Well that was fun, wasn't it? That whole separate-the-Joe’s experiment?
When the going got tough last night and the Sharks were searching for more offense, head coach Todd McLellan went back to what’s been proven to work: Pavelski/Thornton and Marleau/Couture. Too little, too late Todd.
Shift Chart:
Let’s hope that wild trial is complete now and we can go back to watching San Jose play strong possession hockey – because last night should be the icing on the cake. I can’t take away Calgary’s position in the standings, their heart or effort or the exceptional talent of some of their players, but I can accurately point out they are one of the worst possession teams in hockey – and the Sharks just got out-possessed by them thanks to misuse of personnel.
The game was ugly right from the start so I’m not going to revisit the entire disaster. I do want to spread some blame around on the shorthanded goal Calgary scored in the first period, though, because I think people have been too hard on Brent Burns for it.
I’m not keeping Burns out of the criticism, though, because it wasn't the ideal attempt at a zone exit given the circumstances – there was lots of space across the ice to skate it out or make an eastern play – but there are two other players that could have changed the way that sequence of events played out.
The first player I’m giving some of Burns’ blame to is Joe Pavelski. If Pavelski handles that pass better – because he had a chance to – then things turn out differently and Burns isn’t savagely blamed on Twitter. He probably wasn’t expecting Burns to use him in the zone exit considering the coverage that was on that wing, but that’s not the point. Be ready for any play.
The second is Patrick Marleau. This is the downfall to not having two defenders on the powerplay. When the puck is in the defensive zone you don’t get the same quality of guard. When that pass left Burns’ stick Marleau was shifting gears and heading out of the zone – anticipating that the Flames weren't about to blow up the play and get a scoring chance. Had Marleau just waited for the puck to be out of the Sharks zone - or at least confirmed Pavelski had possession - he would have been in position to bust up the Flames short-handed scoring chance.
All three players – Burns, Pavelski and Marleau – could have done things differently that would have avoided that goal. Pinning the entire blame on #88 is not right – besides, there are enough things to call out Brent Burns on.
I will commend the Sharks defense on keeping the shots well under 30 – even if it didn’t matter it was still a valiant effort for a result they haven’t recently been able to do consistently.
As noted above, McLellan had juggled his lines by the end of the game. Here’s how they started.
12-19-83 68-39-8 25-48-81 89-15-57
And here’s how they finished.
68-19-8 12-39-57 89-15-83 81-48-25
There’s comfort in 19/8 – 12/39 and McLellan knows it. All roads lead back to it so why deviate from the path in the first place? This issue with this club isn't chemistry between the majority of the top six.
And those top two defensive pairs need to return to their normal state as well.
Your Move Doug
What do you want to be? A playoff team capable of contending in the West? Or a team that may, or may not, get into the playoffs and get bounced early again? Make up your mind because this team is the latter right now.
That third defensive pairing of who gets dressed the fastest between Tennyson, Hannan and Irwin isn’t working – not to mention forward depth issues. The Sharks need to fill some holes and the trade deadline isn’t getting any farther away. I’m a fan of making “deadline deals… prior to the actual deadline because it gives the team more games to build the necessary chemistry to be as successful as possible.
The Sharks are 5-4-1 in the last ten – surely nothing to panic about, and that’s not what this is – but they have obvious flaws that continue to go unaddressed within the makeup of this team. Make a phone call and acquire someone, put some feelers out, or at least indicate you’re trying to do something to improve this club.
At this point I’d even take a Craig MacTavish everything-is-fine press conference because at least then the fans would know you have – at the bare minimum – a pulse.
The Sharks are back in action Monday against the Devils at the SAP Center.
Thanks for reading.