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Quick bites: Frantic first period finishes Sharks early

Mikael Granlund scored two goals for the Sharks. Warren Foegele scored two goals for the Kings.

The first 12 minutes of last night’s game between the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings were not kind to the Sharks, and, as recent history has shown, San Jose simply could not muster enough offensive firepower to turn the tide. The team lost its eighth straight game with a final score of 3-2 in favor of the Kings.

Looking at the game flow chart at even strength from Natural Stat Trick, you can see just how quickly the Kings jumped on the Sharks.

Each subsequent shift from the drop of the puck onward seemed to give the Kings more momentum until they were overwhelming the Sharks and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. The Kings had 17 shots in the first period, causing Blackwood to make save after save. While Blackwood allowed three goals by the end of 20 minutes, he also had some flashy saves in the mixed in on high-danger scoring chances. While Blackwood received the L in this game, the real issue was the play in front of him.

Secondary scoring is missing

The Sharks have lost eight games in a row and one of the reasons is the lack of secondary scoring. Yes, losing Macklin Celebrini was a huge blow, but there are other issues as well. Mikael Granlund leads the team with 9 points. Tyler Toffoli is close behind with 7. After that, the drop off is steep. It’s not a good sign when Celebrini, who has played just one game for the Sharks, is sixth in team scoring.

Players like Barclay Goodrow, Luke Kunin, Ty Dellandrea, Carl Grundstrom, Alex Wennberg, Nico Sturm, Klim Kostin and Will Smith are not contributing enough. While young Will Smith might get a pass because he’s learning, the “veteran” players don’t. Of the players on the list, Goodrow, Kunin and Dellandrea are the only players with goals, and they have just one goal apiece. The rest aren’t scoring.

Bringing Celebrini back is only going to solve half of the problem facing the Sharks as we near the ten mark of the season. The other problem is that more veteran players need to get their game in gear.

Mikael Granlund making his case for MVP

One guy we won’t knock is Granlund. The forward started the season re-energized, and he continued his strong play in this game. Granlund is currently on a more than one point per game pace and his two goals last night certainly helped.

Both of his goals were picture perfect, pick your spot goals and both came on the power play.

Then there was the second one, which was just seconds into the power play.

Granlund is, at the very least, making a strong case for team MVP once again. He’s also letting teams across the league know that he’s still an offensive weapon at 32. If he continues his strong play, he could be a tempting trade target for a lot of teams.

Giving Jack Thompson some love

Let’s also take a quick minute to call out Jack Thompson, who had two assists last night and now has three points in three games. Thompson was a question mark at the start of the season. We weren’t sure if he would force his way into the lineup or not, considering that Matt Benning, Jan Rutta and Cody Ceci are all veteran defensemen who occupy the right side.

But Thompson brings something those other defensemen lack, an ability to play the point on the power play. He took advantage of his skill set and now plays the point on the first power play unit. The fact that the Sharks have scored three power play goals on the past ten power play opportunities and Thompson assisted on all three certainly helps make the case for him to stay in the lineup.

Watching the young defenseman to see if he grows into this role and becomes reliable at 5-on-5 play will be an interesting storyline to watch this season.

Scoring summary Sharks at Kings, Oct. 24, 2024

First Period
4:31 LAK Jordan Spence from Trevor Moore and Phillip Danault
8:47 LAK Warren Foegele from Alex Laferriere
11:36 LAK Warren Foegele from Alex Laferriere and Brandt Clarke

Second Period
10:05 SJS Mikael Granlund from Jack Thompson and Alex Wennberg on the power play

Third Period
19:00 SJS Mikael Granlund from Jack Thompson and Alex Wennberg on the power play

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