Sharks looking for more bang from power play
Missed opportunities frustrating, but team sees better times ahead
DETROIT — The Sharks could use a boost from their power play as they conclude their five-game trip Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.
At a distance, the Sharks’ numbers aren’t bad with the man advantage. They’ve scored one power-play goal in three of five games and, entering Friday, were ranked 16th in the league with an 18.8 percent conversion rate.
But one of those goals came in an empty net, by Patrick Marleau against the Columbus Blue Jackets last Saturday, and another was on a 5-on-3 by Logan Couture when they played the Rangers in New York on Monday. The other marker came in the season opener against the Los Angeles Kings, with Couture scoring his first.
The Sharks only had one power-play opportunity against the New York Islanders on Tuesday, but in a winnable game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they were 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
Overall, the Sharks are 3-for-16 on the power play. But if recent history is any indication, there’s probably no need for alarm.
Last season, the Sharks ranked last in the NHL after 15 games with an 11.4 conversion rate (5-for-44). They finished the year ranked third at 22.6 percent.
“Obviously, it could be better,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said after Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh. “We get so many chances. That was just part of how much we were in control of the game.”
The Sharks had four shots on goal on their first two power plays Thursday. Just as a third power-play chance expired and with Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury out to challenge, Mikkel Boedker’s attempt to one-time a pass from Joonas Donskoi into the open net went wide.
“You just have to keep at it,” Boedker said of the opportunity that would have given the Sharks a 3-0 lead. “It sucks, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
“There are a lot of areas that could have went a little bit better, but it’s a 2-0 lead and the power play has to increase it,” Pavelski said. “We weren’t trying to sit back by any means.”
The power play was probably going to need some time to jell after four of the five players on the first unit, and two players on the second unit, were at the World Cup until late September.
The two groups have only had a handful of fulllength practices to work with each other, and the Sharks didn’t hold any practices on this road trip. They had previously scheduled days off for last Sunday and Wednesday, and elected not to skate Friday in Detroit.
The Red Wings’ penalty kill ranked 18th in the league after Thursday’s games, allowing three goals on 15 kill attempts in four games. Detroit hosted Nashville on Friday.
The Sharks were confident they could bounce back against the Red Wings after such a disappointing loss to the Penguins. Partly because they lost back-to-back games on the same road trip just three times last season, and also because they have no choice.
“The thing about playing every other day or backto-backs is that you have to move forward and put it behind you,” Sharks defenseman Paul Martin said. “Learn from it, move on and be ready for the next one.”
Forwards Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels spent most of the preseason together and seem to building some chemistry on the fourth line through the first five games of the regular season.
Both of their individual possession numbers are above 50 percent for the season and Karlsson got his first goal against the Islanders, burying a pass out front by Wingels that gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
“We have a really good team this year and all four lines can go and score,” Karlsson said before Thursday’s game.
The Sharks reassigned center Ryan Carpenter to the Barracuda. Carpenter was officially recalled Oct. 14 before the Sharks left for their road trip.