GDT: Game 48: Sharks vs. Canucks 7:30pm NBCSCA Will they score a goal?

[TheBeard]

They should just bite the bullet and put Vlasic and Burns back together. One unrepentantly awful pairing can't be that much more damaging to the team than two pretty damn awful ones.

Also it would be fun watching them implode while Vlasic gets saltier and saltier.

Vlasic playing 30 minutes a game would be my favorite storyline of the season.

 

[hohosaregood]

Forget Vlasic, check out Ferraro.

I'm too used to him being down there. I think he's a solid number 4 long term but he's playing top pairing shutdown minutes and he's failing.

Ferraro-Merkley is a pairing I think could work out. Ferraro's aggressiveness on defense would match up better with Merkley's lower tempo defensive game. Burns and Ferraro are both too aggressive challenging in the defensive zone that they just both end up chasing the puck. So Ferraro could do the dirty work along the boards and Merkley can take care of zone exits.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I'm too used to him being down there. I think he's a solid number 4 long term but he's playing top pairing shutdown minutes and he's failing.

While playing with someone who was defensively average at his peak. There's nobody around to push Ferraro down to the 2nd pairing. Unless we miraculously sign someone like Lindholm this offseason, we can expect this to continue as they have no other real options.

 

[hohosaregood]

While playing with someone who was defensively average at his peak. There's nobody around to push Ferraro down to the 2nd pairing. Unless we miraculously sign someone like Lindholm this offseason, we can expect this to continue as they have no other real options.

In addition, at Burns'peak, his best defense was how dominant his offensive play driving tilted the ice away from our net. Not so much these days

 

[Pinkfloyd]

In addition, at Burns'peak, his best defense was how dominant his offensive play driving tilted the ice away from our net. Not so much these days

Agreed. I don't think he's even that bad overall. It's just that you can't put him out against the other team's best. If he was second pairing with Ferraro, I think they'd be rather successful. The only way that could even happen though is getting a legitimate top guy to pair with Karlsson like a Chychrun or Lindholm. It can't be Middleton even though he's done an admirable job when he's in the lineup.

 

[TheBeard]

I'm too used to him being down there. I think he's a solid number 4 long term but he's playing top pairing shutdown minutes and he's failing.

Ferraro-Merkley is a pairing I think could work out. Ferraro's aggressiveness on defense would match up better with Merkley's lower tempo defensive game. Burns and Ferraro are both too aggressive challenging in the defensive zone that they just both end up chasing the puck. So Ferraro could do the dirty work along the boards and Merkley can take care of zone exits.

Holy crap I love that pairing idea.

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

Bench Merkley!

For some reason the mobile site has this tweet blocked. What's it say?

 

[Lebanezer]

For some reason the mobile site has this tweet blocked. What's it say?

That Merkley contributed positively in all facets of the game and was the Sharks' second best skater last night. On the opposite side, it says that Ferraro and Vlasic were atrocious.

 

[TheBeard]

That Merkley contributed positively in all facets of the game and was the Sharks' second best skater last night. On the opposite side, it says that Ferraro and Vlasic were atrocious.

More like Vlasic was bad, Ferraro was atrocious.

 

[timorous me]

I'm too used to him being down there. I think he's a solid number 4 long term but he's playing top pairing shutdown minutes and he's failing.

Ferraro-Merkley is a pairing I think could work out. Ferraro's aggressiveness on defense would match up better with Merkley's lower tempo defensive game. Burns and Ferraro are both too aggressive challenging in the defensive zone that they just both end up chasing the puck. So Ferraro could do the dirty work along the boards and Merkley can take care of zone exits.

I was thinking about this, too, and I'd at least like to see it tried at some point down the stretch. The two main issues with this: 1) I don't think Ferraro is particularly good at moving bodies at the front of the net, and Merkley certainly isn't, so they could get hurt there, and 2) For all the challenges Ferraro has faced paired with Burns, it's always hard to find someone to work in that pairing, and I don't know that Vlasic or Simek can do it at any reasonable level.

But if the plan going into next season is to continue on trying to compete, the best approach might be to try to distribute the team's top defensemen across three pairings and the special teams units. Clearly the plan is to not overwork Karlsson, which makes sense, but Burns and Ferraro also shouldn't be getting ridden into the ground. If we accept Middleton as a solid partner for Karlsson, then the trick would be finding someone to work with Burns.

If the top guys are playing fewer minutes but better minutes, it would certainly be a net benefit to the team. But I don't know that Boughner could bring himself to do something like this.

 

[hohosaregood]

I was thinking about this, too, and I'd at least like to see it tried at some point down the stretch. The two main issues with this: 1) I don't think Ferraro is particularly good at moving bodies at the front of the net, and Merkley certainly isn't, so they could get hurt there, and 2) For all the challenges Ferraro has faced paired with Burns, it's always hard to find someone to work in that pairing, and I don't know that Vlasic or Simek can do it at any reasonable level.

But if the plan going into next season is to continue on trying to compete, the best approach might be to try to distribute the team's top defensemen across three pairings and the special teams units. Clearly the plan is to not overwork Karlsson, which makes sense, but Burns and Ferraro also shouldn't be getting ridden into the ground. If we accept Middleton as a solid partner for Karlsson, then the trick would be finding someone to work with Burns.

If the top guys are playing fewer minutes but better minutes, it would certainly be a net benefit to the team. But I don't know that Boughner could bring himself to do something like this.

For Burns' partner, you need like a prime Braun or Simek before he was injured, I think. Just a less aggressive defensive defenseman that can move the puck to a moderate degree. Not necessarily a unicorn anymore but we also don't have a guy like that in the org right now. Hatakka seems like he could be that someday but that would be too late. Middleton would be nice but he doesn't have the puck moving to do that. So where I'm at, the hole in the defense is a partner for Burns. Maybe we target Ian Cole or Olli Maatta this offseason

Middleton-Karlsson
x-Burns
Ferraro-Merkley
Vlasic/Simek/Hatakka

 

[Cas]

1) Not that I think he's having a great or even good season individually, but I wonder how much of Ferraro being awful is the result of being stuck to the defensive boat anchor shaped like Brent Burns and trying/failing to cover for him.

2) I was reliably informed that Noah Gregor didn't deserve to be anywhere near an NHL roster but by that account he wasn't unforgivably awful.

I think this system, which appears to be based on xG, does still not account for what I've called "empty calories" a few times before. A player like Gregor generates a lot of good microstats - zone entries with possession and shot attempts from below and between the dots. Those shot attempts in particular are going to track very well in xG measurements. But Gregor is actually a very bad shooter - he's extremely inaccurate and non-deceptive, so his shots, while taken from dangerous areas, wind up not being dangerous shots in reality, but I don't know that xG is currently capable of taking this into account.

 

[tealzamboni]

That Merkley contributed positively in all facets of the game and was the Sharks' second best skater last night. On the opposite side, it says that Ferraro and Vlasic were atrocious.

I feel like the 4th line should've scored positively on "Miscellaneous".
While it was kinda cringy tactics, they did succeed in shifting the game into special teams mode and Vancouver started getting lazy after that.

 

[hohosaregood]

I think this system, which appears to be based on xG, does still not account for what I've called "empty calories" a few times before. A player like Gregor generates a lot of good microstats - zone entries with possession and shot attempts from below and between the dots. Those shot attempts in particular are going to track very well in xG measurements. But Gregor is actually a very bad shooter - he's extremely inaccurate and non-deceptive, so his shots, while taken from dangerous areas, wind up not being dangerous shots in reality, but I don't know that xG is currently capable of taking this into account.

Those player cards that are based on WAR probably ding him pretty heavily for his terrible finishing. He is a good bottom 6 player, he's just a terrible scorer

 

[stator]

Pretty weird how disparate Merkley and Vlasic's game scores are. You'd think there would be some positive influence from Merkley to Vlasic on this.

Have you met Vlasic? He's seems like what I would describe as a pompous eh whole.