The San Jose Sharks were shutout for the ninth time this season and second time this week, falling to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0. Despite a good overall effort, the Sharks had no luck with puck bounces, Vegas capitalized on each of their quality chances and goaltender Logan Thompson stood tall to come away with a 30 save shutout.
Believe it or not, but the Sharks started off almost as well as you could in this game. For the first two minutes, the Sharks kept its rivals on their heels, hitting two posts in the process. Their sustained pressure but perhaps overzealous attack was exposed when Michael Amadio snuck through Mario Ferraro and Ty Emberson right down the middle to score on a breakaway against Mackenzie Blackwood. An early one goal deficit rapidly became two, then three and the sting of disappointment befell the SAP Center as it did in Saturday’s last-second heartbreaker against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was one of those games. The effort was there, but once that Amadio shot went in for the first goal, you could almost feel a collective, “here we go again,” from the bench and the crowd.
Breaking away from good habits
It usually isn’t helpful to point to a single goal against, especially in a 4-0 loss, but that first goal highlighted a concerning trend for the Sharks 5-on-5 play. David Quinn himself pointed out the issue after the game:
Surely, with no games until Saturday, San Jose’s coaching staff will discuss this at length with the team to make sure those lapses in coverage and focus do not become a recurring nightmare in the Sharks crease.
Barabanov’s Scratch
Notably not in today’s lineup, Alexander Barabanov was a healthy scratch. It’s no secret that Barabanov’s play has been far deficient from his 40-50 point-pace expectations. The move by Quinn will hopefully spark Barabanov, who is on an expiring contract, to step his game up. From the team management’s perspective, it can only help to have Barabanov in the lineup, producing and showing interested suitors his worth. He truly could be a helpful winger for a playoff-contending team. Barabanov, at his best, can be a play driver that uses his high-end vision and edges to set up teammates beautifully.
He has had a challenging season with injuries both to himself and his usual linemates, whether it is Logan Couture or Tomaš Hertl. Will the scratch motivate him enough and in time to potentially build on his value before the March 8 trade deadline? Personally, I would love to see Barabanov return to the Sharks next season. It is often hard to substitute a genuine top-six skillset that is generally reliable with the puck and smart defensively. The Sharks younger forwards like Fabian Zetterlund and William Eklund will need scoring support, and it is very possible that Barabanov can regain his point production.
Ferraro still overworked
Ferraro lead the team in ice time once again with 23 minutes and 47 seconds, adding three hits and four blocks in his 28 shifts. He is, by nature, a workhorse and has been his entire career in the NHL. One pattern in Ferraro’s game is that he often attempts to cover too much, leaving himself stretching to make up for a gap that is inevitably open. Do this for over 20 minutes a game for four seasons (and counting) of a weak Sharks team, and you’ll have a defenseman that is simply overworked. It isn’t Ferraro’s fault.
I am not sure what work goes behind the scenes with the defenseman, but it is clear that he remains one of the few in that position that Quinn fully trusts. Emberson, Okhotiuk and Thrun are still learning, but perhaps as the season moves into March and April they will have more opportunities to make mistakes and learn. It might be good to give another shift or two to those younger defensemen now. Of note, Marc-Edouard Vlasic is looking more stable in 2024, and his time on ice has gone significantly up as a result. What are your thoughts on the Sharks defensive deployment? Specifically Ferraro’s? Maybe you keep playing Ferraro higher minutes to show his skillset to other teams. At a certain point, however, the overuse could detract from his own strengths.
Highlight
The only Sharks-centered highlights worth showing would have been one of Mackenzie Blackwood’s several impressive saves, but we need to take a moment to applaud Mason Morelli on his first NHL goal:
Next up, the Sharks host the Nashville Predators at SAP Center on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7:00 p.m. PST.
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