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Big two points. The Sharks now sit in 6th in the West. Here’s ten thoughts on the game.
1. Goals From Stale Sources: Brenden Dillon scored his first goal since February 27th 2014 and Tomas Hertl scored his first goal after an 11-game drought of finding the twine. The Sharks won this game with depth scoring – because the regular offensive guns weren’t firing – minus Pavelski on the powerplay.
2. Chemistry: Stop putting Pavelski with Couture – or for anyone other than Thornton for that matter. I thought we went over this in the last post, Todd. Pavelski+Thornton = magic. Make the magic happen and stop messing up the chemistry on this team.
3. Patrick Marleau: I suggested a few days ago that maybe Patty needs some time on the third line. That feeling grows stronger with each game Pavelski is away from Thornton out of sheer anger. This isn't just a little slump – this is a offensive crisis of biblical proportions. He’ll get out of his slump, that much I’m sure, but there’s no point in destroying the rest of the offence to accommodate him without results. The team still needs to play at the highest level possible, shelter him with good possession players on the third line. He has to sort himself out.
4. Shots Against: It was under 30, although it doesn’t get any closer than 29. The Sharks are playing with fire when they float around the 30 shot mark. Niemi is what he is: a goalie who will save regular pucks on an average level. He doesn’t get better the more he sees, he stays the same.
5. Line Combinations: Stop it. Stop your insane shuffling.
6. The Burns/Vlasic Pair: I don’t really get why this is being done. Burns was logging big minutes without being on Vlasic’s line and he’s still growing as a defender. It makes me nervous having him out against top opposition. Burns/Vlasic CF% - 55.6%. Vlasic/Braun CF% - 52.3%. Dillon/Braun CF% - 49.7%. Burns/Dillon CF% - 55.5%. The optimal pairs – based on possession and anxiety – are Burns/Dillon and Vlasic/Braun. The difference between 88/44 and 4/88 is 0.1% and it comes at the expense of the second pair dropping below 50% CF.
7. Devan Dubnyk Knocking The Net Off: The Sharks won the game anyway so it became a moot point, but it was still greasy. Not one, not two, but three pushes on the post to get it off the net before the puck went in. Rule 25.2, Devan. Rule 25.2. The ref’s blew the call in my opinion, but in the end it didn’t matter.
8. Hannan/Irwin: This pair should be banned in all states, provinces and territories. It’s a painful tandem to watch and I cringe when they come over the boards.
9. A Functional Fourth Line: What a great sight – a fourth line that wasn’t a train wreck. We’ve seen it before, though, but for some reason the Sharks always revert to a lesser quality fourth line when all bodies are available. I like Desjardins, and he’s been good in the dot, but he just can’t carry possession very well. It was good to see Kennedy back in the lineup – the guy is great at shot attempt differential. 75%CF for the night for #81.
10. Sheltering: Who received the least amount of offensive zone starts? The third line and the third pairing. Lucky for the Sharks Sheppard was able to win 50% of his draws. Those lines need a little more TLC when it comes to zone starts. Every other player on the team was 50% or greater – the opportunities were there. I realize you’re looking for matchups and such but there is good reason to keep Hannan/Irwin away from their own end as much as possible.
San Jose is back in action on Thursday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs to kick off a seven game home stand where they can gain some ground in the Western Conference.
Thanks for reading.