Improving team ready for long trip
SAN JOSE >> Before they left for what would become an eventful three-game road trip to Anaheim, Nashville and Chicago earlier this month, the Sharks were in shambles.
They had just gotten smoked in consecutive games by the Vegas Golden Knights to start the season, were facing injuries to some defensemen, needed to integrate four rookies and were dealing with a suspension to arguably their most valuable winger.
The Sharks are in a much different spot now as they get set to start another long road trip next week, this one through the eastern United States and Canada.
Although they missed an op
portunity to get back to .500 on Saturday, losing to the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 after a late third-period miscue, the Sharks played more to the identity that coach Pete DeBoer has been looking for since the start of the season.
At least three of the four lines tilted the ice in the Sharks’ favor, the special teams were strong once again and they showed a good deal of resiliency in battling back to tie the game on three occasions.
The Sharks’ five-game trip takes them through Buffalo, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Boston. Points won’t be easy, at least in four of those five games. But the Sharks (3-5-0) feel they’re in a better position now to handle those challenges than they were before that Oct. 5 game in Anaheim.
“We’re getting better,” DeBoer said. “I can tell you I like where our game’s at now a lot better than I did two weeks ago. Not an easy trip, not easy games or buildings. But I think our game is at least starting to look recognizable. That should give us a chance.”
What worked
TOMAS HERTL AND EVANDER KANE >> The Sharks have to like the way Tomas Hertl is playing after a slow start to the season. Hertl was all over the place Saturday, scoring a third-period power play goal, finishing with six shots on net and winning 13 of 20 faceoffs in 23 minutes and 30 seconds of ice time.
Hertl’s linemate, Evander Kane, also had over 23 minutes of ice time, and had seven shots on goal and five hits. They created their share of scoring chances, but ran into a hot goalie in Linus Ullmark, who had 11 saves in the third period and finished with 29 stops.
After he was held off the scoresheet in the Sharks’ first five games, Hertl now has three goals and three assists in the last three games.
“He wasn’t alone, though,” DeBoer said of Hertl. “We had a lot of guys in that boat, so, I’m seeing better versions of a lot of guys now.”
THE SPECIAL TEAMS >> The power play once again clicked as Hertl and Timo Meier both scored with the man advantage, which finished with seven shots on goal and is now 7 for 16 in the last five games.
The penalty kill also did its part, killing off four Sabres power plays, including a third-period hooking call on Brenden Dillon that allowed the Sharks to make one final push in the late stages to tie the game. The Sharks are now 26 for 28 on the kill to start the season.
That’s good, of course, but also concerning. The Sharks have had to kill four penalties in three straight games, and the four calls Saturday, which included one for holding and two for tripping, were probably avoidable.
“It was a good team game. We took some penalties we probably shouldn’t have taken,” Meier said. “That kind of took the rhythm out of our game having to kill off penalties. It was energy we missed.”
What needs work
GETTING TOO CUTE >> The Sharks finished with 32 shots, remarkable considering they went the first 12 minutes and change in the second period with just one shot on net. They had to kill two penalties in that time, but they also started the second with a handful of quality shifts. They just didn’t put enough shots toward the net.
“When I look at the seven or eight games we’ve played, that’s probably one of our better 60-minute efforts we’ve got,” DeBoer said. “Penalty kill did a good job. Got a power play goal. Thought we passed up some opportunities around the net to shoot. Got a little cute around the net a few times. That might have been the difference.” THE SHARKS’ TOP LINE >> The game was dotted with so many penalties, eight in total, that it wasn’t easy for either team to get into a rhythm at even strength.
The Sharks’ top line of Couture, Meier and Patrick Marleau felt that in particular, as they had three evenstrength shifts in the second period. When it was 5 on 5, they were on the ice more often than not against the Sabres’ top line of Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson. From an analytics point of view, it did not go well, although those three players did not have a point. LATE MISCUE HAUNTS SHARKS >> On the winning goal, Kyle Okposo pressured Erik Karlsson behind the Sharks net enough to force an errant pass to the middle of the ice. After one Sabres shot was blocked, Girgensons picked up the rebound and beat Sharks goalie Martin Jones high to the glove side.
“They’re a very good team. It’s no fluke over there, those guys and their record,” Couture said. “They’re playing very good hockey. We had an opportunity to beat them. But like I said, one more mistake in our own end than they had tonight.”