The San Jose Sharks have started their season off in one of the most difficult fashions possible. First, they played the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, and on Saturday they played the Colorado Avalanche. The Sharks held a lead for the majority of the night, but with less than two minutes remaining, Cale Makar tied it up and sent the game to overtime. The Sharks fell 2-1 in a shootout, but there were some positives that came out of the night regardless.
Mackenzie Blackwood Steals the Show
Mackenzie Blackwood was a player many were skeptical about when the San Jose Sharks brought him on board. He’s struggled to stay healthy in the past few seasons and seemed to be getting far away from the goaltender of the future that the New Jersey Devils once thought he could be. During his season debut, he started strong. In the first period, he made some big saves and stopped all 16 of the Avalanche’s shots. He does owe that partially to Matt Benning though, as at one point the puck was stopped in the middle of the crease with a wide-open net, but Benning was able to clear it into the corner.
He didn’t slow down in the second period, but neither did his workload. His confidence only seemed to build as time went on. Late in the second, the Avalanche were applying heavy pressure during their power play opportunities, but Blackwood was able to shut the door. The closest call was a short-handed shot that went off the crossbar. He would face 50 shots before one finally found the back of the net, and it was scored by none other than Cale Makar who he robbed with a tremendous save earlier in the night.
Bordeleau’s First Goal
Thomas Bordeleau has scored a goal in the NHL. On a night that had other first-time goal scorers in the NHL, namely David Jiricek of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Will Cuylle of the New York Rangers, Bordeleau added his name to the list. Benning took a shot from the point, which Bordeleau masterfully deflected in front of the net. While it wasn’t the highlight reel goal that most kids dream of when thinking of their first NHL goal, it was certainly as close as a deflection can get. Later in the second period, he did take a scary hit as he and Miles Wood collided with an Avalanche player getting off the ice. Bordeleau went to the locker room but returned without missing a shift.
During the same night, Ethan Cardwell of the American Hockey League’s (AHL) San Jose Barracuda recorded his first professional goal making it a special night at all levels of the Sharks organization.
Penalty Kill Shuts Down Dangerous Power Play
The Sharks’ penalty kill did a phenomenal job throughout the game. It’s much easier said than done to stop a power play unit consisting of players like Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen but the Sharks were able to do so. During the second period, there was a point where both Luke Kunin and Jan Rutta were in the box, giving the Avalanche a 5-on-3 advantage for a short time. Yet, the Sharks were able to kill off Rutta’s penalty then Kunin’s a minute and a half later. Filip Zadina in particular was doing well, not only shutting down the opposition but creating a few scoring chances while down a skater. The power play on the other hand wasn’t performing at a high level, and the Avalanche got a few short-handed scoring opportunities as well.
Related: Sharks Have Many Improvements to Make Following First Game
Although their home opener against the Vegas Golden Knights didn’t go to plan, the fact that the Sharks were able to hang with the two most recent Stanley Cup Champions in their first two games is something that many wouldn’t have expected. If it wasn’t for less than five minutes over the course of the 120 they’ve played, the Sharks could’ve won both games. They have things they need to improve on, there are no doubts about that. With that being said though, they’ve outperformed expectations to start the season despite two losses. It’s expected to be a rough season, but hanging with two of the top teams in the NHL is a good sign for things to come.
