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We may soon see Sharks at their best

By James O'BrienOct 30, 2018, 3:37 PM EST
1 Comment

With a 6-3-2 record, the San Jose Sharks have been fine (good enough to lead a shaky Pacific Division), yet they haven’t been lighting the scoreboard on fire like many expected after landing Erik Karlsson. It’s easy to blurt out “small sample size,” yet with 11 games played, you could “build a file” on San Jose.

There are a few reasons to be excited about the near future, starting with Tuesday’s game against the New York Rangers.

Take a moment to dig a little deeper on the Sharkies.

The return

So far in 2018-19, Joe Thornton has been limited to two games played and about 32 minutes of ice time, collecting an assist before swelling in his knee sidelined him once again.

At age 39 and with 1,495 regular-season games (plus 160 playoff contests) under his belt – and, most worrisome, recent surgical procedures for both knees – it’s fair to wonder what Thornton can contribute. “Jumbo Joe” can bend a game to his will thanks to his smarts, strength, and size, but there’s a cutoff point where Thornton could be slowed too much.

In other words, there are some reasons to curb enthusiasm for Thornton’s return, which is happening tonight – along with the re-bearding process:

We’ve discussed the potential hiccups, but the Sharks could be awfully interesting if Thornton’s close to his full form.

It will be interesting, for one thing, to see how the Sharks’ lines shake out. As of the morning skate, Thornton looks to get his familiar running mate Joe Pavelski back, while Timo Meier could conceivably be the latest young gun to get the Jumbo Boost. Logan Couture centers Tomas Hertl and Kevin Labanc, while Evander Kane gets pushed down to the third line.

The dream for the Sharks is that they could send wave after wave of attackers against overwhelmed opponents. Considering the Rangers’ flaws, Tuesday stands as an opportunity to build early confidence.

From a challenging schedule to robust opportunities

The Sharks’ 6-3-2 record goes from a shoulder shrug to a thumb up when you consider the hurdles they’ve mostly cleared. Most obviously, they’ve played eight games on the road versus just three at home.

As The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz details (sub required), the challenges go deeper for this California crew thanks to travel and time zone considerations:

Out of the 11 games the Sharks have played so far this season, they’ve changed time zones before five of them, or nearly half. That includes all three games of their recent road trip, when they went to Nashville (CST), Carolina (EST) and Anaheim (PST). Their previous road trip saw the Sharks go from Los Angeles to New York, where they played four games against the Metropolitan Division before returning for a brief two-game homestand.

Less than four weeks into the season, the Sharks have already crisscrossed the nation twice.

The Sharks are now set to enjoy quite the pay-off.

Tuesday’s game against the Rangers begins a four-game homestand, and the situation is even cushier once you zoom out a bit, as they’ll play 10 of their next 12 games in San Jose.

Tue, Oct 30: vs. Rangers
Thu, Nov 1: vs. Columbus
Sat, Nov 3: vs. Philadelphia
Tue, Nov 6: vs. Minnesota
Thu, Nov 8: at Dallas
Fri, Nov 9: at St. Louis
Sun, Nov 11: vs. Calgary
Tue, Nov 13: vs. Nashville
Thu, Nov 15: vs. Toronto
Sat, Nov 17: vs. St. Louis
Tue, Nov 20: vs. Edmonton
Fri, Nov 23: vs. Vancouver

This next month-ish stretch provides San Jose with chances to pull away from the Pacific pack, and there aren’t a ton of back-to-backs to leave Thornton and other veterans weary. (They might even be smart to allow Thornton to rest on one of those back-to-back road games.)

It could also open the door for Erik Karlsson to get more settled in …

Mixed reviews on Karlsson

Earlier this season, PHT took a look at Karlsson’s up-and-down start. With seven assists but still zero goals in his first 11 games, it seems like Karlsson remains effective, yet also a work in progress.

The debate surrounding Karlsson’s been quite fascinating, really.

On one hand, there are deeper looks that paint a less pleasant picture of the star defenseman as he acclimates himself to a new team:

Meanwhile, Sharks blog Fear the Fin provided high praise for the pairing of Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, which you can read here.

Interestingly, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer seems to have placed his defensive pairings in a blender, partnering Brent Burns with Joakim Ryan, Karlsson with Brenden Dillon, and Vlasic with Justin Braun.

This is ultimately the time of year when it makes extra sense to tinker. Either way, this could really be the stretch where Karlsson gels with his new team, as he’ll be able to avoid some of that extra travel, while DeBoer gets the last line change most nights.

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Things aren’t perfect for the Sharks, yet they currently lead the Pacific (both San Jose and Vancouver have 14 points, but San Jose has two games in hand).

For all we know, it may take more time to see this team’s best, but there’s a strong chance that November may offer a glimpse of the Sharks’ ceiling.

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

The Buzzer: Lee shines again for Islanders, Martinez ends Kings’ streak

AP
By Adam GretzOct 29, 2018, 1:14 AM EST
5 Comments

Three Stars

1. Timo Meier, San Jose Sharks. Huge game for Timo Meier on Sunday night as he recorded his first career three-point game in the Sharks’ 4-3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks. Meier scored two goals, giving him eight on the season, including the game-winning goal in overtime. After scoring 21 goals in his first full NHL season a year ago, Meier looks like he is well on his way to topping all of his point totals as he already has 12 points in 11 games for the Sharks.

2. Anders Lee, New York Islanders. For the second day in a row Anders Lee makes the three stars. He factored into both Islanders goalies in a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes and is now riding a four-game point streak. He is still maintaining a point-per-game average, now sitting with 11 points in the Islanders’ first 10 games.

3. Alec Martinez, Los Angeles Kings. The Kings entered Sunday’s game against the New York Rangers riding a six-game losing streak, had one of the worst records in the league, had the worst offense in the league, and seemingly put their coach on the hot seat. In other words: They needed a win. Fortunately for them the New York Rangers were on the schedule and the Kings were able to pick up a 4-3 overtime win thanks to a game-winning goal from defenseman Alec Martinez. It is Martinez’s first goal of the season and helped the Kings erase what was a 2-0 deficit midway through the game. This will never be confused with the big overtime goal Martinez scored against the Rangers a few years ago, but it was still a much-needed goal for a Kings team that may already be in too deep of a hole when it comes to the playoffs.

Highlights of the Night

It came in a losing effort, but Pontus Aberg‘s goal for the Anaheim Ducks was a work of art. Unfortunately for the Ducks they were not able to give John Gibson much additional support as he stopped 45 shots and took the loss, something that has happened to him quite a few times already this season.

The Vegas Golden Knights were 4-3 overtime winners against the Ottawa Senators thanks to a Jonathan Marchessault penalty shot goal. Penalty shots are rare. Overtime penalty shots are even rarer.

Factoids

It was a vintage Carolina Hurricanes loss on Sunday as they badly outshot a team and lost … 2-1. The good news for the Hurricanes: Sebastien Aho continued his incredible start and assisted on their lone goal.

Connor McDavid scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the Edmonton Oilers to extend their current winning streak. They are winning some games!

The Detroit Red Wings are off to a tough start this season but finally got their first win on home ice on Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars.

 

Scores

Los Angeles Kings 4, New York Rangers 3

Detroit Red Wings 4, Dallas Stars 2

New York Islanders 2, Carolina Hurricanes 1

Edmonton Oilers 2, Chicago Blackhawks 1 (OT)

Vegas Golden Knights 4, Ottawa Senators 3 (OT)

San Jose Sharks 4, Anaheim Ducks 3 (OT)

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Aberg’s incredible goal not enough as Ducks again leave Gibson out to dry

YouTube/NHL
By Adam GretzOct 29, 2018, 12:28 AM EST
1 Comment

The Anaheim Ducks are trending in the wrong direction.

After starting the season with a 5-1-1 mark in their first seven games, mostly on the back of goaltender John Gibson, the team lost its fifth game in a row on Sunday night, losing in overtime, 4-3, to the San Jose Sharks.

The Ducks were able to at least get a point in this game thanks to a rally that saw them overcome a two-goal deficit. The tying goal, scored by Pontus Aberg, came midway through the third period and was one of the prettiest goals of the young season as he forced a turnover in the neutral zone and then completely undressed Sharks defenseman Joakim Ryan.

Look at this play!

Incredible.

Unfortunately for the Ducks that was as close as they would get to winning as San Jose’s Timo Meier won it in overtime with his second goal of the game (and eighth of the season) just two minutes into the extra period. His game-winning goal came on San Jose’s 49th shot of the game as the Ducks were once again outshot by a completely ridiculous margin.

So far this season the Ducks have been outshot in all but two of their games, and in only one of those two did they outshoot their opponents (they outshoot the Detroit Red Wings 27-21 in the third game of the season).

They have been outshot by at least 10 shots in nine of their games, including seven games where they have been outshot by at least 15 shots. They have what is, by far, the worst shot differential in the league and after Sunday’s game are 39.1 shots per game. That is two more per game than any other team in the league and more than nine shots per game worse than the league average.

Gibson, who made 45 saves on Sunday night, has now stopped at least 40 shots in four of his first 10 starts. He has only won one of those four starts.

To look at it another way, there have only been 11 games this season where a goalie has stopped 40 shots in a game and lost. Gibson has three of those losses.

Another way to look at it: Since the start of the 2017-18 season, teams whose goalies stop at least 40 shots in a game have a .647 points percentage in those games. The Ducks are .375 in such games with Gibson this season.

It almost defies logic to have a goalie make that many saves and still lose that often. And it is a bad sign that they are because there is nothing in the way the Ducks are playing that seems to suggest those shots against numbers are going to decline anytime soon, especially since that seems to be the calling card of every Randy Carlyle coached team.

Their only hope is for Gibson to keep standing on his head. Problem is, even when he does it is no guarantee the Ducks are going to win.

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

WATCH LIVE: Winning streaks on the line as Predators host Sharks

Getty Images
By Sean LeahyOct 23, 2018, 7:40 PM EST

NBC’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Tuesday night’s matchup between the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports App by clicking here.

Pekka Rinne is on injured reserved, opening the door for Juuse Saros to take the reins as the starting goalie for the Predators. When Nashville hosts the Sharks on Tuesday, it’ll be the first time that the 23-year-old netminder will have started consecutive games in his young NHL career.

Saros has 46 starts in his career, and working with Rinne for the past couple of seasons has provided him plenty of confidence to handle an extended workload when called up.

“Juuse is very calm,” said Predators head coach Peter Laviolette via the Tennessean. “He’s got a great guy to sit next to him in the room in Pekka. Approaches life the same way. They lead with their work ethic.”

As the Predators look to extend their five-game winning streak, they’ll face a Sharks team have won two in a row and scored nine goals over their last two games. Logan Couture has scored four of those nine goals and is one of the bevy of weapons that head coach Peter DeBoer can deploy every night.

[Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule]

WHAT: San Jose Sharks at Nashville Predators
WHERE: Bridgestone Arena
WHEN: Tuesday, October 23rd, 8 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
LIVESTREAM: You can watch the Sharks-Predators stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

SHARKS
Evander Kane – Joe Pavelski – Kevin Labanc
Tomas Hertl – Logan Couture – Timo Meier
Marcus Sorensen – Antti Suomela – Joonas Donskoi
Barclay Goodrow – Rourke Chartier – Melker Karlsson

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Erik Karlsson
Joakim Ryan – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Justin Braun

Starting goalie: Martin Jones

[WATCH LIVE – 8 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

PREDATORS
Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala – Kyle Turris – Craig Smith
Calle Jarnkrok – Nick Bonino – Ryan Hartman
Zac Rinaldo – Colton Sissons – Frederick Gaudreau

Roman Josi – Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm – P.K. Subban
Dan Hamhuis – Yannick Weber

Starting goalie: Juuse Saros

MORE: Rusev and Lana turn Predators stars into WWE superstars

WATCH LIVE: Flyers, Sharks meet on NBCSN

Getty Images
By Sean LeahyOct 9, 2018, 6:30 PM EST

NBC’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Tuesday night’s matchup between the San Jose Sharks and Philadelphia Flyers at 7:30 p.m. ET. You can watch that game online by clicking here. 

The San Jose Sharks started their current five-game road trip with a solid 3-2 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. On Monday, they followed that up with a flat performance during a 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders. They don’t have much time to regroup as they face the Philadelphia Flyers a little more than 36 hours later.

In this particular matchup, the Sharks have dominated and won 18 of their last 23 meetings with the Flyers dating back to 2002.

Joe Thornton (knee) and James van Riemsdyk (lower body) will both miss out.

What could help get the Sharks going is waking up their power play, which is a shocking 0-for-10 so far. They did have nine chances Monday in Brookyln, but failed to capitalize on four opportunities.

Brian Elliott has started every game for the Flyers this season as Michal Neuvirth heals up and they allow Calvin Pickard to settle in after being claimed on waivers from Toronto last week. Philadelphia plays the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, which would be a good opportunity to give their No. 1 in Elliott a rest.

What: San Jose Sharks at Philadelphia Flyers
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
When: Tuesday, October 9th, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Sharks-Flyers stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Sharks
Timo Meier – Joe Pavelski – Melker Karlsson
Tomas Hertl – Logan Couture – Kevin Labanc
Evander Kane – Antti Suomela – Joonas Donskoi
Barclay Goodrow – Rourke Chartier – Marcus Sorensen

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Erik Karlsson
Joakim Ryan – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Justin Braun

Starting goalie: TBA

[WATCH LIVE – 7:30 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

Flyers
Claude Giroux – Sean Couturier – Jakub Voracek
Oskar Lindblom – Nolan Patrick – Travis Konecny
Jordan Weal – Mikhail Vorobyov – Wayne Simmonds
Scott Laughton – Jori Lehtera – Michael Raffl

Ivan Provorov – Shayne Gostisbehere
Robert Hagg – Andrew MacDonald
Travis Sanheim – Radko Gudas

Starting goalie: Brian Elliott

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.