The San Jose Sharks finished their opening homestand against the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Boston Bruins. This Bruins squad is very different than the one we saw last season, as Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired during the offseason while Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno were traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. They made some additions during the offseason as well, bringing James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Shattenkirk into the mix while also bringing back former Bruin Milan Lucic. For the Sharks, Kevin Labanc made his season debut and Marc-Edouard Vlasic was back from injury following his exit earlier this week against the Colorado Avalanche. The Sharks ended up falling 3-1, but played arguably their best game so far this season. Now, let’s get into some takeaways from the game.
Strange But Correct Coaching Decision
I’ve liked most of what David Quinn has done this season, but one thing that truly confused me was his decision not to challenge Boston’s second goal of the game. Kaapo Kahkonen was seemingly pushed into the net by the Bruins while the puck was stationary on his pad. He adamantly believed it was no goal and seemed very upset by the play. Despite this, the Sharks didn’t challenge and allowed the goal to stand. Given the fact that they were starting to play better before their momentum was killed by two quick goals, it seems like it would’ve been a clear opportunity to challenge the play and try to regain some confidence going into the first intermission. It certainly wasn’t a guarantee that the call would be overturned, but heading into the first intermission after giving up two goals in less than a minute definitely couldn’t have been great for morale in the locker room.
After the game, Quinn did say that he talked with the league and if they had challenged it they would’ve lost since the stick pushed the puck into the pad. In the heat of the moment, it seems like it was a call that should’ve been made to help try and turn the tide of the game but in the end, it appears that the coaching staff made the right call.
Sharks Need More Offense
The Sharks need more goal support. It has been a major issue, specifically at even strength so far this season. Going into this game, they had three even-strength goals in three games. That’s simply not good enough, even against elite teams. Tomas Hertl is doing a fine job making plays, but the Sharks need to see him get on the board himself sooner rather than later. Alexander Barabanov has been pointless to this point in the season, however, he did save a nearly certain goal in the first period, so he does get some credit defensively. Playing without Logan Couture and Mikael Granlund is undoubtedly hurting the team’s offense, and paraphrasing how Quinn once put it, the Sharks are playing without two of their top three forwards at this point which doesn’t make things easy.
During this game though, Anthony Duclair did get his first goal as a member of the Sharks. The hope with him is certainly that his first goal will relieve some pressure and open the floodgates moving forward. Labanc played very well in his first game of the season, as he brought some energy that the team was severely lacking. Although he didn’t end up on the scoresheet, he improved the team’s overall play and should remain in the lineup on Saturday.
Sharks Played Better, but Still Not Good Enough
The score may not reflect well on the Sharks, which can be said about almost every game so far this season, but they did play their best game of the season against the Bruins. They brought a level of physicality and offensive pressure that we hadn’t seen much of this season. The shots weren’t as one-sided as they had been the rest of the season. They certainly had some bad bounces though, such as the third goal which was defended fairly well but Kahkonen lost track of the puck and David Pastrnak’s skate redirected it into the net. Speaking of Kahkonen, he didn’t have a terrible performance by any means, but he wasn’t great either. His performance seemed more average than anything, which will be fine against some teams in the NHL, but not a team like the Bruins.
Related: Sharks’ Special Teams Show Mixed Results After 3 Games
The Sharks walked away with a loss once again, although it’s not surprising that their season has started this way given how their schedule was built. Now their attention will need to turn toward the Nashville Predators who they’ll visit on Saturday.