The Sharks got away with one last night.
Team Teal was outplayed from start to finish by the Coyotes last night but a hat-trick by Joe Pavelski allowed them to walk away with two points that they didn't deserve.
Arizona exacted possession dominance early in the first period and never looked back. Even when the Sharks were mounting their comeback they were still being out-possessed – which is normally when the roles reverse.
Individually, only the Sharks top line – surprise, surprise – was above 50% CF%. The remainder of the team struggled to get anything going while they were on the ice and if it wasn’t for three goals by Pavelski the Sharks would have been sitting in 7th instead of 5th.
It definitely wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take it. Two points are two points – just don’t use the film for anything other than firewood.
Thoughts
Mirco Mueller had a tough night. A bad turnover on the Arcobello goal and the night didn’t get much better. He was hemmed in the defensive zone and finished with a 33% CF%.
Barclay Goodrow’s goal was a beautiful shot. Mike Smith clearly didn't fully respect Goodrow’s shooting option too much – but then again, he’s shown nothing to make people concerned. Hopefully that’s a shot he’s willing to take on a regular basis; it won’t go in all the time but the willingness to shoot is a value in depth players.
Joe Pavelski is now three goals back of Rick Nash for the goal scoring lead. I said a few weeks ago that if Nash or Ovechkin slip up then Pavelski could be taking home the Rocket Richard Trophy. That’s a legitimate claim; Pavelski has been consistent all season long and is currently on pace for 43 goals, which would exceed the 41 he scored last year. The announcer on the Coyotes feed said the empty-net goal was “lucky… because of where, and how, he scored it. I disagree. This is a 40 goal scorer – he knows exactly where the net is. That goal and the deflection aren’t going to win any play of the year awards but they count.
After last night’s three assist outing, Joe Thornton is now averaging 0.94PPG this year. That’s his highest total since 2009-2010 when he had 89 points in 79 games. Not bad for a guy everyone wanted run out of town. Thornton is still an elite center in the National Hockey League.
The win was Todd McLellan’s 300th career victory in the NHL. There’s no doubt his win percentage is a pretty sight, but it doesn't change the fact that this team needs a new coach when the puck drops for 2015-2016.
Where They Stand
San Jose is now 5th in the West – which matters little at this point – and are 2nd in the Pacific – which is what really matters.
Right now the Sharks would have home ice-advantage in a series against the Vancouver Canucks. That is absolutely how they want the seeding to pan out in April. I don’t think the Flames are a great hockey team – that’s well documented – but I also don’t ignore the success they've had over San Jose and how the Sharks just can’t figure out how to beat that lesser quality team. The Flames have their number, so I’d much prefer they draw the Predators and have Nashville discard them in the first round.
Minnesota is 7-1-2 in their last ten while LA and Dallas have won three straight. Only six points separate the 5th place Sharks from the 11th place Dallas Stars. There is no breathing room right now – for anyone in the Western race. A string of losses and you could fall dramatically with how the outside teams are playing right now.
The Sharks next five won’t be easy. They’re at home to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday before traveling to Nashville and Dallas for a pair of away games then returning home for a date with Kings and Red Wings. San Jose needs to figure out how to come out of the gate with some intensity and play sixty minutes if they want to escape this stretch still in a playoff position.
Thanks for reading.
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