GDT: Game #2 Sharks vs Ducks - 7:30 PM PDT CSN-CA

[Mafoofoo]

Yeah last year sucked. But last year the team was 2-0 after 2 games too with a better goal differential. Lets wait for a little bigger sample size before planning Cup runs.

Nope. It's cup or bust now.

 

[hohosaregood]

Nope. It's cup or bust now.

Not even that. It's just cup.

 

[Felys]

What was with the refs keeping their whistles in their pockets? Must have been 6+ uncalled penalties on the Ducks! (Sharks got ONE PP.)

The game felt really good to me despite the lack of penalties called. It's a good thing that they won off some good hard 5 on 5 hockey. Shows this team doesn't need whistles to win, for sure.

 

[vilpertti]

CSNBA has Ward with 2 A and a +1 for the game. Good statistical work there.

Marleau's wraparound goal was such a long possession by Marleau that his other line mates had gone for the line change and on the ice to celebrate it were Thornton and Pavelski.

 

[Timos Death Stare]

I would be looking to get the best rental winger I could get using Mueller and lesser picks/prospects.

Would love to get Boedker - though he isn't exactly a third liner. Of potential FA's who are on potential "seller" teams, I can see Boedker, Vrbata, Grabner, Tlusty (still wanted to sign him - would have been solid on the top line).

Karlsson - JT - Pavs
PM - Couch - Ward
Boedker - Hertl - Wingels
Nieto - Tierney - Donskoi/Smith

I thought there was a lot of great stuff tonight and instead of piling on I did want to comment on one thing - Nieto needs to up his game. Hertl looked absolutely amazing out there - fast, shifty, great with the puck. He will have a monster year - too bad he has nobody on his line who can finish.

Really, though, this is a solid, solid team. Not saying we're top tier - but solid for sure. This should be a fun filled season - especially after that torturous last year.

PS - despite Brown having one of the best games I've seen him play, I'd still rather have Smith in there. Tierney is too talented to have to play with grinders like that.

A line of Goodrow/Nieto - Tierney - Smith can pop in a few goals from time to time for sure!

 

[Bizz]

I would be looking to get the best rental winger I could get using Mueller and lesser picks/prospects.

Jeff Skinner clearly wants out of Carolina and I think Mueller should be enough to snag him at this point. Yeah there's questions about his work ethic but he's no worse than Marleau in that regard and that's nothing DeBoer can't fix. Maybe a change of scenery is all he needs.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

 

[Bizz]

8 hits eh?

ESPN fantasy only credited him with 1. Wonder if they'll fix that.

 

[Barrie22]

8 hits eh?

ESPN fantasy only credited him with 1. Wonder if they'll fix that.

Nhl.com rewarded him with 0 hits.

 

[T0uGh C0oki3]

Would love to get Boedker - though he isn't exactly a third liner. Of potential FA's who are on potential "seller" teams, I can see Boedker, Vrbata, Grabner, Tlusty (still wanted to sign him - would have been solid on the top line).

Karlsson - JT - Pavs
PM - Couch - Ward
Boedker - Hertl - Wingels
Nieto - Tierney - Donskoi/Smith

I thought there was a lot of great stuff tonight and instead of piling on I did want to comment on one thing - Nieto needs to up his game. Hertl looked absolutely amazing out there - fast, shifty, great with the puck. He will have a monster year - too bad he has nobody on his line who can finish.

Really, though, this is a solid, solid team. Not saying we're top tier - but solid for sure. This should be a fun filled season - especially after that torturous last year.

PS - despite Brown having one of the best games I've seen him play, I'd still rather have Smith in there. Tierney is too talented to have to play with grinders like that.

A line of Goodrow/Nieto - Tierney - Smith can pop in a few goals from time to time for sure!

This place need some Kyle Palmieri.

 

[Hangemhigh]

3rd line addition will be Torres.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Jeff Skinner clearly wants out of Carolina and I think Mueller should be enough to snag him at this point. Yeah there's questions about his work ethic but he's no worse than Marleau in that regard and that's nothing DeBoer can't fix. Maybe a change of scenery is all he needs.

Come on dude...why would you say something like that? Especially in the GDT of a game where Marleau was the hardest working player on the ice and scored the only 2 goals of the game, one of which was a fantastic individual effort. You destroy your credibility when you say things like that.

I agree regarding skinner though, I think a change of scenery would benefit him quite well, and he would be a fantastic addition.

 

[magic school bus]

Cool to see the Sharks not carrying the requisite plodding veteran d-man this year. They honestly look like they could do some serious damage this year.

Don't worry, there's always the deadline.

3rd line addition will be Torres.

For about 5 minutes until he's injured or suspended again...

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Yeah, I think the org is just about done counting on Torres for anything. The fact is, he spent an entire year injured, and got himself suspended on a legitimately dirty hit before the season even started. I can not imagine the org is happy with him, or that they want him back.

 

[T0uGh C0oki3]

Come on dude...why would you say something like that? Especially in the GDT of a game where Marleau was the hardest working player on the ice and scored the only 2 goals of the game, one of which was a fantastic individual effort. You destroy your credibility when you say things like that.

I agree regarding skinner though, I think a change of scenery would benefit him quite well, and he would be a fantastic addition.

I like Skinner very much, and if we can get him for scraps (which is unlikely to happen), I see no reason we should not do it.

But honestly, his health worries me, IMO he could be 1 hit away from the LTIR.

Yeah, I think the org is just about done counting on Torres for anything. The fact is, he spent an entire year injured, and got himself suspended on a legitimately dirty hit before the season even started. I can not imagine the org is happy with him, or that they want him back.

Sound right. Torres is pretty much a non-factor now.

Dudes like Lance Bouma / Matt Martin /Ferland come to mind when I think of Torres.

 

[stator]

What a goalie's game, eh?

Both faced withering attacks, particularly Andersen in the 3rd quarter. I don't remember Andersen prone to giving up rebounds like he did. Stopped all but one.

Martin has good form, and came out on top with all that pressure. I like how the defense rallied around Martin to clear a couple of dangerous pucks.

Did you guys notice how this game played like an open rink in Europe? The second quarter north-south pace was amazing.

 

[HydroF]

Way too early to be talking about deadline deals, especially when they are to improve lines that have been playing well. I would prefer to see how Goldobin does on a callup, see how lines gel when Melker is back, see how it goes with Torres back all before considering picking up another winger.

If we do pick up a winger though, I would prefer a short term rental. Guys like Goldobin and Meier are going to be needing minutes, and the lineup is already clogged up.

 

[Gilligans Island]

The Sharks do seem to have a lot of D-man signed for a long time. Unless the team goes to full rebuild mode and trades them, you have to think that Martin, Vlasic, Burns, Dillon, and Braun are in the team's future for the next 5 years. Other than Martin, I can't see any of those guys declining. That is going to leave very little room for anyone else. It may be that guys like Demelo, Tennyson, and Mueller becomes victims of that. Even Roy might be in danger...

I would like the Sharks to either acquire that superstar D-man, or get another top-ish forward. There are still a lot of question marks like Donskoi, Karlsson, and Hertl.

Nieto should be on the list of question marks as well. If he doesn't show he can score even on the 3rd line, Goldobin will push him out.

We could have some decent assets to acquire a top pairing RD or even fwd in Mueller, Nieto and possibly even Hertl (Not all 3 in 1 deal).

 

[HydroF]

Nieto should be on the list of question marks as well. If he doesn't show he can score even on the 3rd line, Goldobin will push him out.

We could have some decent assets to acquire a top pairing RD or even fwd in Mueller, Nieto and possibly even Hertl (Not all 3 in 1 deal).

I thought Nieto looked good alongside Hertl. Seems like there is potentially some good chemistry there.

 

[lucky0slevin]

Nieto should be on the list of question marks as well. If he doesn't show he can score even on the 3rd line, Goldobin will push him out.

We could have some decent assets to acquire a top pairing RD or even fwd in Mueller, Nieto and possibly even Hertl (Not all 3 in 1 deal).

I would MUCH rather hang onto Hertl right now and see what a full season at center does because 2 games in he's looking really sharp he just needs a scoring winger which is suppose to be Nieto

 

[do0glas]

It's not like hertl es gift wrapping Scoring chances for them. He played really well, but the playmaking wasn't there yet.

 

[Gilligans Island]

I thought Nieto looked good alongside Hertl. Seems like there is potentially some good chemistry there.

I would MUCH rather hang onto Hertl right now and see what a full season at center does because 2 games in he's looking really sharp he just needs a scoring winger which is suppose to be Nieto

I really hope Nieto and Hertl step up this season. We'll need it.

But, if a bonafide top pairing RD came along (Seth Jones, e.g.), I'd hope DW would give serious thought to trading for him.

 

[Zeroz]

Two games in and this board is already looking to make a trade for a serviceable 3rd line winger

 

[lsx]

I was skeptical of DeBoer but I haven't seen the system look this good since McLellan's first season here. They're so fast and aggressive and I love the way that the D is jumping up into the play. Makes me wonder why McLellan started to gravitate towards a more conservative approach when so many players on this roster are capable of so much more.

Because Mclellan was covered by a team that was pretty damn stacked for a while with younger Boyle, Thornton, and Marleau, Heatley, etc... all contributing heavily at the same time. Once the playoffs came, his system fell apart like that appalling series against the Blues.

I'm not going to get excited about DeBoer yet, I knew how last year was going to turn out so it didn't affect me much, the offseason went better than expected, thank god Niemi is finally gone and the FA signings are a good sign...but we'll see how this season shapes up as the games stack up and the old vets get tired.

Would love to see Stalock bounce back this year and see him and Jones kill it in net.

 

[lsx]

Yeah, I think the org is just about done counting on Torres for anything. The fact is, he spent an entire year injured, and got himself suspended on a legitimately dirty hit before the season even started. I can not imagine the org is happy with him, or that they want him back.

I was so angry with that signing in the first place, good, get rid of him...there's no place for intent to injure players in this league IMO.