1st line
Kane/Donskoi - given that both were clearly less than 100 % against the Golden Knights, I won’t grade them. Didn’t meet my expectations, but the injuries are a legit excuse in my book.
Pavelski - The stats don’t look all that bad, his play on the ice at times did. Maybe he was dragged down by his line mates (see above), but I think it’s more of a confirmation of his decline. Grade: C-
2nd line
Boedker - continued his 2nd half trend and was a good complimentary peace to Hertl/Couture. Showed flashes of his speed and some good puck protection. The turnover in game 5 sticks out like a sore thumb. Grade: B-
Hertl - Best Shark forward in almost every game, no need for further explanation, grade A+
Couture - showed again that he is a playoff performer. Grade A
3rd line
Meier - a bit of a disappointment, he brought the physical side of his game on some nights, but didn’t show a whole lot of offense apart from a few flashes. He really hit his stride in December, but tailed off in the last 15 games or so. That carried over into the playoffs. Grade: C
Tierney - after a fantastic regular season with a lot of offensive output and great work on the PK, he fell off a cliff in the POs. One assist, not a lot of good looks, his line got outplayed on most nights and the PK sagged. Tierney looked lost on the PK at times. Huge disappointment, wonder what it means for his contract negotiations. Grade: F
Labanc - Not unlike Meier, their was a part of the season when one thought, he had it all figured out. It didn’t last and it got worse in pressure intense playoff hockey. Bad 5 on 5 but he had some moments on the PP. Grad: D+
4th line
Sorensen - The best player on a pretty effective 4th line (obviously not based on last night). His speed was a huge factor, he also had some pretty good PK-shifts and on top of that he scored 4 important goals. What else do you want from a 4th liner? Grade: A
Fehr - He did a solid job on said 4th line, nothing spectacular but just what the team needed. Grade: B
Karlsson - good fill in for that line, but IMO the weakest link. Would have liked to see Goodrow get a shot. Grade: C
Goodrow - too small a sample size
Defence
Burns - the playoffs were similar to his regular season, for every shiny moment there was at least one awkward moment. He was brillant on one shift and abysmal the next. I read somewhere, that Boughner was a big factor in burnsie finding consistency. Someone else will have to handle Boughnerd duties. Not a lot of luck shooting wise, highlighted by his to post/crossbars last night. Grade: C
Martin - it’s not his fault that Deboer chose to dress him, but he was outright terrible from the get go. Had to be sheltered and was brutally exposed at what IMO was the series deciding moment when Karlsson won game 3 in OT. He’s done. Grade: F
Ryan - much better than Martin, not as good as I expected him to be. But it’s unfair to grade him when he was out of game action for weeks.
Vlasic - Did a good job shutting down the Ducks in round one and a decent job of containing the best line in the league against Vegas. Still it was a little step back from years past. Grade: B
Braun - see Vlasic, on a lower level of course. Made more mistakes than Vlasic and I am biased because I hate his lack of puckmoving/handling skills. Grade C+
Dillon - Was solid on most nights, made some boneheaded mistakes, overall did what was to be expected. Grade: B-
DeMelo - his signature moment for me was him being on the ice at the end of game 5 and throwing a blind centering feed that didn’t have a chance and let to the empty net goal that crushed our comeback hopes. He is a guy that can’t be trusted defensively and on offense he just doesn’t put it together. Sharks should look for someone else to fill the No6 spot. Grade: D
PDB: i cant judge the positives he brings, just can point out his stupidity with Martin and with Demelo (on the PP and on the ice late in game 5).
Edit: forgot Jonesey... he was great against the Ducks and ok against the Knights, got outplayed by Fleury in the series. Grade: B-