What the hell is going on with the Sharks?

[GreatGonzo]

Do they have enough talent to spread it around like the Leafs did?

I tried telling Sharks fans that Karlssson will have a diminishing returns type effect on the team with Burns already there and they didn't believe me. I believe @GreatGonzo was saying the same thing too. I watched Karlsson in Ottawa against the Leafs for his whole career. He needs to be on the point on the PP, he's always done his best work from there and it was never going to work to try and fit him into a 1-3-1 PP composition on the half-walls.

Ya he is definitely not being played the right way. EKs offense is far to advanced to keep him running the PP. they need to adjust and get them all in the same rhythm.

It still is early, but I definitely don’t like what I’m seeing already with how they are handling EK.

 

[McDeez]

I hate that they keep him on the right side on the PP. I really do. He has a great shot and needs to be used! Apparently the coaching staff doesn't see it. I hope they get it turned around today vs Flyers because it's looking like poop.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

I hate that they keep him on the right side on the PP. I really do. He has a great shot and needs to be used! Apparently the coaching staff doesn't see it. I hope they get it turned around today vs Flyers because it's looking like poop.

Don't worry. Its a new system and a veteran star player always has the coaches ear. He will let them know what works and what doesn't and in short order they will run the pp based on how he works best.

Deboar is a good coach, hes not a moron that will stick to a game plan that's not working.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

Good thing the season isn't 3 games.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

"would you rather have 2 #1c's or 2 "#1d's..."


Guess what these boards voted for...







lol.

It's been 3 games, in which San Jose has dominated all 3, while Toronto has been mostly held even by non-playoff teams. Toronto has 2 overtime wins against non-playoff teams and 1 regulation loss against a non-playoff team. San Jose has 1 overtime win against a playoff team, 1 regulation loss against a playoff team, and 1 regulation loss against a non-playoff team. The sample size is absolutely miniscule and is far too little to draw any sort of reasonable conclusion from, but it also doesn't even reasonably defend the conclusion that you're attempting to draw.

It doesn't trigger us...we are used to the way polls go.

It just makes everyone else look like idiots.

Actually, the way that polls go is that Toronto players do better more often than not when all else is equal.

"I'm jealous of the Leafs, so I'm going to make a fool of myself, that'll show 'em!!!" - HF posters

Yeah, totally jealous of their 0 playoff series wins post-lockout.

I'm curious, why isn't everybody jealous of Washington or Pittsburgh? Those teams are actually, you know, winning Stanley Cups. I don't see Leafs fans suggesting that the Capitals and Penguins are hated or discriminated against on this forum, so why do Leafs fans think that they are?

 

[the_fan]

I think the problem is (at least for now) both Karlsson and Burns are used to being the main guy for their teams controlling the blue line, now they dont seem to mesh well together because watching the Sharks, it seems like they cant figure out who is that guy now and the chemistry isn't there.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

They are going to win the cup, this is going to be a hilarious bump.

Almost every top team from last year got older or worse depth wise. The Sharks added a generational offensive defenseman to their core without changing much from their team who have a legit number 1 started, good forwards and 2 allstars on their back end.

Who in the Western conference actually got better? Its the team with Karlsson i imagine.

Good forward groups don't win cups. Great ones do.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

Good forward groups don't win cups. Great ones do.

Carolina, name someone impactful other than Staal on their cup winning team? No google, go.

Exceptions always happen in sports, average offensive teams have won the cup. There is a reason the term defense wins championships was coined.

I would bet more defensively dynamic teams have won championships over the opposite in teams that can score at will but have average D. That's not to say there aren't issues with the sharks, Burns and Karlsson aren't great at defense, but they will make up for it with the points they generate back there.

 

[lwvs84]

I haven't seen the other two games, but the game against the Ducks wasn't lost because of the skaters... Sharks dominated that game. It was the goalies... a combination of Gibson playing really well and Jones letting in a soft one or two. At some point, that's going to even out (Jones will hit a hot streak then steady out and they'll catch a "cold" goalie) and that's probably when the ball will start rolling for them. I think once they start clicking, the team will straighten out and win the division still. As many have said, it's only 3 games in and when Karlsson gets acclimated and takes over as THE d-man on their team, they will be fine.

 

[SoVi3t]

Dont worry guys I bet them on ProLine tonight!

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Carolina, name someone impactful other than Staal on their cup winning team? No google, go.

Exceptions always happen in sports, average offensive teams have won the cup. There is a reason the term defense wins championships was coined.

I would bet more defensively dynamic teams have won championships over the opposite in teams that can score at will but have average D. That's not to say there aren't issues with the sharks, Burns and Karlsson aren't great at defense, but they will make up for it with the points they generate back there.

Seriously?

Stillman, BrindAmour, Williams and Cullen.

And from looking it up, they traded for Recchi and Weight at the deadline. That blows away what SJ has and comparing them to a group as deep as Carolina was is a bad look for you.

How many teams to win the cup since the end of the O6 is SJ's forwards better than or close to the same level as?

 

[Anomie2029]

Still early on in the season and the Sharks are still trying to find what works for them. They are dominating most of the play, but are struggling with taking advantage of the pressure, and Jones has ranged from awful to inconsistent.

The PP is awful because the system is just bad. It wasn't good last season where it finished 16th (and that was due to an increase in scoring later in the season). They have ZERO players in position for a one-timer, so any cross ice feeds do not have a quick shot that follows.

 

[Avsboy]

Matthews on pace for 219 points, San Jose on pace for 55 points, and a greater than 0 (and climbing!) number of beers spilled by heavy beach balls dropped into the audience.

Clearly these results will hold. I blame Melnyk; Melnyk resonance throughout the NHL.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Seriously?

Stillman, BrindAmour, Williams and Cullen.

And from looking it up, they traded for Recchi and Weight at the deadline. That blows away what SJ has and comparing them to a group as deep as Carolina was is a bad look for you.

How many teams to win the cup since the end of the O6 is SJ's forwards better than or close to the same level as?

Teams like the ‘06 Canes and ‘09 Pens are rarities. The Canes somewhat overachieved. They had solid veterans and some good young up and comers who all showed up for the most part.....but with majority of them being aged veterans, it obviously didn’t last long.

There is reason why Carolina had little to no successs after the fact, while Pitt took another 7 years to win another cup. The sharks on the other hand didn’t start having solid forward depths until 2014. People have this misconception that the Sharks have been a power house team depth wise.

 

[ImNeverWrong]

lol 3 games? who cares? relax.

 

[Satoru Gojo]

Notoriously slow starting team the past few seasons, they will be fine

 

[SharksFan1]

I don't think that phrase is used correctly when Vlasic is still in his prime though. It's not like he's on a steady decline right now.

Yeah, saying someone is on the wrong side of 30 is more of an indication of their future performance rather than their current. Pretty sure this thread is about the Sharks current performance.

 

[Solmors]

Vegas finished 10th in PDO last year, their PDO was completely that's hardly unsustainable

I just went back and checked, you are right. They were above average (100.5), but not by much. I remember looking at it before and seeing it higher, but maybe that was earlier in the season before it normalized. Oh, and William Karlsson's absurdly unsustainable 23.4% shooting percentage last year. If he gets more than 30 goals this year I'll eat my hat.

This statement is more accurate: The worst PDO for any team since it was a tracked stat (07-08 season was the first), not including the shortened season, was the 16-17 Colorado Avalanche at 96.6. That year the Avs had the leagues worst shooting percentage at 7.2% and the leagues worst save percentage at 0.894. Their record that year was 22 wins and 56 losses for 48 points. The Sharks PDO over 3 games is more than 3 times further from the average than the Avs of that season (3.4 vs 11.7). Their current rate is a statistical anomaly and will correct itself over the next few games. To think it wouldn't would be the same thinking as if you flipped a coin three times and it landed heads all three times so you assume you will always continue to flip heads from then on.

A fun math experiment was this hypothetical: What if their shooting and save percentages were reversed? The Sharks have 101 shots for, 5 goals for, 4.95% shooting percentage, 66 shots against, 11 goals against, and 83.3% save percentage. If they had 101 shots for with 16.7% shooting, they would have ~17 goals for. If they had 66 shots against with 95.5% save, they would have ~3 goals against. If you saw a team win their first 3 games with a goal differential of 17-3, the first thing that comes into your head should be "unsustainable". Unless you think 465 goals for and 82 against sounds reasonable after 82 games!

 

[Sempiternal]

I was at the game vs LA and I think they're just figuring things out and being too nice. Most of the Sharks are in awe of EK and are making him the QB and he's trying not to be the selfish driver he was in Ottawa and over passing.

They may need to put Burns and EK on separate PP units or just ride it out until EK says F it and starts being the driver.

This team is gonna be hella dangerous and a force once they get clicking.

PS - Meier looks awesome.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

It’s just three games and they’re 1-2. Who cares.

I haven’t seen any of their games yet but I’m not surprised to see EK65 not fitting in right away. For pretty much 7 years in Ottawa, the entire team ran through him for the 27 minutes he was on the ice.

 

[Howie Hodge]

1'st period in Philly.

Sharks up 3 - 0 .

"What the hell is going on???"

 

[Used As A Shield]

Them jinx threads though.

 

[Fire Benning]

HF jinx is a very real thing.

 

[Hockeyfan2390]

Make it 4-0

 

[SjMilhouse]

PDO regression is a beautiful thing...