The San Jose Sharks had success against the Carolina Hurricanes in Paul Martin’s return to the lineup. Coincidence? I think not. There was supposed to be entertaining photos from a hockeybuzz user, who I won’t name. You know who you are and I’m disappointed.
Moving on to more relevant things.
A Pavelski Worth Of Thoughts
1) What the hell is wrong with the powerplay? The Sharks are ranked 26th with 12.0%. That is simply unacceptable for a team like the Sharks who can ice a damn good powerplay, with or without Couture and Martin. The coaching transition has demolished a very good powerplay early on and it needs to be fixed.
2) Brendan Dillon has been dreadful. I was a big Dillon supporter last year, even when he wasn’t playing well. That’s all out the window now, he just hasn’t played good at all. Perhaps his linemates haven’t been of the best calibre, but he has to find a way to elevate his game to be a competent third pairing defender. The grind of an 82 game season depends on it.
3) Injuries have exposed depth issues. With Martin, Donskoi and Couture being out for various games, it exploited the biggest fear: terrible depth, again. You can’t predict injuries, but you can plan for them. Clearly the rag-tag group of fill-ins for the Sharks aren’t up to the task. Doug Wilson should be working the phones to find some low-cost depth help. It’s clearly still an issue.
4) The penalty kill is still bad. San Jose sits 20th in the league in PK% at 78.6%. That’s one place higher, and 0.1% better than last year’s numbers. That’s not exactly the improvements I think Sharks fans were looking for. I know it’s early, and maybe it’s a system adjustment issue that takes a bit longer, but it’s still not reassuring. I don’t expect the Sharks to blow out every team in the league so special teams could decide games.
5) How bad is the Pacific Division? The Pacific-leading Coyotes would be in 7th place in the Central Division right now. Right now the Sharks have to get back to their season-starting winning ways to capitalize on a terrible divisional start by the rest of the group. They need to keep themselves in the divisional mix while Couture is out so when he returns they can expect to continue along, or move up.
6) Mike Brown is incapable of being part of an effective line. He’s not a good hockey player, he just isn’t. He may have the biggest heart in the world, be the nicest of fellows, but he is not a good hockey player. When his line is on the ice it’s a disaster, consistently. This ties into the depth issues and the need to find low-cost depth help. Brown needs to wear a suit during games. He’s dragging the bottom six down.
7) As much as I’m unimpressed with the special teams, I can’t say I dislike Peter DeBoer. For all of the warnings Devils fans attempted to have me heed, I’m just not seeing the youth destruction I was promised. The worst players are playing the least, young or old, and injuries have caused him some lineup issues. I don’t blame DeBoer for the roster, that’s all Douglas. For now, I’m alright with what DeBoer has been doing. What say you Sharks fans? Content with DeBoer so far?
8) Finally, Joe Thornton is fantastic. He no longer has the nonsense about McLellan/Wilson’s shenanigans hanging over his head with regards to captaincy and his leadership ability, and he looks more relaxed on the ice as a result. He simply doesn’t age on-ice. Such a smart, savvy, skilled veteran that is much too unappreciated in this league for what he does – and what he has done. I always wait for Thornton to fade, like all but he, Marleau and Hossa from the 1997 draft have done, but it never happens.
Thanks for reading.