San Jose Sharks: Three questions going forward as turnaround continues
gqlshare posted: "The San Jose Sharks teal helmets are here to stay.After going 2-0-1 on their most recent homestand last month, the upbeat Sharks packed the teal helmets – the ones they usually wear in San Jose – and stashed the road white ones at home as they boarded a f" Daily Democrat
The San Jose Sharks teal helmets are here to stay.
After going 2-0-1 on their most recent homestand last month, the upbeat Sharks packed the teal helmets – the ones they usually wear in San Jose – and stashed the road white ones at home as they boarded a flight for the East Coast.
Something clicked. Not only was it a bold fashion statement by the Sharks, but now they're playing their best hockey of the year – especially away from home.
After losing their first 10 road games of the season, the Sharks have now won three of their last four, with their latest being a 6-5, come-from-behind victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
"Our game has gotten way better," Sharks centerman Mikael Granlund said. "We're not defending all game these days. We're playing offense. There are a lot of things we've got to clean up still, but we're playing hockey, not just surviving out there."
Now the Sharks have a chance to finish this road trip, on which they've scored more 5-on-5 goals (13) than any other NHL team in the last eight days, with a winning record. San Jose, 3-2-0 on the trip, faces the NHL-leading Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena.
"You're in these games," Granlund added. "You're actually planning for the win every single night and that's what makes this fun."
Here are three questions for the Sharks (8-17-2) as they move forward.
IS THIS SUSTAINABLE?: The Sharks' comeback wins over the Red Wings and New York Islanders this week marked the first time in their history that they've rallied to win consecutive games after they trailed by three or more goals in each.
In other words, this is rare, and the Sharks can't afford to keep giving up an average of four goals a night — as they've done throughout the trip so far — and expect to keep winning games, even in the more offensively minded NHL.
The Sharks were able to pull out recent victories over Vancouver, Washington, New Jersey, and the Islanders despite, per Natural Stat Trick, being out-chanced in every game. Unless that changes, it's going to be a challenge to keep this going.
Still, the Sharks are a more connected team these days and are playing with as much confidence now as they've had all season. In four December games, centers Granlund and Tomas Hertl have a combined 16 points, and wingers Anthony Duclair and William Eklund have a combined five goals and five assists.
"We played 27 great minutes," Sharks center Tomas Hertl said of Thursday's game after he scored twice against the Wings. "We had some bad breaks to get down 4-0, but we never quit, and lately that's been important for us."
KEEP RIDING KAHKONEN?: Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen is playing his best hockey as a Shark, as he's recorded wins in four straight appearances for the first time since the pandemic-shortened 2020-2021 season when he was with the Minnesota Wild.
Starting with his 30-save performance against the Canucks on Nov. 25, Kahkonen is 4-0-0 with a .915 save percentage. Mackenzie Blackwood in that same time is 1-2-0 with a .890 save percentage.
It would be a surprise not to see Kahkonen start on Sunday and if he can keep it up over the next couple of months, it'll be interesting to see what the Sharks do with him at the trade deadline.
Kahkonen is a pending unrestricted free agent and if there is a need for goalies by contending teams at the deadline, perhaps the Sharks can flip him for a decent return. Or, maybe they consider re-signing him to a short-term deal considering he'll only be 28 next year. Time will tell.
ARE THE PLAYOFFS POSSIBLE?: Let's get real. The Sharks are on a good run right now. but it would be shocking if they became a legitimate playoff contender considering how tough it is to make up ground in the NHL standings.
Before Friday's games, San Jose is 10 points back of the Nashville Predators for the Western Conference's second and final wild-card spot. Even after this 5-2-1 stretch, the Sharks still have the worst points percentage in the NHL at .333.
Put it this way, if 92 points is what's required to get into playoffs in the west, the Sharks would need a .675 points percentage the rest of the season to get there. Only four teams, the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and Golden Knights have played to that level so far this year.
The Sharks will be sellers at the trade deadline, with pending UFA's Duclair, Kahkonen, Alexander Barabanov, Mike Hoffman, and Kevin Labanc all potentially on the move. Quite honestly, the mushy middle is the last place the Sharks want to be, and if most or all of those players are traded, San Jose's last 15-20 games of the season won't be pretty.
But that's three months away. The Sharks want to enjoy what's going on right now, especially after they erased a 4-0 deficit against the Wings.
"When we got our first goal, we knew we were going to come back," said Fabian Zetterlund, who assisted on Granlund's winner. "That's a great feeling to have."
No comments:
Post a Comment