The regular season is finally here, but in true Sharks fashion (as of lately) it didn't arrive without some drama.
Peter DeBoer waited until almost the final moments to officially name Pavelski captain and Raffi Torres decided he was still Raffi Torres and received a 41 game suspension for a stupid play. The Sharks reactions to the Torres suspension were a little disheartening as the sympathy train came out for a serial offender, but I digress...it's game time!
Opening Night Storylines
1. Martin Jones
It's pretty easy to assume this is a huge game for Martin Jones, and it's completely understandable if he's got the jitters tonight. Not only is it his first real game in teal, but it's against his former team - who obviously didn't plan on him playing goal for the San Jose Sharks when they dealt him to Boston.
If Jones has a rough night I think everyone can forgive him knowing what he's got on the table and the fact that the Sharks are running a brand new system. This is his only game he'll get forgiveness from me, but I still expect a solid night.
2. The new line combinations.
#SJSharks expected lineup for #SJSvsLAK pic.twitter.com/2f8pNmbujx
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) October 7, 2015Those are your expected line as per the Sharks twitter account. Donskoi and Ward are the new top-six additions and Tomas Hertl is down the middle, as expected by the pre-season games, to start the year.
If Hertl can play well at center then the Sharks could be set down the middle with 3C-capable Chris Tierney running the fourth line.
On defense, newcomer Paul Martin is paired with Brent Burns - also as expected - and I think that's the line I'm most interested in watching. Martin is going to allow Burns to do so much more than Burns' linemates last year could. With Vlasic babysitting Braun the Sharks have a fantastic top-four in Martin-Burns pans out.
3. What does Peter DeBoer's San Jose Sharks system look in real time?
Everyone got a taste of DeBoer in the pre-season, but that was without the full, actual opening night lineup. This is the first real display we'll see of DeBoer's work since being hired and running the players through practices.
What will the powerplay and penalty kills look like? The PP was 6th best in the league last season, but the penalty kill was a forgettable rank of 25th overall. This team should be able to crack the top-6 PP again. If they don't then I'll be pretty disappointed in how that special teams unit is run.
It shouldn't be hard to bump up the penalty kill from last season, given how awful it was, but I'm interested in seeing which players will see the ice for the man down. Will it be players who can actually play? What's DeBoer's angle? So many questions.
It should be a great game tonight as both teams are looking to prove early on in the season that they belong in the playoff conversation. That and they absolutely hate each other.
Real hockey is back!