The San Jose Sharks dropped their season and home opener to the new look Anaheim Ducks by a score of 5-2. Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane scored for San Jose, while five different Ducks filled up their scoresheet.

I'm not going to recap the game, but here's a quick synopsis...the Sharks grabbed a 2-1 lead in the second period, thanks to Tomas Hertl and his beautiful short-handed goal. San Jose seemed to be dictating most of the play and appeared poised to cruise to the win. Anaheim hung around because of John Gibson and Martin Jones was leakier than 100-year-old pipes in a harsh New England winter.

There you go. The game is nut shell.

A few thoughts from the game and moving forward.

1. Tomas Hertl is going to have a big year. He was all over the place and was in the middle of several SJ scoring chances. He looks very confident and burning Cam Fowler for that SHG only helps bolster his booming swagger. Is 30 goals possible for the blossoming star?

2. Martin Jones looked lazy and small. He wasn't his usual crisp self. He let in four goals on just 14 shots for a .714 save percentage. That is not good. This is starting to be a reoccurring theme with Jonesy. That Brandon Montour goal was brutally awful. The Adam Henrique goal wasn't any better. NOte to MJ - keep your stick on the ice. Something to keep an eye on with Aaron Dell looming on the bench.

3. Evander Kane had a decent game offensively. He scored a goal, led the team in SOG with five and took the penalty that led to Hertl's SHG and Rickard Rakells' PPG. That Rakell goal is where the tide shifted in the game. For a s good as Kane is, he does make quite a few head-scratching decisions. I wonder how many more Kane penalties will hurt San Jose this season?

4. The power play was blah. NO, blah is not strong enough. It stunk more than hot garbage in a New York alley in August. It's very much a work in progress and I know one things for sure - Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson look terrible when on the same power play unit. I expect Pete to tinker until he finds a mix that works.

5. I thought in general, Karlsson looked very good and comfortable on the ice. As for the rest of the team - there is some work to do. The older core of Jumbo and Pavelski looked another year older and slower. Thornton didn't look like he has his game legs under him yet. I thought the captain picked up where he left off last season - floating, but slower.

6. The Sharks out shot and outchanced the Ducks nearly two-to-one. It wasn't a bad showing, but it was a reminder that the term "on paper" is another useless sports metaphor that should be retired along with "backs against the wall" and "play our game."

7. All in all I was dispaointed with the result. The Ducks iced a younger, less experienced squad. San Jose should have been able to capitalize on that. Let's hope for a better result on Friday. San Jose heads south to L.A. for a showdown with the Kovalchuk's. Should be another good one.

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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