In the beginning of February, the Sharks lost 3 games in a row for the first time all season and I made a post about what they should try to change in their game plan. You can see it here.
Well, they haven't exactly lost three games in a row yet, but in the past 5 games, the Sharks have gone 2-3-0 while averaging a little under 1.2 goals per game. So I decided let's see what the Sharks have improved on in the past month and what they haven't in an attempt to uncover the mystery as to why the Sharks have been playing .500 winning percentage hockey since late January.
1. Dan Boyle is back and the power play still sucks. This isn't so much a problem anymore, as the team has a nice power play goals in a game scoring streak going. Granted, most of those games the Sharks went 1-6 or 1-5 with the man advantage, but the Sharks still rank 3rd in the NHL with 69 power play goals on the season. Improvement.
2. Sharks are predictable. They're dumping the pucks along the walls and trying to outskate a defender that has about a 15 foot headstart to the loose puck. A month later, the only entry the Sharks used against the Sharks were dumping the puck or playing it along the board. And let's just say that it is no mystery why the offense is slumping; they can't recover the pucks. What is most frustrating is the fact that they still use this tactic while they're on the power play. Why aren't they just carrying it in themselves when they have a one man advantage? Why do they feel the need to dump the puck in the corner, where a defender can recover it and clear it or kick it against the wall and waste power play time? Todd McLellon mentioned during the Dallas game that he wanted more stick to stick passes. At least the coach knows what to fix. Problem.
3. The only lines that are doing anything are the second and fourth line. Luckily, soon after I made the post, the first line started their scoring again. Even during this 5 game offensive slide, most of the points came from Thorton, Setoguchi, and Marleau. The second line is still playing the best overall hockey, and the fourth line is starting to become a liability, but it is nice to see the first line get back into things, although they might not be playing like the highest point-producing line in the NHL anymore. Improvement.
4. Turnovers. They aren't turning it over in the defensive zone anymore. They're at least getting the puck past their blue line... so they can turn it over in the neutral zone instead. Refer to #2, when McLellon said he wants more stick to stick passes. Very minimal improvement.
For the most part the Sharks are slowly working their way to being the team they were in the beginning of the year, but McLellon's style of hockey revolves around puck possession and the Sharks simply are not dominating the time of possession category like they used to. Their defense has reduced the mistakes in front of their goaltenders, but they're still making mistakes. Boucher hasn't really played up to the standards he set in his first 10 games lately, but he is the backup for a reason. Hopefully, the extra rest Nabokov got this past week will help him cover up his 5-hole for the rest of the season.
No comments:
Post a Comment