24 hours after coming off an emotional comeback win against the Dallas Stars, the Sharks were back in front of the SAP center crowd to take on the Pacific Division leading Vegas Golden Knights. The visiting team included a Tomas Hertl return to the tank and a Knights team the Sharks are chasing down for the Division lead. Michael Misa slots in at 3C after not playing since November due to injury and the World Juniors, and John Klingberg is back, being partnered with Sam Dickinson.
Game overview
Jack Eichel and Tomas Hertl led the charge for the Knights, scoring first and not looking back. The first period saw the Sharks go down 2-1 after a goal from Collin Graf was quickly countered by the Knights Pavel Dorofeyev. Shots were 13-7 for the Knights after 1, and it didn’t get much better from there.
The second period is where the Knights did most of their damage, scoring 3 goals to go up 5-2. Timothy Liljegren made a great play to cut the lead to 3 before the period was over, pinching at the perfect time to catch a flying puck before sending it to Wennberg for a one-timer goal.
More of the same story during the third period. The Sharks were unable to conjure up another miraculous comeback victory and gave up 2 more goals with less than 4 minutes to play, making it 7-2. An empty net goal by Shea Theodore and a slap shot from Hertl emptied out SAP center and sent Sharks fans home disappointed. The Golden Knights leave San Jose with an all time regular season record of 16-0-3 at SAP center. That’s right, the Sharks have never won a regular season game in regulation against the Knights at home, and they will have to wait until next season for another shot at it. Hey, the Sharks are still in a playoff spot and the 49ers won, so it’s not ALL bad news.
Tomas Hertl
Hertl loves the Shark Tank, and not just because he has been a part of some breathtaking moments here. His name was met with a loud serenading of boos when it was announced as a starter on the jumbotron before the game. His response? Being the first star with 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points tonight. If you’re wondering whether Hertl still has it, his performance tonight says he does.
The unfortunate part about the Sharks being ahead of schedule is that they are going to have to compete against Hertl pushing for a Stanley Cup while being in the same division as them. The Sharks return on that trade to Vegas is making returns in Askarov, but having a star like Hertl as a division rival is not a recipe for success.
Special teams was the difference… again
While the Stars game last night saw a PP cruising at 66%, this game saw the Sharks go 0/5 while the opposition went 2/4. The top unit started the same as the previous game with Orlov at the point, but Warsofsky switched back and forth between him and Klingberg multiple times. It is clear Warsofsky wants more from the top unit and does not quite have the horses to do it, at least not yet. When asked about what makes the Vegas PP so dominant, Warsofsky put it bluntly; “…they have everything you really want on the power play… elite guy on the half wall in Eichel… a big guy in Stone as a righty… Tommy [Hertl] in the middle as a lefty… then you get Mitch Marner on top.”
The Sharks don’t have those guys. They have the elite playmaker in Macklin Celebrini, but nobody else on the PP matches the other names that Vegas has. Give the team a #1 defenseman with some time to grow and they will. Until that happens, expect to see some drastic swings in the kind of results the PP gets from one night to another.
Tough sledding ahead
The NHL schedule makers were not nice to the Sharks, and the back-to-back this weekend against two of the best, heaviest hitting teams was only the start. There are 10 games before the Olympic break in February, and 9 of those games are on the road. If the Sharks come out of a back-to-back against the Florida teams and a Western Canadian road trip with a .500 record, I’ll consider it a success.
They will need more than The Macklin Celebrini Show to accomplish that, especially if he is kept off the scoreboard like he was tonight. His record breaking 13 game point streak came to an end against the Knights, and the anemic PP was a big reason why. Being on pace for almost 130 points is incredible for a 19-year-old, and has him in legendary company, being compared to Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby on a nightly basis. Calder trophy who?
Player Shoutouts
Michael Misa: Welcome back to the NHL Misa! He made his return after a couple months away due to an ankle injury, an AHL conditioning stint, and the World Juniors Canadian team run. He was in the right places tonight but could use a little more speed in decision making. With time he will only get better.
Wennberg: He has been a reliable option as 2nd line center all season long. He never has any quit in his game, and his goal tonight is just another example of that. Being named to the Swedish Olympic team was well deserved, it’s a shame that William Eklund will not be there with him.
