging 2.89 goals per game. Compare that to the 2.5 this season and they are definitely trending in the wrong direction.
- Face-offs wins are a must for strong puck possession teams. The Sharks success is fueled by their puck possession numbers and backed by a strong face-off presence. In 2015-16, they ranked in the top ten by winning 50.7% of puck drops. That's not happening thus far in 16-17. San Jose is second-to-last in the league with a poor 46.7% win rate from the dot.
- The Sharks are 4-0 at home and just 2-4 on the road. That's the complete opposite of last season when they finished an NHL-best 28-10-3 away from the SAP Center.
It's also interesting to note that Martin Jones is 4-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .958 save percentage at home, but in his five road starts, he's a measly 1-4 with a 3.30 GAA and .883 save percentage.
Things that make you go Hmmmmm.....
- The Sharks are allowing the second fewest shots against per game at 25.7. That is down nearly two shots over last season (2nd). That's great!
- Goals against are also down to 2.40 from 2.52 last season. That's also great, but not translating in wins.
- San Jose plays 15 games in the month of November, eight road and seven at home. Games include home games against the Blackhawks, Penguins and Ducks. The play the Kings in Los Angeles on the last day of the month.
Thanks for reading, Steve