Tierney shows signs of answering the Sharks’ challenge
SAN JOSE » After beating up on the Anaheim Ducks junior varsity squad Tuesday night, the Sharks got to try their hand against an expansion team in their second preseason game.
But unlike the Ducks, the Vegas Golden Knights iced a team that featured 16 players with NHL experience Thursday as they attempt to forma 23-man roster out of the castaways they obtained in the expansion draft in June.
Regardless, the Sharks put together another dominant performance at the SAP Center, running the Golden Knights out of the barn with a 5-2 win.
Here’s what we learned as the Sharks improved to 2-0 in the preseason. 1. CHRIS TIERNEY SHINES IN PRESEASON DEBUT » Chris Tierney is facing amake-or-break year after he experienced a backslide in his third season of NHL hockey last winter, scoring just 23 points in 80 games.
Head coach Pete DeBoer called Tierney out by name after the Sharks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring, insisting that the team would need more from the 23-year- old center this year.
Then, the Sharks re-signed Barracuda standout Ryan Carpenter to a two-year contract in the offseason, sending the not-so-subtle message: we have options if you don’t take a step forward.
Tierney responded over the summer, putting on eight pounds of muscle and improving his foot speed.
The offseason regiment paid off in his first taste of on-ice action since last spring Thursday night.
Tierney hounded the puck, collecting five takeaways. He looked stronger in battles and he picked up a pair of apples, including one on a nifty dipsy- doodle play through the legs that set up Brenden Dillon’s blast from the point on the Sharks fourth goal. His other assist came on Kevin Labanc’s power play goal at 4:13 of the second.
“He’s had a great camp,” DeBoer said. “He made a great play on the one goal. He looks stronger, he looks faster to me. That’s all good stuff.
In addition to Tierney, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier and Joakim Ryan also put together multipoint games. 2. THE SHARKS DEFENSIVE STINGINESS CONTINUES » After ranking 19th in scoring last year (2.67 goals per game), the Sharks know that they’ll need to find a way to produce more offense this season to be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.
But the team’s road to success is through its team defense.
The Sharks ranked fifth in goals-against average (2.44) last season and third in shots against (27.7), a defensive stinginess that’s now the cornerstone of the team’s identity.
DeBoer tempered his praise of the Sharks defensive performance Tuesday night, pointing out that it came against a squad composed mostly of minor league and junior hockey players.
But the Sharks duplicated the performance against the Golden Knights Thursday, limiting them to just 17 shots on goal and a pair of goals that came on the power play, including a two-man advantage in the third period. 3. RYAN EXCELS AS THE DESIGNATED WOOKIE WHISPERER » Ryan, who’s competing for the Sharks seventh defenseman position in camp performed the Paul Martin role as Brent Burns’ sidekick and excelled, picking up two points while earning the game’s first star.
The 24-year- old defenseman created the Sharks third goal on the power play by putting a hard shot on net from the point that Jannik Hansen scooped up and threw into the top shelf.