GDT: Game 2: Sharks vs. Avs 7:00pm NBCSCA Los Tiburones

[dmcccdmn]

So Mackenzie Blackwood is only 26 years old. If he's playing out of his mind the rest of the season and turns into a star, the Sharks will need to figure out what to do with him. San Jose won't be contender for a few years and they need some serious star power. But having Blackwood might actually prevent San Jose from actually getting those star players from the draft.

 

[mogambomoroo]

Okay I'm literally wtf how good Blackwood was, I didn't watch the match but that was straight up Hasek stats game for him.

 

[exchequer]

Ugh, so Thrun was scratched? I’m over Quinn already.

Sarcastic?

 

[Pavelski2112]

Lol, this team doesn't look good and we didn't compete

We were outshot by 31, that's an entire night worth of work for most goalies in the league on a typical basis, after the miracle plays by Benning and Rutta in the 1st period the only reason we didn't lose by 5 goals is because Blackwood transcended corporeal form for 58 minutes

This was actually a really depressing loss, it would have been nice for the room to have a feel good story after getting shelled but coming out with a miracle win but Luke Kunin never developed object permanence so now Blackwood's debut is forever stained

On the plus side the morale must be incredibly low so we're going to absolutely crash and burn in the standings for the rest of this homestand, we're gonna have amazing lotto odds

They absolutely put in the effort, they're just bad

 

[jMoneyBrah]

View attachment 753110


This is perplexing. How can you have more FO wins, way less giveaways, more takeaway, even more hits and trail way behind in shots on goal 47-20??

A lot of it has to do with being dominated in terms of puck possession.

The more you possess the puck, the more giveaways you'll have because, well, you have more opportunities to try shit. (It's similar to why guys like Jumbo always were high up in giveaways; it's not a black mark against them, it's just that they're creative players with the puck on their stick a lot.)

And then the more you're chasing the puck, the more likely you are to get takeaways--simply based on opportunity. Same thing goes for hits. You're chasing the other team around so often, you have more chances to throw hits because you don't have the puck.

While it was an amazing performance by Blackwood, these stats just highlight just how wide the gap is between the Sharks and a team like the Avs is. The Sharks were starting with possession by a decently wide margin, and weren’t able to do much of anything with it. Outside of a few pushes in the late first and early second they didn’t ever control the flow of the game, and essentially did not threaten the Avs for the entirety of the third period; repeatedly failing to clear their own zone or maintain possession when they did.

Without diminishing Blackwood’s stellar performance; this game was one missed tip and a couple of posts or less fortunate bounces away from being 4 or 5 for the Avs and a goose egg for the Sharks. While that obviously is not how the game played out, the stats clearly show, and anyone watching could see the Sharks were outclassed by a wide margin.

Not tryna be a downer, but let’s be reality.

 

[jMoneyBrah]

So Mackenzie Blackwood is only 26 years old. If he's playing out of his mind the rest of the season and turns into a star, the Sharks will need to figure out what to do with him. San Jose won't be contender for a few years and they need some serious star power. But having Blackwood might actually prevent San Jose from actually getting those star players from the draft.

I appreciate the enthusiasm… but, uh… like, it’s one game. Let’s wait for Blackwood to establish a trend before we worry about him single-handedly altering the trajectory of the organization. Even with his beyond outstanding performance the Sharks didn’t get the win tonight. I’d argue, even if we were to spot the Sharks that performance in goal every night, if the rest of the team also plays the same every game they lose 7 in 10, if not more, with many blowouts.

In the very unlikely case that Blackwood proves to be an above average starting goaltender this season; it’d be wiser to trade him for high end assets than keep him around for a contention window still several years away (at best).

 

[TheBeard]

I’m gonna say it. I’m concerned with Eklund’s game and I’m disappointed with Hertl.

 

[tiburon12]

Points lost now count just as much as in March and April.

True but that has nothing to do with winning an exciting game in their goalies debut, one in which he set a league record.

I'm all for not accumulating points this year but since we are undoubtedly going to at least one game, this would have been a good one to bank.

 

[timorous me]

I’m gonna say it. I’m concerned with Eklund’s game and I’m disappointed with Hertl.

I was surprised to see some negativity here toward Eklund after the game. While his attacking game wasn't exactly dynamic, that could be considered a byproduct of the opposition and the lack of control the Sharks exerted as a team. And I do like the confidence he shows with the puck on his stick--or his movement without the puck--when the Sharks are able to actually possess the puck for a bit of time on the power play.

If anything, I was pleased to see more of his 200-foot game in action, and honestly, I was thinking on that shift where Colorado finally scored, "Why isn't Eklund out there trying to defend instead of Kunin?!" (Low bar, but still!)

 

[Anomie2029]

I was surprised to see some negativity here toward Eklund after the game. While his attacking game wasn't exactly dynamic, that could be considered a byproduct of the opposition and the lack of control the Sharks exerted as a team. And I do like the confidence he shows with the puck on his stick--or his movement without the puck--when the Sharks are able to actually possess the puck for a bit of time on the power play.

If anything, I was pleased to see more of his 200-foot game in action, and honestly, I was thinking on that shift where Colorado finally scored, "Why isn't Eklund out there trying to defend instead of Kunin?!" (Low bar, but still!)

Much like you I’ve been impressed with Eklund’s play off the puck. He is great on the forecheck, and shows great awareness in the defensive zone to make the right play.

Offensively, he has shown some flashes, and if he had a finisher on his line in the Vegas game instead of Kunin - he may have had a couple of assists.

 

[spintops]

I’m gonna say it. I’m concerned with Eklund’s game and I’m disappointed with Hertl.

I want to see him play with some real linemates - Basically Hertl but I sort of agree. He shows flashes because we are all looking for him to do something, but I haven't see him be an impactful player on a game yet. He's still young, but IDK if he's ever going to be a game changer. Maybe a steady passenger in the top 6..

 

[Anomie2029]

Hertl was noticeably more active defensively. With the puck he was OK but didn’t look dangerous and had some poor turnovers sending passes to no one.

One thing to consider is that teams are playing him ridiculously tightly because he is really the only big threat on the team.

 

[Hodge]

True but that has nothing to do with winning an exciting game in their goalies debut, one in which he set a league record.

I'm all for not accumulating points this year but since we are undoubtedly going to at least one game, this would have been a good one to bank.

We literally missed out on Bedard by 1 point last season. Every point lost is important. The game was entertaining, that's really all I'm hoping for this year. Like 1 or 2 of these players at best will be on the next good Sharks team.

 

[spintops]

I would have taken a regulation loss over some morale victory. Tough part of the schedule while missing couture - would have been nice to rack up 0 points lol

 

[weastern bias]

That's a Nick Bonino move right there! Maybe he learned it from him in camp last year or something.

So THAT'S why he wore a letter last year

 

[Jargon]

I’m not concerned about Eklund, he’s still a rookie and we just played two teams that are just soooo much better than us. He needs time to get used to the flow of the NHL and it’ll help when he plays mid-tiered, regular human teams. My prediction has always been that Eklund is going to be just okay for the first half of the year and really come on in the second — much like he did in the AHL. I think he just needs to figure out what his game has to look like to be successful.

That said, Kunin really needs to get off the top 6, I don’t really understand what he’s done to earn that role. I’d rather see Barabanov or honestly even Labanc up there over Kunin — he’s in the right place often, but seems to have really poor pick awareness and timing.

 

[hohosaregood]

Hertl was noticeably more active defensively. With the puck he was OK but didn’t look dangerous and had some poor turnovers sending passes to no one.

One thing to consider is that teams are playing him ridiculously tightly because he is really the only big threat on the team.

I think he's still trying to do too much. He's not really an offensive wizard and he's trying to do wizard things.

 

[Mattb124]

People seem to forget that Kunin tore his ACL late in 2022 and hadn’t played hockey for 9+ months coming into camp. We know what he can do, he just needs to knock some rust off.

 

[Alaskanice]

People seem to forget that Kunin tore his ACL late in 2023 and hadn’t played hockey for 9+ months coming into camp. We know what he can do, he just needs to knock some rust off.

I haven’t forgotten but I’m not going to argue with those who say they hate him.

 

[tiburon12]

We literally missed out on Bedard by 1 point last season. Every point lost is important. The game was entertaining, that's really all I'm hoping for this year. Like 1 or 2 of these players at best will be on the next good Sharks team.

yea but had we also lost 1+ more games in regulation last year we would have missed Bedard either way.

I should have clarified I didnt mean just for player morale, i meant for the org as a whole. The Sharks are trying put lipstick on a pig this year w/r/t fan engagement, this win would have helped them out. Off ice health of the org is important too

 

[Pavelski2112]

People seem to forget that Kunin tore his ACL late in 2023 and hadn’t played hockey for 9+ months coming into camp. We know what he can do, he just needs to knock some rust off.

He wasn't that good before the injury either.

 

[Cas]

He wasn't that good before the injury either.

He's a physical winger who takes bad penalties and doesn't have much offensive creativity. He's an NHL player (or was, the injury may have ended that, which this season will show one way or the other), but he should be in the bottom six and not expected to contribute anything beyond a handful of points.

I'm hoping someone throws us a 5th for him at the deadline. I don't think he has a lot of value for this team going forward.

 

[timorous me]

He's a physical winger who takes bad penalties and doesn't have much offensive creativity. He's an NHL player (or was, the injury may have ended that, which this season will show one way or the other), but he should be in the bottom six and not expected to contribute anything beyond a handful of points.

I'm hoping someone throws us a 5th for him at the deadline. I don't think he has a lot of value for this team going forward.

I certainly have no animosity toward Kunin, but this is the truth of who he was and who he seems to still be (ACL recoveries don't tend to catapult players to levels they've never seen before, after all).

If he's put in the situations he's been put in already this season, there's a chance he stumbles his way into enough goals and assists and hits to get a 3rd round pick back. I just don't understand why Quinn is using him so much (upon his return from said ACL surgery), particularly in big defensive moments and penalty killing, when, if anything, Kunin's biggest issue has always been poor hockey awareness, the kind of thing that has led him to a career -40.

 

[Play]

Ugh, so Thrun was scratched? I’m over Quinn already.

Are you messing around?

 

[coooldude]

We literally missed out on Bedard by 1 point last season. Every point lost is important. The game was entertaining, that's really all I'm hoping for this year. Like 1 or 2 of these players at best will be on the next good Sharks team.

I'm with you, however I think the narrative that we missed out on Bedard by 1 point is emotionally harmful and incorrect. We missed out on guaranteed one of Bedard, Carlsson, and Fantilli, yes. That's bad enough, especially with the rough start for Smith since the draft, in comparison to Bedard, Carlsson, Fantilli, Michkov, Benson. But we didn't miss out on Bedard, because we weren't guaranteed to win the lottery.