Don’t Give Up On The Sharks

written by Troy Ewers

At this point in the season good teams start to distance themselves from the bad teams, but the teams in the middle of the pack become the teams to watch, because every week could get you out of that middle of the table purgatory that exists. The San Jose Sharks have a lot to work on to be a viable contender for the Stanley Cup, but the positives that this team has should actually be the jolt of energy that the fanbase can rally around. After seeing 3 games in a 4 game road trip, there’s 3 positives that if coach David Quinn can build on then there’s a chance that this team that is in the middle of a true to form rebuild can get a wild card spot in the playoffs. 

#1: Erik Karlsson 

Going into this road trip, Karlsson was the highest scoring defenseman in the NHL with 19 points. In the 3 games he added 3 assists, totaling his points to 22 (12 assists, 10 goals). He’s on track to have his best season in San Jose and maybe even his career. The way he’s playing offense is making up for the loss of Brent Burns and even though I’ve been critical of Erik Karlsson in past seasons, this season is a huge battery in the back of this team and his style of play has opened up the rest of the ice for more scoring coming from Sharks players, which leads to the second positive. 

#2: A Clean Up Offense 

Before this road trip, I had a theory that if Karlsson is the only dude scoring as a D-Man, then there’s a chance that the opposing team will focus on the blue line and leave open opportunities for the forwards to score… The last 3 games showed that the theory was not only correct, it opened up an offense where the Sharks had 5 guys not including Karllson with 3 points in 3 games. Meier, LaBanc, Couture, Hertl, and Barbanov all had 3 points and whether it was goals or assists, the offense was so fluid they were able to play some of their most competitive games of the season so far. The defense is physical but allows a lot of chances, so it’s great the offense is what keeps San Jose in games. The 3rd positive though is what picks up the slack for a defense which lets this offense clean up the defense’s mess. 

#3: James Reimer 

Coach Quinn said before the road trip that the first 2 games of the road trip would be split between Reimer and Kaapo. Whoever does the best will get the in net call for the rest of the trip. Kaapo Kahkonen took an L in game 1 against St. Louis and James Reimer took an W the next game against Dallas, so Reimer became #1 for the Minnesota game and he got another W. He’s 4-5-2 with an average of 2.88 goals allowed a game, but his impact are the saves in high pressure situations. Those saves not only electrify fans watching, but the team goes a little harder for the man in net. Reimer will finish out the road trip against the 13-3 Vegas Golden Knights and the momentum is in his favor. Fighting for a number one spot in net is obviously in the back of both goalies’ minds, but James Reimer has the call at the moment and Coach Quinn made it very clear, if ain’t broke don’t fix it.