For the first time since 2010 the San Jose Sharks will hit the ice without Joe Thornton.
The logical fix will be to put Joe Pavelski into the middle and welcome Matt Nieto back to the top line. From a possession standpoint the Sharks new top unit of Hertl-Pavelski-Nieto should be able to create enough chances to get by – but expect those chances to come at a far more difficult price without Thornton.
This will be a great game for everyone who wanted Thornton gone – they can see just how life without Thornton would look on a small sample size. The power play is going to struggle to move the puck as smoothly and the top line is going have to learn how to create more space for themselves without the slick-passing Thornton feeding them the puck all night.
Projected Lines
Hertl-Pavelski-Nieto Marleau-Couture-Wingels Goodrow-Sheppard-Karlsson Haley-Desjardins-McGinn
Vlasic-Braun Dillon-Burns Hannan-Tennyson
Niemi
Other than Thornton the team should remain the same. Expect Pavelski and Nieto to be joined at the hip all night long. Without Thornton to drive possession the Sharks need to keep Nieto and Pavelski together to try and compensate for the loss.
Niemi is in the cage – shocker – after posting a shutout against the Anaheim Ducks last Wednesday night.
Last time the Blues and Sharks met the game went into overtime with the Sharks coming out on top by a score of 3-2. If the Sharks want to repeat that outcome – a victory by any finish – they’re going to have to play a very smart game, a game of conscious plays and few mistakes as the Blues are one of the top possession teams in the league.
St. Louis is 9th in the league with a 52.5 Score-Adjusted Fenwick compared to the Sharks who sit 16th with 51.3. Both teams sit near the middle of the pack in scoring chances percentage – St. Louis with 49.4 SCF% and San Jose with 51.3 SCF%.
It’s going to be a tough game for both clubs, and an important one.
San Jose (45pts) currently sits two points back of St Louis (47pts) with identical games played – thanks to a two-game skid by the Blues – and can pass St Louis with a win thanks to head-to-head.
Winnipeg (45pts), Vancouver (45pts) and LA (46pts) are all in action today so there could be multiple shifts in the standings for the West from the fourth seed down to the eighth seed. It’s a great opportunity for the Sharks to move up to fourth – a place they only dreamt about two months ago – if they can get a win and a Kings+Canucks loss. Of course, there is a tonne of hockey left to the season but from a mental aspect that would be a great boost for this team.
Conversely, a loss would be just as damaging and if the games went the other way the Sharks could move from seventh to eighth. There are a lot of Western movement possibilities from today’s games.
Special teams will likely be the story of the game. St Louis has the 2nd ranked power play (23.7%) and the Sharks own the 5th best PP (22.9%) – so there are extremely powerful units on display, although the Sharks will be without their key cog Thornton. On the penalty kill side of things the Sharks have a bigger edge, holding the 10th best percentage at 83.9% while the Blues sit 24th with 78.5%.
Even without Thornton the Sharks should be able to take advantage of a poor penalty kill from the Blues. They will need the help if they want the win because the Sharks PK will be tested against one of the league’s best.
It should be another great game and it will be interesting to see how the team responds without their best player for the first time in nearly five years.
Thanks for reading.