Sharks show improvement in win over Blackhawks
SAN JOSE >> The Sharks have talked about the need to play a tighter, more physical brand of hockey since they were walloped in backto-back games to start the regular season.
After following that formula in two of their last three games this month, and seeing what kind of success it can bring, maybe those messages are finally hitting home.
The Sharks allowed just 21 shots on net Tuesday, including eight in the first two periods, and snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at SAP Center. Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier each had a goal and an assist. The other two goals were scored by Evander Kane and Patrick Marleau, the latter playing in his 800th consecutive NHL game.
The Sharks (5-10-1) continue their homestand tonight against the Minnesota Wild, and there should be no ambiguity about how they have to play if they want to pull themselves out of this mess.
“That’s been the message here for the last couple weeks, that we have to be more engaged physically, that we have to be harder to play against, especially around our net,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “We did a good job defending tonight. We didn’t give them much. In the third, they put a little bit of pressure on.
“But I thought defensively, we worked really hard at it, and in the offen- sive zone, we were harder too. We spent more time down there and hung onto more pucks.”
At least some of the Sharks’ success Tuesday had to do with the return of defenseman Radim Simek, who didn’t waste much time getting involved, greeting Blackhawks rookie forward Kirby Dach midway through the first period with a hard hit just inside the Sharks’ blue line.
Dach’s upper body smacked against the glass just inside the Sharks bench, bringing a rise out of the announced crowd of 16,087.
It was exactly the type of play that Simek had become known for when he suited up for the Sharks last season, stopping offensive plays cold with a simple, physical approach.
He didn’t go out of his way to blast Dach, just took the body when the opportunity presented itself to shut down a potential Blackhawks rush.
“I thought he was great tonight, and he makes a big difference,” DeBoer said of Simek. “It’s not something we don’t know, but when he was in our lineup last year, we were a different team.
“The luxury of not having to overplay guys. Their minutes are more where they need to be, which allows us to hop over the boards with energy and defend harder.”
Simek played his first NHL game since March 12, as he spent the last several months rehabbing from reconstructive surgery on his right knee. He took his familiar spot alongside Brent Burns, and finished with 20 minutes and 35 seconds of ice time — third most among all Sharks defensemen. Only Burns (25:54) and Erik Karlsson had more (20:57).
In his 20-plus minutes, Simek had a team-high five hits and four blocked shots. There was some rust, to be sure, but the Sharks have to be excited what Simek will be able to bring once he gets more into midseason form.
“He was good,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said of Simek. “Good stick. He stepped up well in the neutral zone. His reads were very good for a guy that’s missed eight months.
“He was able to read when it was an even man rush and when it was an odd-man, he was able to step-up and end plays in the neutral zone. On our blue line, I thought he stood hard, didn’t give their skill guys time when they were entering or trying to enter with possession.”
The Sharks had allowed four goals or more in 10 of 15 games so far this season, including an unsightly 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Jones and backup goalie Aaron Dell had to take their share of responsibility for that, especially with the Sharks allowing the first goal 11 times.
But if the Sharks are able to stick with this approach to games, their goalies will benefit.
“Everybody was really solid tonight,” Jones said. “I thought we didn’t really give them any speed through the neutral zone and we defended hard in our own end. Even when they had some sustained pressure, we were really solid back there. Good game all around.”
Tuesday’s game was a bit reminiscent of Friday’s against the Winnipeg Jets, when the Sharks had a huge advantage in shots on goal but were unable to capitalize on a handful of chances. The Jets scored late in the third period and escaped with a 3-2 win.
Against the Blackhawks, the Sharks were dominating shots-wise but only had a one goal lead as forward Timo Meier was sent off for high-sticking at the 11:16 mark.
Then Brenden Dillon sent a puck around the boards from behind the Sharks net that got past Blackhawks defenseman Adam Boqvist at the blue line. The puck slid toward the middle of the ice and into the Blackhawks’ zone, where Kane picked it up and fired a wrist shot through the legs of goalie Robin Lehner for a twogoal Sharks lead.
”That took some pressure off because it was feeling like déjà vu with that game,” DeBoer said. “It was nice to get the first one and play out front, and it was nice to get that insurance goal.”
This time the Sharks were rewarded.
“The good news is two of our last three games, we’re starting to see the signs of what we’re capable of being as a team,” DeBoer said, “and the way we want to play.”